World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about focusing attention on the importance of water. At UN Water, this year’s theme, ‘Nature and Climate Change’ seeks to explore how water and climate change are inextricably linked.
As the global population grows, so does the demand for water, which depletes natural resources and damages the environment in many places. Solutions include protecting carbon sinks such as oceans and wetlands, adopting climate-smart agricultural techniques, and increasing the safe reuse of wastewater.
Water is the earth’s most precious resource – people must use it more responsibly. A balance must be struck between all of society’s water needs while ensuring the poorest people don’t get left behind.
The World Water Day 2020 campaign explains statements such as:
- ‘We cannot afford to wait. Climate policy makers must put water at the heart of action plans’,
- ‘Water can help fight climate change. There are sustainable, affordable and scalable water and sanitation solutions’,
- ‘Everyone has a role to play. Households must be more water efficient’.
