Water: Our Common Wealth
The Importance of Water
World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, focuses on the importance of freshwater.
World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Celebrating World Water Day
The stepwell that these women are climbing is an apt image to mark World Water Day. Stepwells originated in western India over a thousand years ago as way for locals in that arid climate to easily and reliably access fresh water—even during the driest months. The Panna Meena Ka Kund stepwell in Jaipur is a classic example of the beautiful, regular, geometric architecture used to produce these useful public works. Most stepwells also feature shaded side chambers where locals (primarily women) can gather to escape the heat of the day.
In this image, one can see obvious signs of previous high-water marks on the well’s walls as seasonal fluctuations and the changing climate affect water levels throughout the region. The impact of climate change on fresh water accessibility is the theme that the United Nations has chosen for this year’s World Water Day. The goal of today’s observance is to focus attention and energy not just on those problems, but on potential solutions as well.
Water and Climate Change
World Water Day 2020 is about water and climate change – and how the two are inextricably linked. The campaign shows how our use of water will help reduce floods, droughts, scarcity and pollution, and will help fight climate change itself.
By adapting to the water effects of climate change, we will protect health and save lives. And, by using water more efficiently, we will reduce greenhouse gases.
Our key messages for this day are clear:
- 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. In our daily lives, there are surprisingly easy steps we can all take to address climate change.
History of the Day
The idea for this international day goes back to 1992, the year in which the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro took place. That same year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by which 22 March of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993.
Later on, other celebrations and events were added. For instance, the International Year of Cooperation in the Water Sphere 2013, and the current International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028. These observances serve to reaffirm that water and sanitation measures are key to poverty reduction, economic growth, and environmental sustainability.
ANTOINE LAURENT LAVOISIER(1743-1794), French Chemist and Physicist. He discovered the Composition of Water Molecule and of various other Organic Compounds.
Water Molecule looks very simple and yet it plays a mysterious role inside all living cells. It is essential to Life and its propagation. Its Spiritual nature is revealed by its pure, original, and sweet taste it imparts apart from its role as a Chemical Compound. It is the main mode of transport of many Elements that are needed by the living organisms. Water is the Agent that leaches Nutrient Elements and Compounds from rocks and soils and makes them available for use by plants, and animals.
रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययो: |
प्रणव: सर्ववेदेषु शब्द: खे पौरुषं नृषु || 8||
raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣhu śhabdaḥ khe pauruṣhaṁ nṛiṣhu
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7, verse 8: I am the taste in water, O son of Kunti, and the radiance of the sun and the moon. I am the sacred syllable Om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether, and the ability in humans.
Simon Cyrene-The Twelfth Disciple 