Did you know 663 million people live without a safe water supply close to home? They spend the better part of the day queuing up or trekking to distant sources for water. In addition, they have to cope with illness caused by using contaminated water.
Environmental damage, together with climate change, is the root cause of water-related crises around the world. Floods, drought and water pollution are made worse by degraded vegetation, soil, rivers and lakes.
When ecosystems are neglected, it becomes harder to provide water to survive.
In 1992, on March 21 at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the UN sought to help governments “rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet”.
The message of that summit was “nothing less than a transformation of our attitudes and behaviour would bring about the necessary changes”.
With increasing awareness on the importance of water, the United Nations General Assembly decided to celebrate March 22 as World Water Day.
Nature for Water
Misuse of ecosystems has caused environmental damage.
We have reached a point where it is imperative that this situation is controlled, repaired and managed so that water will not disappear from the planet. The clue lies in nature itself.
This year, the theme for World Water Day is Nature For Water. It explores how we can use nature to overcome the challenges.
Turn to page 11 to read more about this.
Be a Water Warrior
Conserve: Get together with friends and relatives and find ways to conserve water. You could start with ensuring that the taps and pipes in your house do not leak; take shorter showers; close the tap while brushing your teeth.
Do not waste water at home or school.
Plant flower/fruit trees that are indigenous to your area. These require less water.
Water used to wash vegetables and fruits can be reused to hydrate plants and trees in your garden.
Reduce food waste.
Water woes
100 million families are stuck in a cycle of poverty and disease because they don’t have access to safe water.
More people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war.
2.4 billion people — 1 in 3 — lack access to a toilet.
Water-borne diseases kill more children under the age of five than malaria, measles, and HIV/AIDS combined.
In developing countries, as much as 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.
Women and girls spend up to six hours a day walking to get water for their families.
The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 3.7 miles. That is 19,500 steps, every day, just to get water that is making them sick.
443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases.
Time spent gathering water around the world translates to $24 billion in lost economic benefits each year, furthering the cycle of poverty.
Every rupee invested in safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation results in eight rupees of increased economic activity.
Source: https://lifewater.org/blog/world-water-day-2018/
Watch these
The land is dry around Katikati village in northern Tanzania and water is scarce. The Maasai, an ehtnic group that live here, travel up to 100 km a day, searching for water, and it's a dangerous journey. But now they know that there is water 180m under their feet. The Tanzanian Government, with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Belgian Fund for Food Security, drilled a borehole, giving the Maasai access to clean water, and a chance to settle in their own community.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyvKwlgAXYo
Clean water for drinking, cooking and washing is beyond the reach of hundreds of millions — and about a third of the world's population don't have access to good sanitation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SWd6D6LaUs