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World Water Day
http://www.unwater.org/worldwa…
On March 22, 2011 - World Water Day - lend your voice and Blogs, and join the Global advocacy for access to clean water.
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. March 2005 - March 2015 has been designated by the United Nations as an International decade for bringing global attention to the increasing water crisis. The theme for the decade is - "Celebrating Water for Life: the International Decade for Action 2005-2015". For more information, please download the official PDF document from the World Health Organization (WHO) at this link: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/en/2005advocacyguide.pdf This year, March 22 2011, the theme will be "Water For Cities : Responding To The Urban Challenge". It is sometimes taken for granted that only rural areas face a water crisis. Thus this year's theme should clear up that misconception and increase awareness to the grave water challenges faced in urban centers. In 2010, the theme was "Clean Water For A Healthy World". The focus of that particular theme was to help broaden knowledge that the curing or managing the treatment of the world's major diseases, and sustaining good health in general is impossible without clean water. In 2009, the theme for World Water Day was "Shared Water - Shared Opportunities". Special focus was placed on transboundary waters. Nurturing the opportunities for cooperation in transboundary water management can help build mutual respect, understanding and trust among countries and promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) leads the activities of the World Water Day 2009 with the support of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Do More Even As We Talk
3/29/09
by: Marvia
@ John
Thanks for keeping our focus on the issue of Water. Very often after the 'day' is over we go right back to our bad habits.
I'm from Jamaica where we have serious water issues in many communities and where 'water' is at risk in a country where the name 'Jamaica' came from a Taino root - Xaymaca - Land of Wood and Water. There are numerous factors that is contributing to this. However, I've grown increasingly conscious about not wasting water, and good practices that contribute to a preserving/conserving clean water.
And yet there's so much more that I can do. I now reside in Panama where there is rainfall for about 9 months out of the year. And I mean a lot of rain. And yet there are many communities that have no water. When I'm home and I see the amount of water that runs off the roof and into the drain - I feel guilty about the waste. And then storing the water presents another problem of Dengue. So I've asked myself what to do...
But you know, there are so many resources online that offer creative and practical solutions. We can each start with one thing - just do one thing differently. So thanks for the reminder and I'll continue to educate my congregation as to the practical things we can do. I can start by asking my landlord to do something about the run off from the roof and see how I could use that water to help in my gardening.
Take care,
Marvia
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