World Water Day: March 22nd, 2011

World Water Day was conceived during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Since then the goal of the annual celebration has been to draw international attention to the need for sustainable management of this vital resource.  Each year World Water Day highlights a different aspect of freshwater.  This year’s theme is “Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge”.

World Water Day provides teachers and students with an excellent opportunity to explore the role of water in sustaining life and to become actively involved in water issues affecting their own communities.

Why Care about World Water Day?

• Clean, freshwater is a basic requirement for all life yet the earth’s water resources are facing increasing threats and demands from users.
• While 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water, less than .003% of this water is potable.
• While the United Nations has declared access to clean water and sanitation a human right, there are currently more than one billion people without a supply of safe drinking water.
• Canada’s per capita use of water is higher than anywhere else in the world.
• For many of the 500,000 Canadians living on First Nations reserves, access to safe drinking water remains a major challenge.

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  Water is an integral part of the earth’s web of ecosystems, providing critical habitat for wildlife.
• Canadians depend on healthy aquatic ecosystems to provide essential economic and social services.
• The United Nations has declared 2005-2015 as the International Decade for Action on Water – Water for Life.

Resources 4 Rethinking

R4R encourages students and teachers to participate in World Water Day. Top R4R Picks (see above) will connect you to some excellent resources to support these efforts.

Other Resources

• Visit Project FLOW to receive grants of up to $3000.00 to help your class take action on a water issue affecting your community:  
• Watch “The Story of Bottled Water”

For more information and ideas be sure to check out the World Water Day website at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/flashindex.html