World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993 to bring the attention of people around the world to the importance of conserving freshwater supplies.
The goal of World Water Day is to warn and raise awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe freshwater. A core focus of World Water Day is to support achievement one of the goals of Sustainable Development: water and sanitation for all by 2030. Every year, UN-Water, the UN’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation, sets the theme for World Water Day. In 2023, the focus was on Accelerating Change and this year the theme will be Leveraging Water for Peace
The protection and preservation of the environment and nature and water as our most precious resource is necessary to sustain life on Earth as we know it, so this year the United Nations calls for unity around the availability of water and the positioning of water as a means of peace and stability.
Water for Peace
Water can provide leverage for achieving peace when communities and countries work together on this precious shared resource, but it can also spark conflict when access is limited, and use is unfairly shared.
This year's World Water Day is about working together to balance everyone's needs, with a commitment to leaving no one behind, so that water becomes a catalyst for a more peaceful world.
When water is a scarce resource or when people do not have equal access to water, tensions can arise between communities and countries. Considering that water can create peace or cause conflict, this year's theme for World Water Day is "Water for Peace".
As the impact of climate change increases and the population grows, there is an urgent need, within and between countries, to unite around the protection and preservation of our most precious resource, therefore the United Nations calls for unity around the availability of water and the positioning of water as a means of peace and stability because water it is not only a resource that is used, but also a fundamental human right. When we cooperate on the issue of water, then we create a positive domino effect, encourage harmony and build resistance to common challenges.
Public health and well-being, food and energy systems, economic productivity, and environmental integrity depend on a well-functioning and equitably managed water cycle.
Life on Earth depends on healthy ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems, such as wetlands, and rivers, are a critical part of the global water cycle – supplying, purifying, and protecting freshwater resources, while riverbank vegetation protects the land from erosion and inundation. Mismanagement combined with climate change is devastating many ecosystems, undermining their ability to provide freshwater ‘services’, which threatens the health of human societies and natural environments. Through the "Improve River LIFE" project, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development will contribute to water conservation by removing artificial barriers on the Vrljika and Jadro rivers in order to achieve better water quality and thus contribute to the celebration of World Water Day.
On this year's World Water Day, we should all unite on the issue of water and water use to achieve peace, laying the foundations for a more stable and prosperous future.