World Water Day: Source Weekly special issue

Source Weekly issue 5 focuses on World Water Day 2007 and its theme “coping with scarcity”.

With some 700 million around the world currently suffering from water scarcity, a figure that could increase to more than 3 billion by 2025, integrated cross-border management of this vital resource is crucial, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message marking World Water Day (WWD).

Hundreds of WWD public awareness events around the world tried to enlist the public and water experts to take action to improve water and sanitation.

The main WWD ceremony took place in Rome, Italy, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Speaking at the ceremony, His Royal Highness Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange urged that the emphasis of future celebrations should shift from awareness-raising to action under the new name “World Water Action Day”.

In New York, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman kicked off the Walk for Water Event in New York City to mark WWD. Many top restaurants in the city asked diners to pay US$ 1 for tap water they normally get for free, with the funds going to UNICEF’s drinking water projects around the world.

The various WWD web sites show that there are more events registered from the developed world than from the developing world. This gap needs to be closed in the future. Who has bright ideas?

Web sites: http://www.worldwaterday.org, http://www.unwater.org/wwd07

Contact : Dick de Jong, IRC, jong@irc.nl 23 Mar 2007

Source: UN, 22 Mar 2007 ; Het Koninklijk Huis, 22 Mar 2007