International Water Day 2009 - Transboundary water
World Water Day 2009 (22 March)
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.
Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The theme of World Water Day 2009 is transboundary water. The world’s 263 transboundary lake and river basins include the territory of 145 countries and cover nearly half of the Earth’s land surface. Great reservoirs of freshwater also move silently below our borders in underground aquifers.
For more information on World Water Day 2009, click here.
UNESCO report launched - Water in a Changing World
UNESCO will present the United Nations World Water Development Report 3, an assessment of water resources at the Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul (Turkey) from 16 to 22 March.
Published every three years, the report offers a comprehensive assessment of the planet’s freshwater 
resources. This latest edition, Water in a Changing World, emphasizes the role of water in development and economic growth.
Demand for water has never been as greater, due to population growth and mobility, rising living standards, changes in food consumption, and increased energy production, especially biofuels. Demand is increasing, and some countries are already reaching the limits of their water resources. The effects of climate change are likely to aggravate this situation even further. Competition for water is intensifying – whether between countries, urban and rural areas, or different sectors of activity. This may make water an increasingly politicized issue.
For more information on the United Nations World Water Development Report 3, click here.
Fifth World Water Forum
The World Water Forum is the main water-related event in the world, aimed at putting water firmly on the international agenda. A stepping stone towards global collaboration on water problems, the Forum offers the water community and policy-and-decision-makers from all over the world the unique opportunity to come together to create links, debate and attempts to find solutions to achieve water security. It is organised every three year by the World Water Council, in collaboration with the host country.
The Fifth World Water Forum is being held in Istanbul (Turkey) from 16 to 22 March.
For more information on the World Water Forum, click here.
Written: 10/03/2009 , last modified: 10/03/2009
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