Every year on March 22, the world commemorates World Water Day with the goal of emphasising the importance of water and raising awareness about the global water crisis. The day’s main focus, according to the UN website, is to “support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.”
World Water Day’s History
The UN General Assembly first adopted a resolution to commemorate World Water Day on December 22, 1992, after which March 22 was declared World Water Day and has been observed worldwide since 1993.
2021 World Water Day Theme
The theme for World Water Day 2021 is “Valuing Water,” selected to emphasise the importance of water in our daily lives. “Water has enormous and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics, and the integrity of our natural environment – water has enormous and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics, and the integrity of our natural environment.”
Celebrations for World Water Day
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, World Water Day 2021 will be commemorated practically, with the release of the United Nations Water Development Report, which will provide policy recommendations to various countries on how to address the water crisis. The UN website also encourages people to use social media to engage in online discussions about the importance of water. #Water2me and #WorldWaterDay are two hashtags that can be used to start a digital conversation.
India celebrates World Water Day.
During a video conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign, and a memorandum of agreement (MOA) will be signed between the Jal Shakti ministry and the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to begin the Ken-Betwa Link project. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ken-Betwa Link is India’s first river-linking project, with the aim of transporting water from surplus areas to water-scarce areas by interlinking rivers (PMO).