Nearly half the world’s working population – about 1.5 billion people – is employed in areas directly related to the water. Virtually any production is in one way or another dependent on the supply of clean water.
Background: To address the issues pertinent to supplying the population with drinking water, the Water Day is celebrated every year on March 22 around the world. The idea of holding it was first voiced in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. In February 1993, the General Assembly adopted resolution 47/193 and declared 22 March a World Water Day.
The main goal of this holiday, according to its creators, should be a reminder to all the inhabitants of the Earth about the enormous importance of water for maintaining life on our planet.
World Water Day is widely celebrated in Uzbekistan jointly with national and international organizations working in the field of environment and water management.
This year, from 16 to 22 March, as part of the celebration of World Water Day, a series of events took place to build a culture of people’s respect for water, which focused on the exchange of information between universities in the field of water management, young professionals and various organizations. It was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Management of Uzbekistan with the assistance of the project “Strengthening the Technical Potential of the European Union Program on the Sustainable Management of Water Resources in Rural Areas of Uzbekistan”.
On March 16, meeting was organized at the Yunusabad Academic Lyceum at Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration by students and water management specialists. The topic of discussion was dedicated to the World Water Day, and why we should care about water conservation. On that very day there was a competition for the best drawing under the motto “Water Is Source of Life”, the winners of which were awarded prizes at the ceremony. It took place on March 22 with the participation of representatives of the UN, the EU, the German International Cooperation Agency, KOICA, JICA and other international organizations. Chargé d’Affaires of the EU Delegation to Uzbekistan, Radoslav Darski, speaking at the event, said that water is a huge driving force and the key to progress, ensuring food and energy security. Today, despite the progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, some 750 million people still lack access to improved water sources. About 2.5 billion people live without modern sanitation facilities. World Water Day celebration helps draw attention to the fact that every drop of water is dear.
According to the International Committee on Climate Change, distribution of precipitation around the planet is expected to change in the future: climate contrasts will intensify, droughts and floods will become more frequent and more intense. This will further complicate the regular supply of fresh water. To date, the problem of water already generates interstate conflicts.
In addition, scientists entertain such an opinion: there is no problem of lack of water, there is a problem of its irrational use. The very amount of government subsidies sent around the world to maintain acceptable water prices ($ 33 billion per year) is so great that if this money were spent on creating economical water use systems, most of the predicaments would have been solved long ago.
forecast
UN: More than half of the world’s population by 2025 will suffer either from a lack of water, or from its excess in the form of floods. The potential freshwater deficit in 2050 is estimated at 2 billion cubic meters per year.
