by Alicia Butler

Created on: March 10, 2009   Last Updated: March 20, 2009

March 22nd, 2009 marks the date of the 16th
annual, World Water Day, an international day to celebrate fresh water around the globe. This year's theme, dubbed, "Transboundry Waters," will concentrate on the 263 transboundry lakes and river basins that cover one-half of the earth's surface, and run through 145 countries. The 2009 events will be hosted by UNECE (United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe), the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations) and UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), which are all United Nations organizations.

Events are scheduled to take place in over 69 cities that have designated March 22nd, as World Water Day. Global events will include an online 6K race, an international poster-making contest, a poetry contest, and an online concert. Select cities across the globe and spanning every continent, will host individual awareness activities such as "turn on the tap" challenges that will include fundraisers and awareness walks. Big-name sponsors such as Starbucks and Cirque du Soleil have signed on to organize their own challenges in their flagship cities. Participants can log in online to www.unwater.org to find out how to sign up for individual and online events.

World Water Day will also inform citizens on the water crisis and the impact it has on citizens all over the world. Reportedly, 20% of the world's population does not have access to clean and safe drinking water, and around 4,500 children die each day from as a result of these conditions. While these conditions affect countries all over the world, developing nations such as Sub-Saharan Africa are impacted in such a dramatic way that prevents tribes from establishing a society above striving for basic needs.

Countries have already begun hosting awareness activities as early as February, and will continue throughout the month of March. This year is a continuation of "The Water for Life Decade," which started in 2005, as a way to raise immediate awareness about our millennium development goals and to push citizens all over the globe to jump on the fast-track to managing and maintaining the earth's natural resources.

Previous World Water Day themes have centered on water sanitation, water scarcity, water and natural disasters, and water development. This year's theme was generated in order to educate citizens of all countries on the impact of the actions of a single nation on the entire globe.
Over 40 percent of the world's population lives in transboundry basins and relies on resources that travel through at least one other country. Many of these water borders are found underground. The majority of shared borders affect two countries per water source, however, many water sources in Africa (including the
Congo, Niger, Nile, Rhine and Zambezi) affect up to eleven different countries.

To find out more information about World Water Day and how to get involved, visit their website at www.unwater.org.
Other resources such as www.worldwater.org have links to individual events, as well as information about online events. Contact information is also available through both sites as well as marketing materials for individuals and groups who are interested in raising awareness in their cities.

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