by Ben Tang

Created on: March 12, 2009   Last Updated: April 03, 2009

Water covers 71% of the earth surface; despite that; only 0.02% of all available water bodies are useful to humans as water resources. The importance of water governance has been a top agenda of the United Nations and many UN agencies are involved in various roles to promote the optimal management of this important commodity.

International World Water Day - Its Mission

March, 22nd 2009 marks the International World Water Day. Following its inception in 1992, after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the first World Water Day was held on March, 22nd 1993 and subsequently held annually. The mission for this event is to bring attention to the importance of freshwater conservation and advocating for the sustainable management of water supply.

The theme for 2009 World Water Day is "Shared Water - Shared Opportunities". The focus for the theme will be on transboundary waters. Since more than 45 percent of the land surface of the world is covered by river basins that are shared by more than one country, it is important that governance is laid out to manage this transboundary water basins. For example, five river basins; the Congo, Niger, Nile, Rhine and Zambezi, are shared between 9 to 11 countries. In fact, the Danube river flows through the territory of 18 countries!

What is Transboundary Water ?

Transboundary water can be a source of conflict for nations sharing the river basins. As such, International water law exist to prevent conflict and promote cooperation of shared water resources. The basis of this international law is that, countries must utilize their international watercourses in a fair and reasonable way and without causing significant harm to their neighbors. To date, only 16 nations have agreed to this law under the Watercourses Convention passed in May 2007. For the Convention to enter into force, 35 nations are needed; to date, the law cannot be enforced as yet due to insufficient participating members.

How does World Water Day Impact Countries?

Mutual respect, understanding and trust among countries can be build if opportunites for cooperation in the transboundary water management can be developed. In fact, peace, security and sustainable economic growth can be achieved with contribution from the countries. Through campaigns like World Water Day, the cohesiveness to act on a common agenda can be championed by the United Nations.

Who are the Sponsors?

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the main lead for the activities of the World Water Day 2009. This event is also supported by the United Nations Economic Commision for Europe (UNECE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

References:

1)http://www.unwater.org/worldwater day/flashindex.html

2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co nvention_on_the_Law_of_Non Navigational_Uses_of_International_Watercourses

3)htt p://www.unesco.org/water/

4)http://www.unece.org/env/ water/

5)http://www.fao.org/nr/water/index.html

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