Do you think there is enough water for sustaining life on earth? And for ever? What do you feel when you hear, "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink?" We pray, this should not happen.

To create awareness among the public about the importance of water, major water organizations are joining hands and educating the world's communities about the necessity of joining together to solve the global water crisis. The 22nd day of March has been declared "World Day for Water" by a resolution of United Nations General Assembly.

Ground Water Scarcity?

The accessibility of ground water is slowly becoming critical due to the increase in population, industrialization, urbanization, and food production. Of all the water on earth, salt water constitutes 97.5% and fresh water is only 2.5%. The most accessible fresh water is 0.007% of all water on earth and its resources are lakes, rivers, streams and reservoirs. Actually, the fresh water supply has not decreased, but pollution and demand for fresh water have substantially increased. None of us are isolated from this crisis as water is a basic necessity.

World Water Day - Themes of previous years

The celebration of World Water Day dates back to 1993. Each year the celebration centers around a theme and is celebrated globally.

In 1995, the theme was Women and Water and the discussion centered around pollution and environmental degradation. In 1996, the theme was Water for Thirsty Cities. The emphasis was on the growing water crisis faced by the world's cities which threatens the sustainability of their social and economic development. In 1997, the theme was Water Resources Assessment. The questions posed was "Is there enough water?" Groundwater - the Invisible Resource was the theme for 1998 and the celebration centered around groundwater management. World Water Day, 1999 focused on Everyone Lives Downstream and discussed floods and droughts. The World Water Day 2000 celebration was on Water for the 21st century. Water for Health was the theme for the year 2001 and the increasing need for adequate and safe water to protect both people and the planet was stressed. Water for Development was the theme for 2002., highlighting the world's demand for integrated water resources planning and management. Water for the Future was the theme for World Water Day 2003. It called on each one of us to maintain and improve the quality and quantity of fresh water available to future generations. The theme for World Water Day 2004 was Water and Disasters. The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on water, sanitation, and related water hygiene issues were widely publicized. World Water Day 2005 introduced the International Decade for Action, Water for Life.

For World Water Day 2006, the theme is Water and Culture. This year, the emphasis is on educating students and communities about the many water-related development efforts. The celebration will help increase global awareness of the vital role water plays in sustainable national development.

Each unit of water should be used efficiently, equitably and soundly. The economic value that water generates should be given due attention, when apportioning scarce water resources between competing uses, without infringing on the rights to basic services for all people. Many predict that wars of the next century will be over water, not oil or politics. "Water is life. Yet this precious resource is widely mismanaged. Unless we change our ways of managing water we will face serious crises in the near future." These are the words of Ismail Serageldin, Chairman of the World Water Commission.