World Water Day 2020: Toolkit
Need some facts about World Water Day 2020? Want
some messages to share or adapt for your networks? This is where you’ll find
them.
What is World Water Day?
World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, is an annual United
NationsObservance focusing on the importance of freshwater.
What is the aim of World Water Day?
World
Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people
living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the
global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the
achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by
2030.
Who organizes World Water Day?
Every
year, UN-Water — the UN’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation —sets thetheme
for World Water Day.In 2020 the focus is climate change, in 2021 valuing water
and in 2022 groundwater.
What happens on World Water Day?
Ahead
of the day, UN-Water launches a global public campaign via www.worldwaterday.org and on social media, giving people
and organizations the tools to promote the campaign with their own audiences. Governments,
organizations, companies, schools and many other actors also organize World
Water Day activities.
The UN World Water
Development Report is released on World Water Day, focusing on the same
topic as the campaignand recommending policy direction to decision-makers.
What is World Water Day 2020 about?
World Water Day 2020 is about water and climate change – and how the two are
inextricably linked.The campaign shows how our use of water will help
reduce floods, droughts, scarcity and pollution, and will help fight climate change
itself.
By adapting to the water effects of climate change, we will protect
health and save lives. And, by using water more efficiently, we will
reduce greenhouse gases.
What can I do to help?
Look
below and you will find messages to use or adapt so you can promote the
campaign among your networks.
What are
the key campaign messages?
·
We cannot afford to wait. Climate policy makers must
put water at the heart of action plans.
·
Water can help fight climate change. There are
sustainable, affordable and scalable water and sanitation solutions.
·
Everyone has a role to play. In our daily lives, there
are surprisingly easy steps we can all take to address climate change.
We cannot afford to wait.
Climate policy makers must put water at the heart of action
plans.
Water flows across sectors & borders. Working together to
manage water more efficiently fights climate change, protects communities &
business.
Water can help fight climate change.
💧Wetlands soak up carbon
dioxide from
the air.
💧Vegetation protects against
flooding and erosion.
💧Rainwater can
be stored for dry periods.
💧Wastewater can be reused.
💧Climate-smart agriculture.
Everyone can do something to
fight climate change.
Choose one thing today:
💧Take a five minute shower.
💧Choose a plant-based meal.
💧Turn off sleeping tech.
💧Don’t throw away edible food.
💧Shop sustainably.
What is the
rationale behind the key campaign messages?
·
“We cannot afford to wait. Climate policy
makers must put water at the heart of action plans.”
Acting now.
Uncertainty about the future cannot be an excuse for inaction today; if the
world is to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, we must act
immediately.[1]
Considering water as part of the solution. Improved water management is an essential component of successful
climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.[2]
Improving water management practices can help increase climate resilience, improve ecosystem health, and
reduce the risk of water-related disasters.[3]
Ensuring transboundary cooperation in
adaptation is needed to address climate impacts that cross
national boundaries and to improve regional cooperation.[4]
Rethinking financing. Climate finance for water resource management supports community
climate resilience, job creation and helps to improve sustainable development
outcomes.[5]
·
“Water can help fight
climate change. There are sustainable, affordable and scalable water and
sanitation solutions.”
Improving carbon storage.Peatlands cover about 3% of the world’s land surface
but store at least twice as much carbon as all of Earth’s forests. Mangrove
soils can sequester up to three or four times more carbon than terrestrial
soils. Protecting and expanding these types of environments can have a major
impact on climate change.[6]
Protecting natural buffers. Coastal mangroves and wetlands are
effective and inexpensive natural barriers to flooding, extreme weather events
and erosion.[7]
Harvesting rainwater.Rainwater capture is particularly useful in regions with
uneven rainfall distribution to build resilience to shocks and ensure supplies
for dry periods.[8]
Adopting climate-smart agriculturePractising conservation agriculture
to improve soil organic matter (needed for the soil to retain water), reducing
post-harvest losses and food waste, and transforming waste into a source of nutrients
or biofuels/biogas can address both food security and climate change.[9]
Reusingwastewater.Unconventional water resources, such as regulated treated
wastewater, can be used for irrigation and industrial and municipal purposes.[10]
·
“Everyone
has a role to play. It is surprising how many water actions anyone, anywhere
can take to address climate change.”
Hundreds of thousands of people are taking individual action on climate
change as part of the UN’s #ActNowcampaign. Here are five changes we can all
make today:
Take five minute showers: Water
scarcity already affects four out of ten people. With 80% of wastewater never
being treated, taking shorter showers is a great way to save this precious
resource.[11]
Eat more plant-basedmeals:Dietary changes,
featuring plant-based foods and sustainable
animal-sourced food, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 8.0
gigatonnes a year of carbon dioxide equivalent.[12]
Don’t throw away edible food:An
estimated 1/3 of all food produced globally is lost or goes to waste.[13]Reducing
your food wastage reduces demand on agriculture which is one of the biggest
water consumers.
Turn off tech:Currently 90% of power generation
is water-intensive.[14]By
powering down our devices when we’re not using them, the less energy needs to
be produced.
Shop sustainably:A typical pair of jeans
takes 10,000 litres of water to produce, equal to what a person drinks in 10
years.[15]Sourcing
our goods from responsible sources can have a big impact on the consumption of
water and other essential resources.
Some more facts
·
Today, 1 in 3 people – around 2.2 billion – live
without safe drinking water. (WHO/UNICEF 2019)[16]
·
By 2050, up to 5.7 billion people could be living in
areas where water is scarce for at least one month a year, creating
unprecedented competition for water. (UNESCO 2018)[17]
·
Climate-resilient water supply and sanitation could
save the lives of more than 360,000 infants every year. (UN 2018)[18]
·
If we limit global warming to 1.5°C above
pre-industrial levels, compared to 2°C, we could cut climate-induced water
stress by up to 50%. (UN-Water 2019)[19]
·
Extreme weather – expected to increase in frequency
and intensity because of climate change –has caused more than 90% of major
disasters over the last decade. (UNDRR 2015)[20]
·
By 2040, global energy demand is projected to increase
by over 25%and water demand is expected to increase by more than 50%, primarily
from manufacturing, electricity generation and households. (International Energy
Agency 2018/UNESCO 2018)[21],[22]
Where can I find out more?
·
World Water Day 2020 website: https://www.worldwaterday.org
·
UN World Water Development Report 2020, from 23 March: https://www.unwater.org/publication_categories/world-water-development-report/
·
UN-Water Policy Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[1]UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[2] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[3] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[4] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[5] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[6] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[7] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[8] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[9] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[10] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[14]UNESCO (2014), UN
World Water Development Report: Water and Energy: https://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report-2014-water-energy/
[16]WHO/UNICEF (2019): Joint Monitoring Programme 2019 update report: Progress on household drinking water,
sanitation and hygiene: https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/jmp-report-2019/en/
[17] UNESCO (2018), UN World Water Development Report 2018:
Nature-based Solutions for Water:https://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report-2018/
[18]UN Secretary-General’s remarks on climate change, September 2018,
New York: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-09-10/secretary-generals-remarks-climate-change-delivered
[19] UN-Water (2019): Policy
Brief on Climate Change and Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/
[20]UNDRR (2015), The Human Cost
of Weather-Related Disasters, 1995-2015: https://www.unisdr.org/2015/docs/climatechange/COP21_WeatherDisastersReport_2015_FINAL.pdf
[22] UNESCO (2018), UN World Water Development Report 2018:
Nature-based Solutions for Water: https://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report-2018/
No comments:
Post a Comment