World Water Day 2024
World Water Day is observed annually on March 22 to highlight the importance of water and prompt action to solve the global water crisis.
● As of 2020, 2 billion people (26% of the world’s population) did not have access to safely managed drinking water.
● By 2050, 2.4 billion in urban areas are predicted to face scarcity, which would account for nearly half the world’s urban population.
This year’s theme is “Leveraging water for peace,” to promote water as a tool for peace, and raise awareness of how the world can unite around the sustainable management of water as a way to prevent disputes and work together to overcome shared challenges.
Trans-boundary waters
Trans-boundary waters are aquifers, and lake and river basins that are shared by two or more countries. In an age of increasing water stress, particularly due to climate change, poor management of trans-boundary waters can potentially WULJJHU FRQÁLFW
60% of the world’s freshwater stems from transboundary waters and
153 countries have territory within at least one of the 286 trans-boundary river and lake basins and
592 trans-boundary aquifer systems.
Examples of trans-boundary waters
● Nile River – the longest river in the world, it begins in Uganda DQG ÁRZV WKURXJK RU DORQJ WKH borders of nine other countries: Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
● Amazon River – originating LQ 3HUX WKH ULYHU ÁRZV WKURXJK ÀYH RWKHU FRXQWULHV (FXDGRU Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Brazil.
● Danube River – the second longest river in Europe, it RULJLQDWHV LQ *HUPDQ\ DQG ÁRZV through or along the borders of nine other countries: Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine.
The majority of countries with trans-boundary waters do not have all their trans-boundary basin areas covered by operational arrangements. Therefore, the overexploitation and pollution of lakes, rivers and aquifers can be detrimental across borders.
For example, a unilateral move by one country to build a dam could GUDVWLFDOO\ UHGXFH WKH ULYHU·V ÁRZ WR countries downstream.
This is the case with the Nile River. Ethiopia’s decision to build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to address its electricity shortage was met with great opposition from Egypt, which is downstream, as it was argued that a decrease in the water from the Nile would result in the loss of thousands of acres of irrigated land.
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Therefore, the sustainable and collaborative management of water is crucial for the survival of humans.
References: un.org, unwater.org, worldwater.org, National Geographic, Britannica