The UN World Water Day on March 22 has become an important moment for actors around the world to advocate the sustainable management of freshwater resources. This year, hundreds of events were held worldwide to raise awareness on water issues. Here in Stockholm, the Swedish Water House at SIWI marked the occasion with a seminar that brought together the leading minds and organisations working with water in Sweden, including the Global Water Partnership, FAO Nordic office, UNDP Sweden, UNEP Sweden, Swedish National Commission for UNESCO and Water Aid.

See the seminar programme here.

The year of water cooperation
Today on March 22 we celebrate the UN World Water Day to highlight the importance of sustainable management of freshwater resources and tackle the water related challenges we face globally.

Our blue planet is at a most interesting crossroad. The physical water situation is in quite dire straits; the demand for freshwater is increasing rapidly due to both population and economic growth. The requirements to produce more food and energy, as well as the variability of water availability, are putting our water resources under significant stress. There is little progress towards the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goal of halving by 2015 the proportion of the population without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

We are also seeing strongly increasing water demand from areas that have been less thirsty in the past. Demand from manufacturing industries is projected to quadruple to 2050, and water use by both thermal electricity generation and households is set to more than double.

At the same time, attention to water issues also seems to be rising up the charts. It is hard to measure, but I hope and believe, that global water awareness actually is increasing quicker than global water demand!

In a survey to member states compiled by the UN on priority areas for post-2015 goals; food, water and energy was a distinct top trio. For the second year in a row, water supply crisis was among the top three global risks in the yearly survey by World Economic Forum. We are also seeing how water issues are being prioritized by actors outside of the traditional water community, most significantly from the food and energy sectors.

Amidst all this, there is significant talking and thinking going on to develop new wise ambitions that will support the movement towards a sustainable and desirable world for all – the so called post-2015 development agenda. I am optimistic that the newfound awareness about the importance of water will be converted into far-reaching goals and targets on water as a resource, as a right and as a service.

I am also seeing clear indications of both the need for and the openness to new collaborations and ideas. The post-2015 goals are being discussed as inclusively as our electronic means of communication permits. We do see more cooperation emerging between governments, the private sector, academia and civil society. There are even cases where common ground for collaboration for a more water wise world is found between competitors. It is of course most fitting that all these efforts are emerging during the International Year of Water Cooperation, and we at SIWI look forward to contributing even further towards improved cooperation and more concrete outcomes through the World Water Week on the same theme in September in Stockholm.

Torgny Holmgren,
Executive Director, Stockholm International Water Institute

Events and activities are taking place all over the world to raise awareness and celebrate the progress made to date. Take a look at UN’s Event Map to see which World Water Day activities are going on near you. SIWI is celebrating the World Water Day by hosting a seminar on Water Cooperation here in Stockholm (watch live stream from the seminar here).

With a world population expected to have grown to over 9 billion people by 2050, all depending on the same finite and vulnerable water resource as today, our inter-dependence is growing every day. We all need to cooperate to ensure a future where water is used wisely. Why not start immediately? There are many ways to implement a more water wise lifestyle, here’s a few tips.

3 ways to become more water wise

• Be careful what you put down the drain
  To safeguard we all have access to clean water, we need to be cautious what we put down our drains, toilets and sinks. When rubbish, oil, household cleaning chemicals or fertilisers end up in the street gutters, they flow into the storm water system, which seriously damages the water quality of our oceans, rivers and streams. Think twice what you flush, and help keeping our water clean!
• Think about your water footprint
  The greatest amount of the water you consume, you cannot see directly. Only five per cent of the water we consume runs through toilets, taps, and garden hoses at home. Instead, nearly 95 per cent of the water you consume is hidden in the food you eat, energy you use, products you buy, and services you rely on. Your ‘water footprint’ means the volume of freshwater that is used to produce food or other goods and services you consume. By reducing your water footprint, you can help saving million litres of water. Calculate your own water footprint here.
  
• Eat your food!
  Between one-third and one-half of the world’s produced food is being lost early on in the supply chain segments or wasted at the consumer-end, amounting to about 1.3 billion tons of food waste per year globally. There is a great opportunity to save water by actually eating the food we grow. Addressing food losses and waste is the simplest and most direct route to reducing pressure on water resources. Don’t buy more food than you need, and finish what you have in your fridge, and you can help save water.

Additional resources

• World Water Day Events Map
• UN World Water Day website
• Water Cooperation Infographic
• Visualisation of our Everyday Water Usage

The seminar will focus on water cooperation and specifically cross-sectoral collaboration between the private sector, the public sector and the scientific community. The seminar includes speeches from experts within the water community as well as private sector representatives.

• When? March 22, 08.30-13.00
• Where? Grand Hôtel, Stockholm
• How? The seminar is free of charge, but pre-registration is needed.

*The seminar will be held in Swedish.

Register here!

2012-03-22
Plats: Bankettsalen, Piperska Muren, Scheelegatan 14, Stockholm
Tid: 08.30-13.00

Läs arrangörernas debattartikel på Göteborgsposten!

Click here for the seminar programme and presentations (in Swedish).