March 21, 2013CARFLEO

World Water Day

March 22 is World Water Day

UN site for World Water Day  |  Resources

This year’s theme – Nature for Water – explores how we can use nature to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century.

Environmental damage, together with climate change, is driving the water-related crises we see around the world. Floods, drought and water pollution are all made worse by degraded vegetation, soil, rivers and lakes.

When we neglect our ecosystems, we make it harder to provide everyone with the water we need to survive and thrive.

Nature-based solutions have the potential to solve many of our water challenges. We need to do so much more with ‘green’ infrastructure and harmonize it with ‘grey’ infrastructure wherever possible. Planting new forests, reconnecting rivers to floodplains, and restoring wetlands will rebalance the water cycle and improve human health and livelihoods. -from the World Water Day site.

More UN Water resources

Water, An Essential Element of Life (Vatican statement)

The management of water and sanitation must address the needs of all, and particularly of persons living in poverty. Inadequate access to safe drinking water affects the well being of over one billion persons and more than twice that number have no adequate sanitation. This all too often is the cause of disease, unnecessary suffering, conflicts, poverty and even death. This situation is characterized by countless unacceptable injustices.

World Water Day: Contribution of Pope Francis and the Holy See (Vatican News)

Pope Francis has already made it clear that the availability and care of the world’s water sources must be a global priority. In his encyclical Laudato Si’ (On Care for Our Common Home), the word “water” appears 47 times—22 occurrences within articles 27-30 which treat the subject of water specifically. more

In 2017, the Vatican hosted an International Conference on Water: Watershed

ROME – Too much, too little, too dirty, undervalued. When water supplies are out of sync with human and environmental needs, life suffers. Adequate water for all means adapting decades-old management practices to fast-changing ecological conditions while expanding the circle of participants in decision making: from a narrow technical-managerial focus to an embrace of ethical, moral, and cultural perspectives from all ages and social classes. This broad perspective should be strengthened by scientific and satellite data that reveal water’s deep connection to food and energy systems, and animated by narratives that unite the sacred and the mundane.  Read More
Development and Peace/Caritas Canada has numerous resources related to water.
Education for Justice Water Resources (Some require login)

Justice and Peace Office (Australia) has World Water Day resources.

Catholic Relief Service: Every Day is World Water Day

Council of Canadians: Water Resources

The Council of Canadians is a leader in fights to protect Canada’s freshwater sources. Our campaign work focuses on recognizing water as part of a shared commons. Water is a human right and as such, must be protected from privatization, pollution and bulk exports. We are campaigning to protect the Great Lakes from pollution, misuse and government neglect. We are working to stop fracking, a natural gas extraction process that uses and pollutes massive volumes of water. We encourage community empowerment and involvement through our “Blue Communities Project.” In Canada, there is no national strategy to address urgent water issues and federal leadership to conserve and protect our water has been missing. We are campaigning for a National Water Policy that will safeguard communities’ water. Water is vital to people’s health and livelihoods. Join us in taking action to protect water!

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