World Water Day 2014

Fact of the week: 75% off all industrial water withdrawals are used for energy production.

Did you know 22nd March is World Water Day? Well you do now!

This year is the 21st World Water Day, the first being back in 1994. Each year the theme changes to focus on a new issue with UN-Water being responsible for choosing the theme. Past themes have included ‘Water and Food Security’, ‘Coping with Water Scarcity’, ‘Water and Disasters’ and ‘Water for the 21st Century’.

This year it’s all about the role water plays with energy and how the two are interlinked and interdependent. Water is required to produce nearly all forms of energy and at the same time energy is needed at all stages of water extraction, distribution and treatment.

The ‘bottom billion’ of the population on planet Earth suffer as a result of not having access to both or either. 1.3 billion people cannot access electricity whilst 768 million people don’t have access to water sources with 2.5 billion people having no improved sanitation. Solving the lack of water and energy would go a long way to alleviating the impact of poverty. The aim of this year’s campaign is to facilitate the development of policies to bridge the gaps between various ministries and sectors who can make an impact on energy security and sustainable water use in the green industry. Much of the focus will be paid to identifying best practices that can make a water and energy efficient Green Industry a reality.
To find out more about World Water Day 2014 visit www.unwater.org/worldwaterday