World Water Day 2022: Making the invisible visible
Today is World Water Day, an annual United Nations Observance to raise awareness of the importance of water and the 2 billion people living without access to safe water.
This year’s World Water Day celebrates the theme of Groundwater – making the invisible visible. Groundwater makes up almost all the world’s liquid freshwater and provides critical services for health, sanitation, food and industry. But our consumption of water, both from surface waters and groundwater, has increased six-fold over the last century exacerbating climate impacts, biodiversity loss and poverty.
Wetlands are critical nature-based solutions for reversing water crisis and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Wetland ecosystems recharge, filter and purify groundwater flows, regulating the quality and quantity of water which underpins economic development and human wellbeing. Yet wetlands are our fastest declining ecosystem, with 15% lost in the last 50 years.
We cannot address the water crisis without wetlands. The Convention on Wetlands supports countries to fully integrate water planning and management across all economic sectors and promote protection and sustainable use of wetlands and water. As warned by the latest IPCC climate report, these actions are critical for our adaptation to climate change, with water insecurity and extreme events set to increase with each degree of warming.
“We could have enough water for our present and future if we manage this valuable resource sustainably and protect the health and abundance of the ecosystems which help to provide it. The Convention on Wetlands provides a platform and specific guidance to scale-up these actions worldwide”, said Martha Rojas Urrego, Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands.
Watch Martha Rojas Urrego, Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands' World Water Day 2022 Statement: