World Water Day:

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Conservation related issues.

Context:

Observed on 22 March every year.
Observed since
Coordinated by UN-Water – the UN’s inter-agency collaboration mechanism for all freshwater related issues – in collaboration with governments and partners.
The World Water Development Report is also released by the UN every year around World Water Day.
Theme of World Water Day 2022: “Groundwater, making the invisible visible” is the theme for this year’s World Water Day.

Water, a human right:

In 2010, the UN recognized “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.”
The human right to water entitles everyone, without discrimination, to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use; which includes water for drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation, and personal and household hygiene.

People are left behind without safe water for many different reasons. Some of them include:

Sex and gender.
Race, ethnicity, religion, birth, caste, language, and nationality.
Disability, age and health status.
Property, tenure, residence, economic and social status.
Other factors, such as environmental degradation, climate change, population growth, conflict, forced displacement and migration flows can also disproportionately affect marginalized groups through impacts on water.

Why conserve groundwater?

Groundwater reserves are already under pressure as the global population explodes and crop production rises in lockstep.
Extreme weather events such as drought and record rainfall — have both made worse by our heating planet — could have another long-lasting impact on how quickly reserves replenish.
Only half of all groundwater supplies are likely to fully replenish or re-balance within the next 100 years — potentially leading to shortages in drier areas.
The process through which rainwater is filtered through bedrock and accumulated underground can take centuries and varies greatly by region.
As climate change delivers longer droughts and bigger superstorms, the extremes of rainfall become more pronounced, impacting groundwater reserves for generations to come.

Insta Curious:

Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water for all by 2030. By definition, this means leaving no one behind.
In addition to it, the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development (2018-2028) is being observed.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

Mains Link:

Discuss the significance of the World Water Day.

Sources: Indian Express.