22 March 2013
World Water Day 2013
World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
2013 is also the International Year of Water Cooperation and saw the launch of IIASA's new flagship initiative - Water Futures and Solutions: World Water Scenarios. In partnership with UNESCO, the World Water Council, the International Water Association, and the Korean Government, this new initiative aims to provide a scientific basis for responding to worldwide water challenges by testing possible optional solutions against a number of scenarios for socio-economic change, and bring together decision makers to discuss a common vision for the future.
IIASA Director and CEO, Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat also held a public lecture in honor of World Water Day at the AAAS Auditorium in Washington. Entitled Global Water at a Crossroads, more details of the event can be found here.
An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.
Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. In 2013, in reflection of the International Year of Water Cooperation, World Water Day is also dedicated to the theme of cooperation around water and is coordinated by UNESCO in collaboration with UNECE and UNDESA on behalf of UN-Water.