PURPOSE : Held on 22 March every year since 1993, World Water Day focuses on the importance of freshwater, celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. Water can be a tool for peace when communities and countries cooperate over this precious shared resource. But, water can also spark and intensify conflict when access is denied and usage unfairly shared.
FORUM: "Glacier Preservation." World Water Day 2025. Glaciers are melting faster than ever. As the planet gets hotter due to climate change, our frozen world is shrinking, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme. • Glacial retreat threatens devastation. For billions of people, meltwater flows are changing, causing floods, droughts, landslides and sea level rise, and damaging ecosystems. • Glacier preservation is a survival strategy. We must work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage meltwater more sustainably for people and the planet. The campaign this year aim to increase global awareness about the vital role of glaciers, snow, and ice in the climate system and water cycle, and to highlight the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the changes in the Earth’s cryosphere. Participants will also promote sharing best practices and knowledge on addressing the accelerated melting of glaciers and its consequences. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #WWDR, #Glacierpreservation, #WorldWaterDay, #22March., #Acceleratingchange.
EVENTS: On March 22nd, a webinar will be held to focus on this year theme “Glacier preservation.”.
On March 21st at UNHQ in New York as 2025 is the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, a joint event will be held to celebrate World Water Day and the first-ever World Day of Glaciers.
On March 20-21, At the high-level event, to be held. The 2025 edition of the UN World Water Development Report will be released, focusing on the same topic as the campaign and recommending policy direction to decision makers. This flagship report is published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, with its production coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). Mountains are the 'Water towers' of our world: providing billions of fresh water. The report calls for action to protect these vital "water towers" from the impacts of unsustainable human activities. Regis Register to participate!
UPCOMING EVENTS: Saudi Arabia and Riyadh's plan to host the 11th World Water Forum in 2027 on the theme "Action for a Better Future" was elected during the 86th meeting of the Board of Governors of the World Water Council, in Istanbul, on February 17, 2024.
PUBLICATIONS: Explore more facts on mountains and climate change and some facts on the cryosphere.
STATEMENTS:
Statement from the U.N. Secretary-General on World Water Day 2025; March 22nd.
Statement from the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) on World Water Day 2025; March 22nd.
Statement from the Convention on Biological Diversity Statement on World Water Day 2025; March 22nd.
PODCASTS: Let's talk about #glaciers! Between 2000-2023, our world's glaciers collectively lost 6, 542 trillion tonnes of ice; This corresponds to an equivalent of 30 years of water consumption of the entire global population. Join the conversation in the SDG Media Zone on the transformation and solutions needed to achieve SDG 6 and hear how the global community are accelerating progress towards this goal. Check out the programme and watch live here. Listen the audio-podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: Be part of the "Glacier Preservation."Campaign! Help secure essential water resources and earn a certificate for your advocacy. Stand with us to make a lasting impact, because every glacier counts. We need everyone – from individuals and families to companies and governments – to do what they can to cooperate on water and pave the way for a more harmonious society. To be part of the global campaign; Explore Fact sheet, the action toolkit and Download resources.
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
HOW TO GET INVOLVED!
PARTNERSHIPS:
World Water Day is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. Leading up to 22 March, UN-Water runs a public campaign and people all over the world hold events. The United Nations World Water Development Report is launched on World Water Day itself, focusing on the same theme.
This UN World Water Day is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unite around water and accelerate progress together. The UN-Water coordinates the global thematic campaigns for the annual United Nations international observances on freshwater and sanitation: World Water Day and World Toilet Day. The agency also contribute to other engagement initiatives on key water-related issues, and communicate with audiences via UN-Water’s social media channels.
Back in 2015, the world committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 as part of the 2030 Agenda – the promise that everyone would have safely managed water and sanitation by 2030.
Right now, we are seriously off-track. Billions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centres, farms and factories are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation have not yet been fulfilled. Play your part by doing what you can.
The UN World Water Day is Co-organized by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs (UN DESA), the U.N.Water, the U.N. Member States. Coordinated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), AquaFed; The International Federation of Private Water Operators, the World Youth Parliament for Water for World Water Day, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Toilet Organization,, the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW), the CDP Worldwide, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Green Climate Fund, the Global Water Partnership (GWP), the Human Right 2 Water, the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Public Services International (PSI), the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), the Toilet Board Coalition, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Global Compact, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), the Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). With the participation of governments, companies, organizations, institutions and coalitions.
We have created a resource of simple actions and activities you can take to help accelerate change and raise awareness of the water and sanitation crisis. Try these two in the run-up to World Water Day 2023:
The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving Water: as the title suggests, this is a set of suggestions for action that people can take with minimal effort, although there are also ideas for the more energetic among us!
Test your water knowledge: Play Kahoot, a quiz based on the water and sanitation crisis, helping you focus your mind on the key issues and share interesting facts with your contacts.
Explore the 2025 campaign materials.
ACTIVATION KIT and CERTIFICATE.
CAMPAIGN TRELLO with social media resources in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
FACTSHEET in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
POSTER in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
SOCIAL MEDIA assets in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
VISUAL IDENTIFIER in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
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Groundwater will play a critical role in adapting to climate change. We need to work together to sustainably manage this precious resource. Our team carry out water testing and set up local committees to manage water projects after they are completed, ensuring our interventions are sustainable and directly managed by the people we are helping. Help communities construct water wells.