Water is most precious natural resource: Ban Ki-moon
Sunday, 22 March 2009
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, the water is our most precious natural resource, reports BSS.
"More than ever we need to work together to use it wisely. While the world's growing population is consuming more freshwater, climate change is making less water available in many regions as glaciers recede, rainfall becomes less predictable, and floods and droughts become more extreme. Managing water carefully and balancing the varied needs for it is vital," he said in a message on the occasion of World Water Day today (Sunday).
The UN Secretary General said, much of the planet's water, above or below ground, was shared. Forty per cent of the world's people lived in one of 263 basins that were shared by two or more countries. Concern over the possibility of violent disputes featured regularly in discussions about sharing limited water resources.
"But while the potential exists for water to act as a catalyst for conflict between states and communities, precedent suggests that the opposite is actually what happens. Cooperation, not conflict, is the most common response by people facing competing demands", Ban Ki-moon said.
Under the theme "Shared Waters, Shared Opportunities", World Water Day this year highlights how tarns-boundary water resources can act as a unifying force. Worldwide, there are at least 300 international water agreements, often among parties that are otherwise at odds, he said.
On this World Water Day, he urged governments, civil society, the private sector and all stakeholders to recognise that our collective future depended on how we managed our precious and finite water resources.
"More than ever we need to work together to use it wisely. While the world's growing population is consuming more freshwater, climate change is making less water available in many regions as glaciers recede, rainfall becomes less predictable, and floods and droughts become more extreme. Managing water carefully and balancing the varied needs for it is vital," he said in a message on the occasion of World Water Day today (Sunday).
The UN Secretary General said, much of the planet's water, above or below ground, was shared. Forty per cent of the world's people lived in one of 263 basins that were shared by two or more countries. Concern over the possibility of violent disputes featured regularly in discussions about sharing limited water resources.
"But while the potential exists for water to act as a catalyst for conflict between states and communities, precedent suggests that the opposite is actually what happens. Cooperation, not conflict, is the most common response by people facing competing demands", Ban Ki-moon said.
Under the theme "Shared Waters, Shared Opportunities", World Water Day this year highlights how tarns-boundary water resources can act as a unifying force. Worldwide, there are at least 300 international water agreements, often among parties that are otherwise at odds, he said.
On this World Water Day, he urged governments, civil society, the private sector and all stakeholders to recognise that our collective future depended on how we managed our precious and finite water resources.