Held on 22 March every year since 1993, World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2 billion people living without access to safe water.
High-Level Celebration of World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day 2025.
The Permanent Missions of Tajikistan, Barbados, Peru, Senegal, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UAE, along with UNESCO, WMO, UNDESA, UN-Water, IAEA, IUCN, and UNU-INWEH, are organizing a High-Level Celebration of World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day 2025. Taking place on March 21 at the UN Headquarters, the event will bring together global leaders to highlight the role of glaciers in the climate system and water cycle, discuss strategies for their protection, and share best practices to address their rapid melting.
Joint celebration of the first World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day at UNESCO HQ.
As part of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025, a joint celebration of the World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day will be organized to highlight the accelerating threat of glacier melt and its impact on water security, communities and ecosystems.
Event - 20 and 21 March. World Water Day 2025 Celebration
11th Awards Ceremony of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW).
PSIPW is a leading international science prize awarding cutting-edge innovation in water research, conservation and management to solve the
PSIPW is a leading international science prize awarding cutting-edge innovation in water research, conservation and management to solve the world's water scarcity problems and ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
Watch the 11th Awards Ceremony of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW)!
Uniting support to countries to accelerate progress and help billions of people get access to Water and Sanitation.
The first-ever UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation will be launched on 16 July 2024 at the #HLPF in New York - uniting support to countries to accelerate progress and help billions of people get access to Water and Sanitation.
Following an opening keynote address by a representative of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the UN System-wide Strategy for Wat
Sparing Water from Armed Conflicts for Enhanced Protection of Civilians.
The objective of the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflicts is to galvanise efforts at all levels to protect water and water-re
The objective of the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflicts is to galvanize efforts at all levels to protect water and water-related installations from the consequences of armed conflicts. To that end, it will marshal the commitment and expertise of its members towards a defined set of goals, notably, promoting and ensuring respect for international law protecting freshwater, water-related installations and other essential services. It will provide a roadmap to disseminate existing legal tools and to better inform on the long-term consequences of armed conflicts. It will also harness expertise from the development and humanitarian sectors to identify action, which can increase resilience in times of conflict and post-conflict situations. It will further focus on preventive measures, and collaboration to reduce or mitigate civilian harm from armed conflicts.
Objectives of the event
This event will highlight the direct and indirect impacts of attacks on or damages to freshwater and water-related installations and protection challenges thereof.
It will identify good practices, lessons learned, as well as possible new / better standards to protect freshwater and related installations during and after armed conflicts.
It will present the relevance of the Alliance and its key activities that may contribute towards strengthening the Protection of Civilians and enhance the implementation of international humanitarian law and human rights law at the international, regional and domestic levels.
It will reflect upon strategies and approaches, including "water ceasefires", to ensure the rehabilitation of water services and reconstruction of water infrastructure during and after armed conflicts.
It will provide an opportunity to secure commitments for the protection of water and water related installations during conflict and for preventative measures to mitigate civilian harm.
Related Sites and Documents
Website
The UN Security Council will convene the Annual Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in May 2024...
Groundwater use without proper knowledge jeopardizes sustainable water sources in the long term.
The SADC/GMIC project (phase II), co-financed by CIWA program, is advancing transboundary groundwater cooperation and management. Explore the project's impact on sustainable practices.
“WASH for Peace” - New guidance & tools for the WASH professionals in fragile contexts.
Children in conflict zones are 3x more likely to die from unsafe water and toilets than violence. WASH services can save lives and help bring stability. “WASH for Peace” - new guidance & tools for the WASH professionals in fragile contexts.
Water governance contributes to prosperity and peace by
addressing competition and resolving disputes over water.
Water governance refers to the “ways societies organize themselves to make decisions”, with growing calls to move beyond “water-centric” approaches, taking greater account of the root of the problems to be addressed, and the decisions and actors involved. Growing scarcity, access inequalities, and shocks from outside the water sector have increased inter-dependencies, intensifying competition for water and creating complex economic spillovers. Safeguarding peace and promoting prosperity requires sufficient oversight and investment in
water-related public services, including irrigation systems, drinking water supply, ecosystem conservation, as well as recreational and spiritual values. Water governance must therefore also account for, and ideally influence, decisions in the agricultural, energy, health and infrastructure sectors, as well as the informal sector when it plays a significant role. Equitable governance arrangements, designed to manage complex trade-offs, are required in order to navigate tensions and redress injustices of water supply and allocation. This includes efforts to craft and implement rules for establishing and (re)allocating water rights across competing uses and values and mobilizing the financing required Dating (at least) back to the Dublin Principles of 1992, calls for integrated and cross-sectoral approaches to water allocation and governance are not new. However, integration is costly and contentious, requiring human, social and financial capital beyond the reach of many of even
the wealthiest regions. Local governance plays a particularly critical role when capacity is limited, especially where service provision is decentralized. For example, in parts of West Africa, packaged water distributed by water vendors has become the de facto option in regions lacking municipal water supplies, creating a need for recognition and integration of informal and formal water providers through regional partnerships and diverse governance models that combine public and private roles across scales. As economies diversify from agriculture and resource extraction towards process
manufacturing industries and services, the overall changes in water use have at times been neglected. Agricultural trade has allowed regions to decouple economic development from local water use, as food becomes increasingly imported, but these benefits come with the risk of ‘water grabbing’ in regions where food exports occur without local consent and potential for sacrifice zones of localized groundwater depletion where export-driven agricultural is unsustainable. UNESCO & UN-Water
Statement by the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity World Water Day 2024; March 22nd.
Water has the power or create peace or provoke conflict. When there is lack of water, or lack of
access to it, tensions can rise. However, by cooperating and ensuring access to clean water, we can achieve stability. To do that, we need water to be center stage in global planning. Over two billion people are living without safely managed drinking water and roughly half of the world’s population is still experiencing severe water scarcity for at least part of the year. Our water supply depends on water-related ecosystems, whose functioning depends on biodiversity. These ecosystems also regulate climate, reduce impacts of natural hazards, and provide habitats for fish species that feed hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, or the Biodiversity Plan, sets out the urgent actions needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Its four goals aim to Protect &
Restore Nature, to Prosper with Nature, to Share Benefits Fairly and to Invest & Collaborate for Nature. Each of the Plan’s 23 targets are relevant to water. Some aim to protect and restore critical habitats,
reduce pollution, and minimize the impacts of invasive alien species, others ensure areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry are managed sustainably. Other targets call for the
values of biodiversity – including water-related values – to be integrated into policies across all government ministries, economic sectors, and all facets of society. These actions must be taken
through a gender-responsive approach, while also ensuring the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities.
The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will convene in Cali, Colombia in October 2024 under the theme “Peace with nature”. It is time to make peace among people and peace with the planet. This World Water Day, let us work together to promote water for peace and peace with nature.
Statement by Mr. David Cooper; Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity World Water Day 2024; March 22nd.
World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance – held on 22 March – focusing on the importance of freshwater, coordinated by UN-Water and led by one or more UN-Water Members and Partners with a related mandate. The World Water Day celebrates water and inspires action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Key messages for World Water Day 2024
Water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people struggle for access, tensions can rise. By cooperating on water, we can balance everyone’s water needs and help stabilize the world.
Prosperity and peace rely on water. As nations manage climate change, mass migration and political unrest, they must put water cooperation at the heart of their plans.
Water can lead us out of crisis. We can foster harmony between communities and countries by uniting around the fair and sustainable use of water – from United Nations conventions at the international level, to actions at the local level.
Read the statement by David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity:
"Water has the power or create peace or provoke conflict. When there is lack of water, or lack of access to it, tensions can rise. However, by cooperating and ensuring access to clean water, we can achieve stability. To do that, we need water to be center stage in global planning.
Over two billion people are living without safely managed drinking water and roughly half of the world’s population is still experiencing severe water scarcity for at least part of the year.
Our water supply depends on water-related ecosystems, whose functioning depends on biodiversity. These ecosystems also regulate climate, reduce impacts of natural hazards, and provide habitats for fish species that feed hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, or the Biodiversity Plan, sets out the urgent actions needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Its four goals aim to Protect & Restore Nature, to Prosper with Nature, to Share Benefits Fairly and to Invest & Collaborate for Nature.
Each of the Plan’s 23 targets are relevant to water. Some aim to protect and restore critical habitats, reduce pollution, and minimize the impacts of invasive alien species, others ensure areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry are managed sustainably. Other targets call for the values of biodiversity – including water-related values – to be integrated into policies across all government ministries, economic sectors, and all facets of society. These actions must be taken through a gender-responsive approach, while also ensuring the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities.
The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will convene in Cali, Colombia in October 2024 under the theme “Peace with nature”. It is time to make peace among people and peace with the planet.
This World Water Day, let us work together to promote water for peace and peace with nature."
View Full Statement (PDF)
More Information:
Marine and Coastal Biodiversity
Inland Waters Biodiversity
The Biodiversity Plan
World Water Day celebrates water and inspires action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support th
The pressures of rising population, agricultural, and energy demands, and the growing effects of climate change all have a major impact on rivers and water resources.
The theme for this year’s World Water Day global observance on March 22nd is “Water for Peace.”.
We need a powerful, diverse,bipartisan river movement to face the challenges to rivers and drive change that makes rivers healthier and wate
The theme for this year’s World Water Day global observance on March 22nd is “Water for Peace.” That plea seems apt. Around the world, we see ample evidence that water scarcity creates and prolongs conflict, while cooperative and equitable approaches to water management can foster peace – building prosperity and resilience for all.
The Open Rivers Fund, a multi-year program focused on restoring rivers for people and wildlife across the American West, works with communities to remove outdated and decaying dams and modernize water infrastructure. This work not only restores critical ecosystems, but often results in real economic, recreational, and social benefits for the communities that rely on our rivers. Since 2016, we have worked alongside hundreds of partners to take down 80 river barriers and open up more than one thousand river miles. This success is only possible because diverse stakeholders, many with competing priorities, are coming together to find shared solutions.
In communities across the West, ranchers are supporting dam removals because it means modernizing their water infrastructure and improving the efficiency of their operations as we face drought and decreased water supply. Tribes and Indigenous communities, whose ancestral lands and waters sustained them since time immemorial, have been advocating to open up rivers and restore their fishing rights for more than a century. And local governments seeking to build and support vibrant communities increasingly see dam removal as a tool to improve recreational opportunities, boost local economies, and reduce public safety risks.
Removing a dam, even a small one, is a challenging task, and very much a team effort; it requires the support of stakeholders who don’t always see eye to eye. A focus on only one benefit – fish passage, for example – is rarely enough to see a project through. To get their needs met, stakeholders must listen to and acknowledge the needs of others and be open to creative solutions they hadn’t previously considered. And that’s where transformation, and healing of historic division, often happens. Time and time again, we’ve seen that as more people are given seats at the table, effective projects acquire more supporters and unlikely alliances help push dam removals to completion.
It’s extraordinary, for example, to see the how this type of collaboration and acknowledgement of others’ needs helped drive the success of Washington State’s Yakima Basin Integrated Plan – a decades-long effort to support resilient water supplies and salmon restoration. As the region’s partners worked together to plan the removal of Nelson Dam, leaders from the Yakama Nation acknowledged the city of Yakima’s needs for consistent water supply, growers saw the importance of the Tribe’s fishing rights, the county of Yakima worked on recreational access, and conservationists supported flood risk reduction – all accomplished through projects that hinged on removal of the dam. In other words, there was mutual agreement about the collective benefits despite the unlikelihood of their alliance. Their ability to come together enabled each stakeholder to meet their needs while taking less water from the river, helping both river and community to heal and find peace.
This type of community-led transformation, a result of collaborative discussion about water use, can have ripple effects. The prospects for more domestic tranquility on a very local level increase when people come together to reconsider how best to use and protect their water. The skills developed to restore rivers can restore communities in other ways. Listening to one another can become habit forming.
This Friday, March 22, is World Water Day. Each year, the United Nations marks the day, March 22, by highlighting the importance of freshwat
Today, World Water Day 2024 calls us to action, to unite around the theme of "Water for Peace" and to leverage water as a tool for building a more stable, peaceful world.
Access to drinking-water is a human right, but when water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal or no access, tensions can rise (1). This underscores the need to harness the cooperative power of water.
Successful examples of water cooperation highlight its value in conflict resolution and community improvement. In Yemen, water user associations have worked to better manage water resources, reduce disputes and empower women. Meanwhile, river basin organizations in Senegal and elsewhere are praised for strengthening livelihoods, development and peace.
“Water bridges the gap between peace and prosperity,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health. “On this World Water Day, let's harness its power to foster global harmony and health. Safe water and sanitation are not just life-savers; they're peacemakers in our quest for a healthier, more peaceful world.”
Published today, the United Nations world water development report 2024 presents the ever-increasing evidence of how water can truly underpin prosperity and serve as an instrument of peace. The report notes that rivers, tributaries, lakes and aquifers know no borders. For this reason, over the years, water management has more often been a source of cooperation than one of confrontation.
Cooperation is necessary to harness water as a means of building peace and security. At the local and national level, different water users – particularly water and sanitation utilities, energy, food and industry – must cooperate through an integrated water resources management approach. The health sector can further integrate water, sanitation and hygiene-based guidance. Internationally, countries should form agreements and institutions for peaceful transboundary water management, including adhering to conventions like the United Nations Water and Watercourses Convention.
Cooperation not only paves the way for peace but also propels progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. By prioritizing cooperation and sustainable management of water resources, the world can transform water from a potential source of conflict into a catalyst for peace, stability and prosperity, even amid challenges like climate change, mass migration and political unrest.
Water is life. This is not only the slogan used by indigenous tribes protecting their sacred lands. Water is actually life, as we wouldn't have life on Earth without this precious substance. We know of many systems breaking down and the urgency to protect and restore ecosystems and communities. But unlike soil (which can be "made" with the correct elements), water cannot be made: which is why it is our #1 priority as Earth restorers and change makers to pay attention to how it works, how is it sourced, stored, distributed and consumed. In this amazing webinar with one of the leading perma-culturists in Europe, Aline van Moerbeke will take us through the journey of the water cycle and how we each can contribute at the personal and community level to honor and care for this magical element that forms the base of all life on Earth. Join us for an hour full of facts and useful information, bring your questions and concerns. Join us to celebrate and learn more about water on World Water Day.
Showcase water's pivotal role in fostering peace, prosperity, and conflict prevention.
Under the theme “Water for Peace”, this campaign, led jointly by UNESCO and UNECE on behalf of UN-Water, showcases water's pivotal role in fostering peace, prosperity, and conflict prevention.
Join us at UNESCO Headquarters for the official World Water Day 2024 celebration. This pivotal event promises a rich one-day programme filled with insights from distinguished speakers, including heads of UN agencies and high-level officials, alongside technical presentations that draw on field experiences. The day will also be enlivened by artistic and cultural activities that echo the theme. A highlight of the celebration will be the unveiling of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2024.
Programme highlights
High level Opening Ceremony
Launch of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2024
Technical Discussions on Water Cooperation and Peacebuilding
Cultural shows and indoor photo exhibition (Walk of Water)
Provisional event programme:
English | Français
UN World Water Development Report 2024
The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) is published by UNESCO, on behalf of UN-Water and its production is coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme. Since its first edition in 2003, the series provide policy and decision-makers with factual evidence and tools to stimulate ideas and actions. This comprehensive report, funded by the Italian Government, also provides an authoritative overview of global water trends, challenges, and solutions. The 2024 Report, entitled "Water for Prosperity and Peace", underlines the interlinked complex relationships between water, prosperity and peace, describing how progress in one dimension can have positive repercussions on the others.
Ensure your participation in the dialogue on sustainable water management and peace by exploring the findings and recommendations of the UN WWDR 2024.
Participate in the celebration.
We welcome the participation of members of governments, international organizations, NGOs, academia, the private sector, and all stakeholders interested in the sustainable management of water resources and the promotion of peace; in-person or by watching live. Registration is mandatory to participate in-person.
Register to participate in person
World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, is an annual United Nations Observance focusing on the importance of freshwater.
We all need to unite around water and use water for peace, laying the foundations of a more stable and prosperous tomorrow.
FORUM: "Leveraging Water for Peace." World Water Day 2024. Water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal, or no access, tensions can rise between communities and countries. More than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders. Yet, only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for all their shared water. As climate change impacts increase, and populations grow, there is an urgent need, within and between countries, to unite around protecting and conserving our most precious resource. Public health and prosperity, food and energy systems, economic productivity and environmental integrity all rely on a well-functioning and equitably managed water cycle. When we cooperate on water, we create a positive ripple effect – fostering harmony, generating prosperity and building resilience to shared challenges. We must act upon the realization that water is not only a resource to be used and competed over – it is a human right, intrinsic to every aspect of life. This World Water Day, we all need to unite around water and use water for peace, laying the foundations of a more stable and prosperous tomorrow. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #WorldWaterDay, #22March., #Acceleratingchange.
EVENTS: On March 22nd at UNHQ in New York; The celebration of the World Water Day 2024 and the launch of the World Water Development Report 2024. under the auspice of the UNESCO entitled :"Water for prosperity and peace" will be held. During the event, Panelists and participants will talk about working together to balance everyone’s needs, with a dedication to ensure no one is left behind, to make water a catalyst for a more peaceful world.
Key messages:
Water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people struggle for access, tensions can rise. By cooperating on water, we can balance everyone’s water needs and help stabilize the world.
Prosperity and peace rely on water. As nations manage climate change, mass migration and political unrest, they must put water cooperation at the heart of their plans.
Water can lead us out of crisis. We can foster harmony between communities and countries by uniting around the fair and sustainable use of water – from United Nations conventions at the international level, to actions at the local level.
