Water is one of the planet’s most valuable resources, and one of the most threatened. Problems related to its lack or poor quality affect people all over the world. Marcin Wrona, the correspondent of “Fakty” TVN, talked to the participants of the UN Water Conference about how we should protect it.
We celebrated March 22 World Water Day. It draws the public’s attention to the huge role it plays in our daily lives – from food and hygiene, through industry, to tourism and recreation. Unfortunately, effective and comprehensive protection of water resources is still a challenge. Participants of the United Nations Water Conference in New York discuss how to fight for every drop of this precious resource.
It all depends on the water
As Kaveh Madani from the United Nations University explained in an interview with “Fakty” TVN correspondent Marcin Wrona, if we want to secure the world’s food or energy resources and improve people’s health, we must remember about water.
“Basically every decision we make on a daily basis, whether it’s what we eat, what we drink, or what we wear, is somehow related to water,” he said. – And despite the fact that water is so important, we forgot about it.
Madani added that the UN does not have a dedicated agency dealing with water. Many agencies undertake activities related to this subject, but there is no single, specific initiative. For this reason, the topic of water was not even an important element of the climate negotiations or the Paris Agreement.
“The Center of Every Life”
‘Solutions don’t have to be very expensive,’ explained Richard Connor, a UNESCO water expert. – Take, for example, irrigation systems. Increasing their efficiency does cost money, but ultimately we get more yields with less water, and this generates profits.
As another example, the expert pointed to wastewater management. Proper management is very expensive, but not as expensive as healthcare costs for people who become ill due to lack of access to clean water. Yenny Vega Cárdenas, president of the International Observatory for the Laws of Nature, stressed that she was in favor of giving rivers legal personality. “Some people don’t want to believe it, it’s strange for them because we’re not used to the river being treated like a person,” she said. – But I am full of hope and believe that this is a very good step towards better river protection and water quality management. Water is essential to life. It is the center of every life, she added.
How to protect the world’s water resources?TVN24
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/CJ GUNTHER