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May 26, 2013
International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 — Water is life.
Photo: This poster appeared in our March 16, 2011 post and is being published again on popular demand. The poster, designed by Polish artist Pawel Dadok, shows a person, in peaceful coexistence with different wild animals, drinking from a water hole. The poster caption has the following challenge for the observer: “Behave yourself. Be an animal. Water is life.”
In December 2010 the United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation. According to United Nations, “Water, a vital resource unlike any other knows no borders… As rapid urbanization, climate change and growing food needs put ever-increasing pressure on freshwater resources, the objective of the Year is to draw attention to the benefits of cooperation in water management… Cooperation is crucial not only to ensure the sustainable and equitable distribution of water but also to foster and maintain peaceful relations within and among communities.”
UNESCO has developed a series of entities focusing on water since it first began to address water-related issues in 1956. The International Hydrological Programme (IHP), created in 1975, was the first intergovernmental initiative on freshwater in the United Nations system. This programme relies on a network of 18 water-related centres and 29 UNESCO water-related chairs. UNESCO’s water family includes other entities such as the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft (Netherlands), the largest post-graduate water education facility in the world.
Key Messages for International Year of Water Cooperation 2013:
• Water cooperation is key to security, poverty eradication, and social equity.
• Water cooperation generates economic benefits.
• Water cooperation is crucial to preserve water resources and protect the environment.
• Water cooperation builds peace.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 1:23 AM | Link to this Post
