World Water Day

22 March

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis, in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis, in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

A new World Water Development Report is released each year on or near World Water Day, to provide decision-makers with tools to formulate and implement sustainable water policies. This report is coordinated by UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) on behalf of UN-Water. The annual theme for World Water Day is aligned with the focus of the report. UNESCO also contributes to the observance of the Day through its Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), which works all year long to build the scientific knowledge base to help countries manage their water resources in a sustainable way.

A woman fills a pot with drinking water at a public fountain in India
In 2024, World Water Day focuses on Water for Prosperity and Peace; UNESCO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe are the lead UN agency.

Sustainable water management generates a plethora of benefits to individuals and communities, including health, food and energy security, protection from natural hazards, education, improved living standards and employment, economic development, and a variety of ecosystem services.
It is through these benefits that water leads to prosperity. And equitable sharing of these benefits promotes peace.
When it comes to water, sharing truly is caring.

"On this World Day, UNESCO would like to recall the extent to which water, whose cycle is global, is permanently at odds with human boundaries. It is up to us to draw the necessary conclusions and to see it as what it is: a vital and common good of humanity, which must therefore be considered on the scale of humanity."

UNESCO Director-General
Audrey AzoulayDirector-General of UNESCO
Full message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO
22 mars‎ 2023‎
UNESCO
0000384683

What UNESCO does for water security

Water security
Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP)
World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)
UN World Water Development Report

UN World Water Development Report

A new World Water Development Report is released each year on or near World Water Day, to provide decision-makers with tools to formulate and implement sustainable water policies. This report is coordinated by UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) on behalf of UN-Water.

The annual theme for World Water Day is aligned with the focus of the report. UNESCO also contributes to the observance of the Day through its Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), which works all year long to build the scientific knowledge base to help countries manage their water resources in a sustainable way.

A woman fills a pot with drinking water at a public fountain in India

Water for Prosperity and Peace (2024)

The 2024 United Nations World Water Development Report (UN WWDR) shows how developing and maintaining a secure and equitable water future underpins prosperity and peace for all, and how poverty and inequality, social tensions, and conflict can amplify water insecurity.

It calls attention to the complex and interlinked relationships between sustainable water management, prosperity and peace, describing how progress in one dimension can have positive, often essential, repercussions on the others. 

It will be launched at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 22 March 2024. The launch is organized by UNESCO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the co-chairs of the World Water Day 2024 campaign, on behalf of UN-Water.

The skyline of a waterfront city, the reflection of urban buildings in the water with water lilies in the foregroundof the water surface of the lotus pond

The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 of 22 December 1992 by which 22 March of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993. States were invited to devote the Day, as appropriate in the national context, to concrete activities such as the promotion of public awareness through the publication and diffusion of documentaries and the organization of conferences, round tables, seminars and expositions related to the conservation and development of water resources.

Resources

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
World Water Day website
UN website about this day
All international days