World Water Day: “One cannot get along without water!”
On 22 March, Eduard Porvatov, expert of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, made an intervention at a round table at the UN Information Centre in Moscow. The online event took place on the occasion of the celebration of World Water Day 2022 under the theme “Groundwater, making the invisible visible”. The event was moderated by Natalia Ryazanova, Head of GeoEcology and Sustainable Wildlife Management Laboratory at the Department of Integrated International Ecological Problems and Wildlife Management at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University).
Vladimir Kuznetsov, Director of the UN Information Centre in Moscow, noted that “currently, almost 2.2 billion people do not have access to safe water.” One of the goals of World Water Day is to support efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. Vladimir Kuznetsov referred to a special mechanism “UN-Water”, which is the main UN framework for holding World Water Day. To conclude his statement, Vladimir Kuznetsov read out a message by António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, on the occasion of World Water Day.
Vladimir Moshkalo, Head of UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Office in Russia, in his speech, placed particular focus on groundwater. “Groundwater accounts for approximately 99 percent of all liquid freshwater on our planet.” Thanks to these reserves, society can benefit socially, economically, and ecologically. Vladimir Moshkalo highlighted the impact of water on climate change adaptation and stressed that today the topic of groundwater is clearly not given enough attention.
“The UN Sustainable Development Goals Global Acceleration Framework has found that progress towards SDG 6 is lagging behind, which is worrying.” Global water demand is projected to increase by 55 percent by the middle of this century, with an expected 40 percent water shortage by 2030. Water-related losses could reduce global GDP by 6 percent, and in some regions, the drop could be even greater.
“The ability of groundwater to perform ecosystem functions depends on the geography and geodesy of a particular water resource; it is affected by evolving natural and anthropogenic processes,” stressed Vladimir Moshkalo. “The depletion of global groundwater resources is proceeding at a very alarming rate. By most estimates, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, it was between 100 and 200 km3 a year, or roughly from 15 to 25 percent of the total groundwater abstraction.”
“Because of pollution, groundwater not only becomes undrinkable, but also undermines the health of ecosystems that depend on it. Today, UNEP fights against three main ecological challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, including water resources pollution. We must focus our effort so that water, as a source of ecosystems’ life, existence and health, remains clean.
Olga Manukhina, Non-Communicable Diseases and Communication Specialist of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Russian Federation, spoke about WHO’s strategy and approach to water, sanitation and hygiene access issues that are crucial for the health and the well-being of the entire humanity.
“Our Organization regularly publishes recommendations and publications on the best practices in this sector that help countries in developing national regulatory standards and the creation of effective monitoring systems.” Olga Manukhina noted that WHO monitors the global disease burden and the access level to sanitation facilities, analyses facts that facilitate or undermine progress in this sector.
Eduard Porvatov, FAO Moscow Office Consultant, presented the State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture. He highlighted that FAO pays particular attention to the dynamics of world stocks of domestic renewable water resources that are the main source of irrigation in agriculture and food production.
Furthermore, the FAO representative noted the main existing and potential issues related to the water sector, highlighting that pollution of surface watercourses and groundwater aquifers threatens to escalate into a global crisis. Eduard Porvatov also shared FAO’s Flagship Publications on water, including the reports “The State of Food and Agriculture” (SOFA) and “The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture” (SOLAW) in Russian.
The forum was also attended by Alla Volynscaya, Head of the Educational Programmes and Projects of the Non-Governmental Environmental Foundation named after Vernadsky, Galina Shandurenko, Chief Librarian of the Centre for Documents of International Organizations of the Russian State Library (RSL), Angelina Polyagalova, Head of the Secretariat of the “ESG Solution Cup”.
To watch the recording of the discussion, please click here.