The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 | Page 37

WORLD REPORT

World Water Day 2013
– Water Co-operation
By Lee Hon Boon

O

n
March 22, 2013,
World Water Day was
celebrated under the
theme “Water Co-operation”.
The Day was organised as part
of the International Year of Water
Co-operation. The aim of the
celebration is to raise awareness
on the importance of freshwater
and advocating sustainable
management
of
freshwater
resources with a special focus
on water co-operation, its
challenges and benefits.
“Water is central to the wellbeing of people and the planet,”
says UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon in this video message
for the International Year of
Water Co-operation 2013.
At
the international
level, water appears to provide
reasons
for
trans-boundary

co-operation rather than war.
Looking back over the past 50
years, there have been some
37 cases of reported violence
between states over water—
and most of the episodes have
involved only minor skirmishes.
Meanwhile, more than 200 water
treaties have been negotiated.
Some of these treaties—such
as the Indus Basin Treaty
between India and Pakistan—
have remained in operation even
during armed conflict.
Co-operation for peace and
security
On the global scale, the effective
and mutually beneficial solution
of
water
resources-related
problems
underlies
peace,
security and stability of our
nations. Fortunately, our planet

actually has sufficient water
resources to provide ‘water
security’ for all. But this can
become a reality only if we change
our conceptual approaches to
water management. Throughout
history, nations have learned how
to share the benefits of the river.
The key issue here has always
been and remains to be the
development of rules of conduct
in handling disputes peacefully.
Co-operation for sustainable
development and environmental
sustainability
Water is key to sustainable
development; it has value
from a social, economic and
environmental perspective and
needs to be managed within a
sound,integrated socio-economic
and environmental framework.
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