World Water day is celebrated on March 22 every year to spread awareness about the water crisis all over the world. World Water Day 2023 aims to achieve the vision of sustainable water and sanitation for all by 2030.
The UN’s World Water Development Report (WWDR) is an overview of the crisis, published every year, giving policies and recommendations to decision-makers to offer best practices and in-depth analyses of the global water crisis.
Water is vital for the existence of life, but many people don’t have any access to it. World Water Day works as a reminder to the world to work in this direction to support conservation efforts. As per the UN report, one in four people does not have access to clean drinking water. Inadequate access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene causes death to around 1.4 million people annually, and 74 million people cut their life short.
About 44% of household wastewater globally is not treated properly. On the other hand, global water demand is expected to increase by 55% by 2050.
The theme for World Water Day 2023 is “Accelerating the change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.”
The UN will hold the UN 2023 Water Conference, the first of its kind event in the last 50 years, on March 22-24 in New York.
In Lithuania, the State Food and Veterinary Service has published a call to action echoing the UN Report. Research shows that drinking water and water used for food preparation, cleaning and personal hygiene in Lithuania is safe. Nevertheless continued testing and conservation is encouraged.
A few years ago, a survey by Kantar TNS shows that in Lithuania 24% of the population uses store-bought bottled water daily. Lithuania is one of the few European countries using groundwater for drinking, and its fresh groundwater is clean and plentiful. About 52% of the population drinks tap water, which is potable throughout Lithuania.
Philip Morris Lietuva is promoting water conservation and is itself in the process of applying Alliance for Water Stewardship standards in its operations, an international system which assists institutions in assessing water use and cooperating with local communities toward sustainability.
Leventas Garipas, director of Philip Morris Lietuva stresses the importance of sustainable usage with population growth and the challenges of climate change. Although drinking water in Lithuania is plentiful, there are problems with agricultural runoff and purification. Consumers in Lithuania are being encouraged to be more aware of their water usage, and especially the prevention of water pollution.
