..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 17 March 2006
Information Note: N/13/2006

UNESCAP COMMEMORATES WORLD WATER DAY 2006

Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) – The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), will commemorate World Water Day on Wednesday 22 March 2006 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. The theme for this year is “Water and Culture and Emerging Challenges in UNESCAP Region”.

WWD 2006 commemorations in Bangkok will feature a panel discussion on “Water, Culture and Emerging Challenges for the UNESCAP region” and an exhibition open to everyone.

“Water has always played a key role in human civilization, yet there are still almost 700 million people in the Asia-Pacific region without access to safe drinking water and two billion without adequate sanitation. Recent estimates show that 3000 children under five years of age die every day because of dirty water and poor hygiene in our region,” Executive Secretary of UNESCAP Mr. Kim Hak-Su said.

Mr. Kim is urging the region to get serious about the desperate need for access to clean water and sanitation as a basic underpinning of human development.

“Per capita water availability is rapidly declining throughout the Asia Pacific region due to rapid increase in population and increasing pollution. UNESCAP, as the regional arm of the United Nations in Asia and the Pacific, is fully committed to these tasks, and address water related problems in the broad context of the economic and social development in the region,” he said.

WWD 2005 launched the new water decade' "Water for Life" 2005 - 2015. The goals of the International Decade for Action "Water for Life, 2005-2015" are aimed at having a strong focus on implementation of water-related programmes and projects.

Safe water supply and adequate sanitation to protect health are among the basic human rights. One of the major targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. World Water Day was introduced following the Rio Conference on Environment and Development in 1992.

NOTE TO EDITORS: You or your representatives are cordially invited to attend the commemoration of World Water Day on Wednesday 22 March 2006 at 8:30 at the UN Conference Centre, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok.

For further information please contact:

UN Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-69, Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

World Water Day 2006:
http://www.worldwaterday.org/page/512
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwd2006/index.shtml
http://www.unesco.org/water/water_celebrations/

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