Commemoration of World Water Day

The earth is made up of about 70 percent water. Out of this 96 percent is held by oceans, meaning all but four percent of our water is saline. Water resources like streams, rivers, lakes and groundwater, provide people with water they need everyday to live. According to the UN, 2.1 billion people have safe drinking water at home, of these 844 million do not have access to drinking water service, including 263 million people who travel for more than 30 minutes per trip to collect water. Also 150 million still drink from untreated water sources such as rivers, lakes and streams, which is a serious health risk. Unclean water according to the World Health Organisation, WHO kills one million babies in their first month of life from preventable deaths, across the world. These staggering figures show how vital water is to life. It is against this background that the UN in 1993 designated 22 of March every year to draw attention to the importance of protecting water sources and for governments and Civil Society Organisations (CSO), to take action to ensure safe drinking water.

This year's theme is 'Nature For Water'. It underscores the need to explore nature-based solutions to 21st century water challenges. Behind the sources of pipe -borne water is nature, which stores, cleans and relieves the fresh water we use. The water that keeps man healthy, powers industry and economy, come through nature. Nature components play different roles in maintaining and sustaining freshwater system. For instance forests, aquifers, soils, lakes and wetlands provide water storage, while wetlands and soils filter water, rivers apart from providing fish as a source of protein, serve as a means of transportation. Floodplains and wetlands lower flood peaks in downstream cities, mangroves, coral reefs and barrier islands protect coasts against storms and inundation. Apart from that traditional practices that are linked to conservation are equally relevant. That is not to say, technological means to address the issue are not relevant. If all these are not done with continuous education, enforcement of environmental laws, and attitudinal change, all efforts at protecting water bodies will yield no results and the repercussion will affect not only communities along water sources but the entire country as well as the world.

The efforts by government and media to stop illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey" is a laudable venture that should be sustained to protect the country's water bodies from pollution. In their quest to extract the minerals from the belly of the earth, these illegal miners use dangerous chemicals to pollute the rivers that are sourced and treated to provide safe water for the country. It is in this light that the Operation Vanguard team needs to be resourced continuously to carry out its mandate of halting galamsey operations to save the water bodies from pollution and the degradation of the environment. All these efforts at protecting the water bodies will come to nothing if those who live along the banks of rivers and lakes, are not involved in the operation. The practice in the past where trees were planted along the banks of rivers and other water bodies to protect them, should be re-introduced. It will also be prudent to find alternative sources of livelihood for those who farm along the banks of rivers so that trees can be planted to protect them. It is the hope that all these suggestions will be taken to protect the country's water bodies.

BY: JOYCE GYEKYE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Need For Ghanaians To Support The 2021 Budget

Showing compassion to the less privileged

One Year Of Coronavirus In Ghana