This is how the World Water Day was carried out

World Water Day has been celebrated since 1994, the year in which was proposed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1993. Since then, this celebration has sought to demonstrate the relevance of this resource for life on planet Earth and, consequently, for human life. Likewise, in 2018 the United Nations General Assembly declared the 2018-2028 decade as the International Decade for Action "Water for Sustainable Development" , in order to accelerate measures and actions to protect this resource .

In recent years, the celebration has focused on seeking measures to address the current global water crisis in order to meet the sixth point of the Sustainable Development Goals: Water and sanitation for all by 2030 . This year, the theme was "Let's value water" and it revolved around the value people place on water and the value it really has, with the premise that "the way we value water determines how it is managed and used and shared". Likewise, this year the conversation was held around the health crisis caused by COVID-19 and the role of water in it, emphasizing that this is a vital resource and that, unfortunately, according to UN data , almost three billion people around the world do not have access to it to protect themselves from the Coronavirus .

Indigenous people in the Amazon say they have no reason to celebrate

In an interview conducted by the Spanish agency EFE, Gregorio Díaz Mirabal, in charge of the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), declared that this year the Amazonian indigenous peoples have no reason to celebrate World Water Day, since they are running out of this vital resource in one of the territories that should be protected the most. Díaz also spoke about the little meaning of the celebration not only of this day, but of many others a year, without there really being a broad and long-term change. "That there are so many World Days throughout the year to remind us that we must do something for the planet is not good news," he told EFE. He also said that "the world [must] stop demanding products from the Amazon such as meat, soybeans, gold or oil" to take climate action.

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From the Vatican, the Pope recalled the value of this resource

In a message sent by Pope Francis and signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, the Catholic institution reiterated the value of water and the need to change lifestyles and the language around guardianships to so that governments take measures that make sense in the short and long term with the protection of this resource . “To guarantee fair access to water, it is vitally urgent to act without delay, to end once and for all with its waste, commercialization and contamination. Collaboration between States, the public and private sectors, as well as the multiplication of initiatives by intergovernmental organizations, is more necessary than ever, ”declared the Pope in his message, highlighting that water should be easily accessible to all people regardless of their social class, race or nationality .

So does it make sense to celebrate World Water Day?

If something is clear after the celebration last Monday, it is that the reasons to "celebrate" are few . Instead, the reasons to demand and sue are many more. It is clear that the term "celebration" is used to generate awareness around the importance that this has, unfortunately, there is still a long way to go before it can be celebrated that there are really actions that take this resource into account .

Díaz Mirabal's declaration must be reproduced, so that communities demand that governments and large industries take into account not only the Amazon, but all the territories around the world that need to be protected by their water sources and other resources, rather than be celebrated and at the same time continue to be violated to satisfy human consumption.