World Water Day observed with Water for Cities as the Theme

22 March: World Water Day

World Water Day is observed on 22 March. The theme for the 2011 World Water Day was Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge.

The main World Water Day (WWD) 2011 event was hosted in Cape Town on 22 March by the Government of South Africa, in collaboration with UN-Water, the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW), The United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

The day has been observed since 1993 when the United Nations General Assembly declared 22 March as World Day for Water. This day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Every three years since 1997 the World Water Council has drawn thousands to participate in its World Water Forum during the week of World Day for Water. Participating agencies and NGOs in the past and in this year too highlighted issues such as a billion people being without access to safe water for drinking and the role of gender in family access to safe water. In 2003, 2006 and 2009, the UN World Water Development Report was launched on the occasion of the World Water Day.