World Water Day, which we celebrate every year on March 22, was established by the United Nations in 1993 to raise awareness of the importance of water to our lives and the need for its sustainable use. The theme of this year’s celebrations is Glacier Preservation.
Around 71% of our planet is made up of water, but only 2.5% of it is freshwater, of which only 1% is available for use. Water is not evenly distributed across the globe, leaving almost 2.2 billion people without access to safe drinking water today. Climate change and steady population growth further increase the water crisis and require urgent action.
About 70% of Earth’s freshwater exists as snow or ice. A glacier is a river of ice, often covered in snow, slowly moving down a valley from mountainous areas, creating diverse landscapes. Glaciers are critical to the water cycle. They provide essential supplies of fresh water for drinking water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, clean energy production and healthy ecosystems. By reflecting vast amounts of solar radiation into space, glaciers help cool the Earth, acting as a natural shield against excessive warming.
Glaciers are melting faster than ever. This has a significant impact on the water cycle in nature, causing sea level rise, disruption of ocean currents, floods, droughts, landslides, changes and loss of ecosystems. There is still time to protect and preserve glaciers, as vital fresh water sources and climate stabilizers, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adopting transformative adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Water plays a particularly important role in the Plitvice Lakes National Park. It creates tufa barriers, waterfalls and lakes, is a habitat for numerous plants and animals, and serves to supply drinking water and other human needs. That is why every year, on World Water Day, we also remind ourselves of the need to protect and conserve freshwater ecosystems. We have also used this opportunity for many years to inform eighth-graders from local elementary schools about the waters in our park, the problems associated with freshwater and the theme of World Water Day through presentations and workshops.
