By Nneka Nwogwugwu and Fatima Saka
World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis, in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
In 2022, World Water Day is celebrated under the theme “Groundwater: Making the invisible visible”.
According to Nnimmo Bassey, Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation in a statement on Tuesday, he said, “as we celebrate World Water Day, we must treat our waters with respect because water is life and access to clean, healthy water to meet daily needs is a fundamental human right.”
He warned that water should not be commodified or privatized, but that the intrinsic value of this prime gift of Nature must be respected and protected.
“Water is not a commodity for privatization. It is important that our rivers, creeks, lagoons, and oceans must not be seen as waste dumps for continual pollution and destruction of aquatic lives,” Bassey stressed.
The statement signed by Kome Odhomor, the Media lead/ Coordinator of HOMEF, also noted that “beyond our need to secure our potable water sources, our entire aquatic ecosystems must be secured to promote cultural practices, preservation of knowledge and enhancement of livelihoods especially for our fisher folks.
“We must be mindful of the fact that plastics and toxic items dumped in our waters get eaten by fish and enter our food chain thereby endangering our health.
“The intrinsic value of water cannot be over emphasized because it is the basis of all existing life forms on earth.
HOMEF calls for a realignment of our relationship to our water bodies including the oceans as zones of life and not zones for exploitative and polluting economic activities.