By Abbas Nazil
The United Nations has launched the 2025 edition of its World Water Development Report (WWDR), titled Mountains and Glaciers: Water Towers, through a global rollout marked by a series of high-profile regional events.
The initiative, coordinated by UNESCO and its field offices, in collaboration with international partners, is aimed at raising awareness about the critical role of glaciers and mountain ecosystems in sustaining water security worldwide.
At the United Nations Headquarters in New York, a high-level event was held in celebration of the first-ever World Glaciers Day, accompanied by a press briefing led by UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The report was also introduced at key gatherings across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
In Nigeria, the UNESCO Abuja Office and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation marked World Water Day with a vibrant event attended by dignitaries including Minister Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev.
While Nigeria has no glaciers, the Minister stressed the far-reaching impacts of glacier melt, such as sea-level rise and freshwater scarcity, which have serious implications for West Africa.
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In Nepal, a National Symposium on the Cryosphere convened scientists, government officials, and environmentalists in Kathmandu.
Co-organized by ICIMOD, Kathmandu University, and UNESCO, the event highlighted the urgent need to preserve glaciers that sustain local and downstream populations.
Similarly, in Pakistan, the report was presented at COMSATS University by UNESCO Islamabad and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, where the rector emphasized glaciers’ crucial role in the nation’s water supply.
Latin America also took center stage, with a regional event on glacial evolution held in El Calafate, Argentina.
Organized by UNESCO Montevideo and the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, the event examined glacial retreat and its consequences for ecosystems and societies, feeding into discussions at the upcoming CODIA conference.
In Europe, widespread engagement included student outreach in Madrid, academic discussions at the University of Pisa, and a national event in Rome where Italy’s Minister for European Affairs, Mr. Tommaso Foti, stressed the importance of mountain water sources for food and energy security. The report was translated into Italian by Fondazione UniVerde to extend its reach.
Events also took place in cities such as Libreville, Lima, Hanoi, Doha, Kampala, Bamako, and Venice, among others.
Each presentation underscored the growing global consensus on the urgent need to protect glaciers and mountain ecosystems—our planet’s natural “water towers”—in the face of accelerating climate change.
