World Water Day 2020: EMC calls for Stronger Action To Protect Watersheds
The United Nations has designated March 22 each year as World Water Day and the theme for 2020 is ‘Water and Climate Change’.
According to the World Health Organisation, the global climate crisis is inextricably linked to water. Climate change increases variability in the water cycle, inducing extreme weather events, reducing the predictability of water availability, affecting water quality and threatening sustainable development and biodiversity worldwide.
Guyana is known as “the land of many waters.” However, the integrity of our watersheds are increasingly being threatened by human activities, extractive industries and extreme weather events linked to climate change. While we continue to aggressively pursue sustainable forest management and the conservation of forests, we cannot take for granted the abundance and quality of our freshwater resources which sustain livelihoods, ecosystems and biodiversity. EMC joins the call for stronger action to protect watersheds through integrated water resources management.
Water is life, let us protect our watersheds.