Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ruby Jones.
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And I'm Adam Navis. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Water - the world's most valuable resource. It covers the majority of the earth's surface - 75%. But did you know that only 3% of that water is fresh? In 1992, the United Nations decided to celebrate fresh water as a resource. Its members wanted to make people think about its importance to the world. And they wanted to encourage people to think of creative ways to manage its use. So, the UN chose the 22nd of March as International World Water Day!
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The very first World Water Day was in 1993. Since then, each World Water Day has concentrated on a different issue concerning fresh water. This year, the subject is: "Shared water, shared chances." The UN's aim for the day is this. They want people to think particularly about what happens when more than one country shares the land that surrounds a lake or river.
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A river serves an area of land - called the river basin. River basins are not always inside the limits of one country's borders. Just as rivers cross national borders, so do river basins. 263 river basins in the world cross country borders. Usually, it is just two countries that share the river basin. However, this is not always the case. For example, four African river basins are shared between 9 to 11 countries - the Congo, the Nile, the Niger and the Zambezi. But a European river basin can beat that number. The Danube River Basin spreads into 18 different countries!
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Why is the United Nations so concerned about shared river basins? Well, some countries have a limited supply of water. The countries want to protect their rights to make use of any river or lake inside their national borders. But more than one country may share these valuable water resources. This situation can cause conflict - or it can encourage co-operation. Should a government try and protect its own interests? Or should it work together with other countries to manage and share limited water resources?
World Water Day 2009 has the aim of encouraging countries to co-operate - to share knowledge and ideas about how best to make use of fresh water resources.
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In fact, the idea to co-operate over resources is not a new one. All through history, governments have usually managed to agree about water usage. One UN group counted all the agreements about water that countries have signed. The group searched back nearly 1200 years. It found more than 3,600 water resource agreements between countries! Even in the 20th century, there were only seven small conflicts over shared water resources. But there were more than 145 new water treaties!
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We can find one example of this kind of agreement in South America. Lake Titicaca is one of the largest lakes on that continent. And the Lake Titicaca Basin crosses the border between Peru and Bolivia. In 1993, the governments of Peru and Bolivia created a two-nation independent authority. It was to be responsible for several projects centred on the Lake Titicaca basin. One of these projects concerned the wise use of land around the Bolivian side of the lake. It involved building over 60 greenhouses for local families. These plastic buildings provide good growing conditions for useful plants and crops. The project also provided irrigation - water for farming. A system of pipes takes water from the lake to the crops in the fields. Being able to grow a healthy supply of vegetables and crops is a great help to the people of the Huacullani area, Bolivia!
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A report on this independent authority working for Peru and Bolivia included many positive findings. It said that countries are now talking about how to use the water. They are sharing information. They are improving their knowledge. Now, the authorities better understand the needs of the people and the care of natural resources. And the people are also more involved in finding answers to problems about water.
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So if history has so many examples of countries reaching agreements over water, why does the UN want us to think about it? Is there a problem? The point is that the UN wants countries to continue to share water resources peacefully. Conflict over water is increasing. Some experts believe that many wars in the 21st century will be about water. The UN would like these experts to be proved wrong.
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Water problems are not just international, they are also personal. There are still almost 900,000,000 people in the world who are not able to find clean water. And over 2,000,000,000 people still do not have a clean and safe place to go to the toilet. In 2000, the United Nations set 'the Millennium Goals'. These were targets to improve the lives of people in developing countries by the year 2015. Goal 7 included action on water and public health. But how
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Tearfund is a Christian aid group. It is involved in many projects in developing countries. The group says that there seems to be a long way still to go:
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"We have only got seven years to meet the targets. But progress on the water and public health goal has farthest to go. Experts say that we will probably not meet the goal on public health until the 22nd century - more than 80 years too late!"
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The International World Water Day may not provide any immediate solutions to the world's water problems. However, appointing one day to think about water helps to keep the issue in people's minds. And it may cause us to think about our own water use - how we should be responsible and take care not to waste such a valuable resource.
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Are there any special events to celebrate World Water Day where you live? Write and tell us about them! Our e-mail address is radio @ english . net.
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