Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene March - April 2017 Vol.12 No.2 | Page 27

World Water Day 2017 Wednesday , March 22
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 .
An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development ( UNCED ). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day .
Each year , World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater . In 2015 , World Water Day has the theme “ Water and Sustainable Development ”.
In 2016 , the theme is “ Water and Jobs ,” in 2017 “ Wastewater ” and in 2018 “ Nature-based Solutions for Water ”.
International Symposium on Health-Related Water Microbiology : 15-19 May , 2017
The 19th International Symposium on Health-Related Water Microbiology is organized by the International Water Society ( IWA ) Specialist Group on Health- Related Water Microbiology ( HRWM ) biennially . In 2017 , the Symposium will run concurrently with the UNC Water Microbiology Conference to create a forum for researchers and practitioners focused on microbiology and public health to come together around the intersection of the two . The Conferences will be held in Chapel Hill .
Water Microbiology 2017
The Conferences will blend interactive workshops with scientific symposia and poster socials , offering participants a variety of opportunities to exchange ideas , debate challenging topics and explore potential collaborations . The focus will be on water microbiology from watershed to human exposure including current concerns in recreational waters , shellfish harvesting waters , emerging technologies and quantitative tools .
International Day for Biological Diversity - 22 May
The United Nations has proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity ( IDB ) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues . When first created by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in late 1993 , 29 December ( the date of entry into force of the Convention of Biological Diversity ), was designated The International Day for Biological Diversity . In December 2000 , the UN General Assembly adopted 22 May as IDB , to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on 22 May 1992 by the Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of
the Convention on Biological Diversity . This was partly done because it was difficult for many countries to plan and carry out suitable celebrations for the date of 29 December , given the number of holidays that coincide around that time of year . The 2017 theme will be ‘ Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism ’
World Environment Day 5 June
World Environment Day ( WED ) is observed every year on 5 June to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth . It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ). “ World Environment Day ( WED ) is the United Nations ’ most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment . Since it began in 1974 , it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries .”
The theme for 2017 is ‘ Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land , from the poles to the equator ’ The theme for World Environment Day 2017 , implores us to get outdoors and into nature , to appreciate its beauty and its importance , and to take forward the call to protect the Earth that we share . This year ’ s theme invites you to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it . It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship . The host country for this year is Canada
40th WEDC International Conference
Date 24 – 28 July , 2017 Location : Loughborough University , UK Theme : Local Action with International Cooperation to Improve and Sustain Water , Sanitation and Hygiene Services
Papers should focus on innovations , experience , ideas and learning contributing to further thinking about CLTS and other community-wide behaviour change approaches . We are most interested on papers that focus on :
• Implementing CLTS at scale
• How CLTS programming has ensured equity and inclusion
• Challenges to and lessons learnt using CLTS
• Ways of linking CLTS to other programming
• Using CLTS in different contexts
Building learning into CLTS programmes Contact E-Mail : CLTS @ ids . ac . uk Tel : + 44 ( 0 ) 1273 606261 ; Fax : + 44 ( 0 ) 1273 621202
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