A number of activities were organised throughout Ghana to mark this year’s World Water Day, which was observed on 22 March 2009. They included radio discussions, symposia, floats, walks, clean up exercises, flag raising ceremonies and quizzes. All these were aimed at raising awareness about the importance of water, its finite nature and the need to protect water bodies from pollution and drying up.

Government organizations, UN agencies, business entities, research institutions, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the general public either organised their own events or participated in the national or regional events. The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Water Resources Commission, Ghana Water Company Limited, Aqua Vitens Rand Limited, Water Research Institute, United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Community Water and Sanitation Agency and others organized a symposium, and a procession through some of the principal streets of Accra and crowned it with a flag-raising ceremony.

Guinness Ghana Limited, a beverage manufacturer, organised a sponsored walk to raise funds to purchase water filters for deprived communities while some educational institutions visited water treatment plants. 

The theme for the celebration was “Shared Waters-Shared Opportunities” with a focus on transboundary water. Speaking at the flag-raising ceremony, the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing mentioned that transboundary waters when well protected, managed and used would affect the successful achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and safeguard human security and development.

He said the theme for the celebration was a wake-up call for Ghana and its neighbours to co-operate to manage their water resources. Mr. Abongo noted that it was based on this that Ghana has played its expected role in the establishment of the Volta Basin Authority for the mutual benefit of the six countries involved namely: Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin.

The message of the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon was presented by the UNESCO Representative in Ghana. The Secretary-General said the theme for the celebration highlighted how transboundary water resources can act as a unifying force. He noted that there were about 300 international agreements on water and these demonstrated the “potential of shared water resources to foster trust and promote peace.”  He called for “political will, a flexible policy framework, strong institutions and an inclusive approach” to water issue for all to benefit. Mr. Ban pointed to the impact of the world’s growing population and climate change which has led to scarcity of water and the need to work together to use water judiciously.

The Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing hoisted the Ghana flag while the UNESCO Representative and the UNICEF Representative jointly raised the UN flag.

On 22 March 2009, a day-long seminar was held in Dhaka in observance of World Water Day. The seminar was organized by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Dhaka together with several other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. Approximately 300 people attended the seminar, including representatives from the government, the diplomatic community and civil society. The United Nations Secretary-General's message for the Day was read to participants and the keynote speaker was the State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives.

On 22 March 2009, the United Nations information office (UNO) in Tashkent, together with a local network of environmental journalists and the Tashkent-based non-governmental organization (NGO) “Habitat,” organized an event to mark World Water Day. The event, held in the ECO Cinema-Hall, focused on trans-boundary waters, an issue that tops the agenda of many countries in the world, including that of Uzbekistan.

According to UN sources, almost 40% of the world’s people live in river and lake basins shared by two or more countries, with 263 trans-boundary basins within the territory of 145 states. 300 international water agreements reached so far confirm a common desire to manage limited water resources in a peaceful and more balanced way. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed in his message on World Water Day, “while the potential exists for water to act as a catalyst for conflict between States and communities, precedent suggests that the opposite is actually what happens. Cooperation, not conflict, is the most common response by people facing competing demands.”

The film “Water” that was shown during the ECO Cinema-Hall gathering, illustrates regional cooperation of this kind with the example of the Ferghana Project on Integrated Water Management. The Uzbek delegation presented this project at the recent World Water Forum in Istanbul as a best practice of solving the issue of trans-boundary waters at a regional level.

The Ferghana Project was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and is being implemented by the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia, the International Water Management Institute in partnership with local water management organizations and NGOs.  It aims to improve and reorganize water management in Ferghana valley, which is shared between Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. With over 10 million people, the valley is the most densely populated area in Central Asia. Its livelihood is highly dependent on water. Yet, the state boundaries between these three countries make trans-border management of vital water resources problematic and are a cause of constant internal and interstate disputes.

As chief advisor Nazir Mirzaev noted, the project assisted in developing and enforcing water resource management policies and mechanisms at the regional level. The main challenge was to ensure reliable, equal and efficient water delivery by introducing demand-oriented, transparent water allocation mechanisms among water users and the countries. All stakeholders, including farmers, were brought together to make sure that their varied needs and interests were taken into account and, more importantly, responsibilities were shared.  “A farmer, who used a spade to solve the problem of sharing water in irrigation season, has now become a thing of the past,” says Mr. Mirzaev. “The farmers have learned to settle their disagreements at a negotiation table”.  

Other speakers invited to the ECO Cinema-Hall briefed journalists on Central Asian sub-regional events that took place within the recent World Water Forum.  CAWater-Info, the first Central Asian knowledge portal on water and environmental issues, was also introduced to encourage greater use of its vast resources. 

On 20 March 2009, in observation of World Water Day 2009, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Moscow organized an educational outreach programme entitled "Shared Waters - Shared Opportunities" for students of several Moscow Universities. Approximately 50 students attended the event.

The UNIC Director made brief remarks on the significance of the Day and he discussed the latest UN World Water Development Report and the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, being held on 16-22 March 2009.

The keynote speaker was Professor Victor Danilov-Danilyan, Director of the Water Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences and an expert in water issues.