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Special UNDP video message on the World Water Day 2009.

Forty per cent of the world’s people live in one of 263 basins that are shared by two or more countries. Concern over the possibility of violent disputes features regularly in discussions about sharing limited water resources. But 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, says the UN Secxrertary General in his special Message on March 22.

In 60 years, there have been nearly 300 international water agreements and only 37 cases of reported violence between states over water. But many countries are facing--or will face--a scarcity of freshwater. By 2025, 1.8 billion people will live in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity.

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.

See more about the World Water Day on www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/campaign.html.