22 March 2018

IIASA and World Water Day 2018

World Water Day is held annually on the 22 March and is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. IIASA is participating in a number of activities and initiatives focused on how to raise awareness of and find solutions to 21st century water challenges.

© Ovu0ng | Shutterstock

© Ovu0ng | Shutterstock

This year’s theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’ which explores how we can use nature based solutions, which use or mimic natural processes, to improve water security, address contemporary water management challenges, and deliver co-benefits vital to all aspects of sustainable development.

There is increasing interest in and evidence suggesting that in some cases, nature based solutions provide a better option to traditionally engineered solutions to reduce floods, droughts and water pollution. 

World Water Day fact sheet [pdf]




Launch of the World Water Development Report 2018

The World Water Development Report (WWDR), is UN-Water’s flagship report which is released every year on World Water Day. The World Water Development Report 2018, entitled "Nature-based solutions for Water" will be released on World Water Day at the 8th World Water Forum, in Brasilia, Brazil. It is a comprehensive review that gives an overall picture of the state, use and management of the world’s freshwater resources and aims to provide decision-makers with tools to formulate and implement sustainable water policies. The theme for this year’s report focuses on Nature Based Solutions. It aims to show the importance of fully considering nature-base solutions (in parallel with alternative approaches) in water management policy and practice. IIASA’s Water Program contributed to the publication.


Water Games - a joint initiative by IIASA and the Centre for Systems Solutions

With growing population and environmental degradation we are at a point where around 60 percent of us do not have a sufficient and stable freshwater source. We are heading towards a global water crisis.

How do we address different water challenges, including those related to nature-based solutions?

Gaming has become a part of a daily life for many people and new ways to apply games to solve complex real-life problems are being invented. These so-called serious games or social simulations are meant not to offer ways to escape from reality, but to improve it. Games can provide exciting ways to raise awareness about water issues and to explore barriers and solutions to achieving clean and accessible water for all.

IIASA together with the Centre for Systems Solutions have collected a broad range of water-related games and posts about their implementation to create Water Games. Join us to celebrate World Water Day and Sustainable Development Goal no 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation and visit the Water Games page: Games4Sustainability to find new tools to promote change towards sustainable behaviors.


© Piotr Magnuszewski | IIASA



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Last edited: 16 March 2018

CONTACT DETAILS

Simon Langan

Senior Guest Research Scholar Water Security Research Group - Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program

CONTACT DETAILS

Piotr Magnuszewski

Research Scholar Water Security Research Group - Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program

Research Scholar Equity and Justice Research Group - Population and Just Societies Program

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International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313