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. The World Water Day has been held annually since then as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

World Water Day 2010 is dedicated to the theme of water quality, reflecting its importance alongside quantity of the resource in water management. The event is coordinated by UNEP and will take place at UNEP’s headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

The World Water Day 2010 and its campaign are envisaged to:

• Raise awareness about sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being through addressing the increasing water quality challenges in water management and
• Raise the profile of water quality by encouraging governments, organizations, communities, and individuals around the world to actively engage in proactively addressing water quality e.g. in pollution prevention, clean up and restoration.

For more information about this event please visit the official World Water Day website http://www.worldwaterday2010.info/