World Rivers Day (WRD) is annually observed across the globe on the 4th Sunday of September to raise awareness about the importance of rivers, encourage the improved protection of all rivers worldwide, and promote their conservation and sustainable management.
- WRD is a celebration of the world’s waterways (streams, creeks, and rivers), highlighting rivers’ vital role in providing freshwater, supporting ecosystems, and sustaining human communities.
WRD 2024 was observed on 22nd September 2024.
- WRD 2023 was observed on 24th September 2023 and WRD 2025 will be observed on 28th September 2025.
Background:
i.In 2005, the United Nations (UN) launched the International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Life’ (2005-2015), to raise awareness about the need to better care for our water resources.
ii.Following this, World Rivers Day was established in response to a proposal initiated by Mark Angelo, an internationally renowned Canadian river advocate.
iii.The proposal for a global event to celebrate rivers was based on the success of British Columbia (BC) Rivers Day founded and led by Mark Angelo in western Canada since 1980.
iv.The BC Rivers Day eventually evolved into WRD and the idea for a global event gained support from the UN agencies as part of the UN initiative Water for Life Decade.
v.The first WRD was observed in 2005 across multiple countries.
Points to Note:
i.In 1980, Angelo and a group of people secured funding from the provincial government for their planned ‘BC Rivers Day.’
ii.There was only one event to mark the inaugural celebration, a riverside clean-up of the Thompson River.
iii.Held annually on the 4th Sunday of September, the WRD event now involves millions of participants from over 100 countries, celebrating the importance of rivers worldwide.
2024 Events:
i.In 2024, the WRD events were celebrated in more than 100 countries across 6 continents, becoming one of the planet’s biggest environmental celebrations.
ii.In India, river cleanups were organised by Save Jalangi at Krishnagar Biswarjan Ghat on the banks of the Jalangi River, Krishnanagar, in the Nadia district of West Bengal (WB), and seminar & community awareness programs were also organised in Ranaghat, WB.
iii.The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ICAR-IISWC) also raised awareness of the significance of rivers on WRD 2024.
