Background
National Water campaign is seen as an awareness week which serves as a powerful
campaign mechanism re-iterating the value of water, the need for sustainable
management of this scarce resource and the role water plays in eradicating
poverty and under-development in South Africa.
Vision of the campaign
The campaign seeks to continue building on the ongoing awareness creation within
the broader South African community. This awareness creation is coupled with the
responsibility that every citizen must take in ensuring the integrity of our
water resources and its efficient use. Particularly, the linkages between water
services, supply, resource management, poverty eradication, social and economic
development are emphasised in a number of innovative ways.
The proposed annual campaign has been influenced by local needs and
international sectoral trends. The envisaged celebrations intends contributing
towards achieving the following:
Increased awareness of the processes towards realising the constitutional right
of all South Africans to have access to water Building on existing campaigns around sanitation and hygiene (particularly the
WASH campaign) Ensuring that the cleanliness and the integrity of our water sources and outlets
is maintained Ensuring the long term sustainability of our water resources Highlighting the crucial link between water and health with the objective of
eradicating water-borne diseases and, thereby, reducing child mortality Empowering communities, especially women, in managing and improving their living
conditions Highlighting the vital interdependence between poverty eradication,
socio-economic empowerment and our water resources Developing an aware and responsible South African society across the demographic
spectrum Supporting the Women in Water Awards 2005 Supporting the Baswa Le Meetse Awards 2005 (Youth in Water Awards) Celebrating Water as a source of life
Theme and related issues
The theme for the 2005 Celebrations is "Water for life". The proposed
theme has been influenced by local and international sectoral trends. The
General Assembly proclaimed the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International
Decade for Action, " Water for Life", commencing on World Water Day, 22 March
2005. It welcomed the decision of the Commission on Sustainable Development to
consider water, sanitation and human settlements as the thematic cluster in the
first cycle, 2004-2005. National Water Week 2005 will therefore be celebrated
with activities in connection with this proclamation.
With this theme the Department intends highlighting the following:
The following sub-themes will be highlighted:
Access to basic water supply and free basic water Reducing water borne diseases Sanitation - a vital link to health and hygiene Water's contribution to economic development Water Conservation Water for resource poor farmers Combating alien vegetation Ensuring the cleanliness and the integrity of our water resources.
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