Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai underlined the importance of effective water use for sustainable development during his speech at a meeting to celebrate the 2015 World Water Day in the northern province of Bac Giang on March 20.

Water is the foundation of poverty reduction, economic growth, and environmental sustainability, Hai stressed, adding that it impacts not only food security, energy, health and environmental protection, but also contributes to improving social welfare, comprehensive development and livelihoods.

Vietnam’s water reserves are depleting, especially in the context of increasing demand, severe pollution and exhaust, and excessive and wasteful exploitation.

For these reasons, it is necessary to design policies to enhance cooperation among relevant sectors to ensure sustainable water resource development, Hai noted.

The Deputy PM urged localities, sectors, organisations and individuals to effectively manage and use water, thereby contributing to promoting poverty reduction and economic growth towards reaching the millennium development goal on protecting the environment.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Minh Quang voiced that water resources play a major and indispensable role in sustainable development and are an urgent requirement for humankind’s existence.

Themed “Water is at the core of sustainable development”, the 2015 World Water Day aims to raise public awareness of the relationship between water and sustainable development as well as promote dialogues to solve related issues.

A workshop spotlighting the importance of water for sustainable development was held in Bac Giang on March 19 as part of activities in response to 2015 World Water Day.

Reports presented at the event focused on analysing the current context of water resources in Vietnam and seeking measures to manage and sustainably develop water resources to serve the country’s socio-economic targets.

The event offered an opportunity for managers, businesses, scientists and students to share initiatives, models and solutions to solve problems concerning water and sustainable development.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater, consolidating the valuable resource’s role in the sustainable development agenda.

According to the UN Water, by 2025 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the world's population will be living under water-stressed conditions.-VNA