Why is it Important?

Water is vital - not just because it keeps us alive, it also ensures the health of ecosystems and economies, and plays an important role in many cultures.

What is an Ecosystem?Aquatic Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a community made up of animals, plants, and micro-organisms, together with the environment where they live. Members of the community depend on each other and their environment for food and shelter. Ecosystems have four main components: air, water, land and living creatures. Every ecosystem on Earth depends on water, of varying amounts, for its survival. Human beings rely on aquatic ecosystems for many things. They provide the water we use for drinking, bathing, growing food, cooking, transportation and recreation.

The water we rely on is the same water that plants and animals need to survive. This is one of the reasons why it is important for people to take great care with the water they use. If either water quality is degraded or water quantity altered, this can have a serious impact on an ecosystem. Everything is connected; eventually our lack of care will affect us too.

Cultural Value

Canadian FlagWater is life. Without it, we cannot exist, nor can any of the other forms of life with which we share the planet. That should be reason enough to value water as one of the most precious riches that the earth provides. But water gives more than life; water is our culture.

Water contributes to our over all well being – be it spiritually, physiologically, or recreationally. Everyone has some personal connection to water; whether we live in cities, in villages or in the country.

Economic Value

Source: Hodge http://www.flickr.com/photos/hodge/There are few products we buy or services we employ that could exist without the use of water. For example,

300 litres of water is needed to produce 1 Kg of paper,
215,000 litres of water are needed to produce 1 metric tonne of steel, and
1000 litres of water is needed to grow 1 Kg of potatoes.

Our economy is inherently linked to the continued availability of clean freshwater resources, for example:

Environmental Value

Source: Denis Collette

It should be obvious that clean water is part of a healthy environment, sustaining our animal and plant populations. There are numerous valuable services that we rely upon that can only be provided by a healthy environment, which are not as obvious. If we continue our present practices of clearing landscapes, polluting water bodies, and of inefficient water use – we are at risk of losing the important services water now provides. What will this mean for the environment and how will it impact us? What is the value of a healthy environment to us and to people in general?

Social Value

Source: MuhammadProtecting sources of water is essential to ensuring human health. According to The 3rd World Water Forum, held in 2003, every year at least five million people die from water-related diseases worldwide. These diseases are transmitted either directly, as a result of infection from consuming contaminated water or food, or indirectly, by ingesting disease-carrying organisms. The majority of those affected by water related mortality and morbidity are children under the age of five.