Water and Sustainable Development

The United Nations designated March 22 as the World Water Day in Agenda 21 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. The first World Water Day was observed on March 22, 1993. 22 years later, the theme for World Water Day 2015 is Water and Sustainable Development.

With a tag line "a day to celebrate, a day to change, a day to prepare," World Water Day is a day to celebrate water; a day to make a difference for the members of the global population who suffer from water related issues; and a day to prepare for how we manage water in the future.

Postcard US-2680017 to Australia shows a swamp view of the Everglades, a tropical wetlands ecosystem in South Florida. Sustainability was a major component in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan approved by Congress in 2000. A first-of-its-kind economic impact report has detailed the benefits of Everglades restoration that results in an increase in job creation, real estate values and water quality.

The theme for 2014 World Water Day last year was Water and Energy.

Lake Okeechobee

Postcard US-3223053 to Switzerland shows a satellite image of Lake Okeechobee in Florida, the second largest freshwater lake contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states in the U.S. Lake Michigan is the largest.

For the largest lakes of the all 50 U.S. States by area including freshwater and saltwater lakes, if the area accounted for the lake includes the area partially in Canada or Mexico, Lake Superior is the largest while Lake Okeechobee ranks tenth.

Okeechobee covers 1,900 square kilometers or 730 sq miles, with an average depth of 3 meters or 9 feet. It is the headwaters of the Everglades wetland ecosystem.

Chung-cheng Lake in Meinong, Taiwan

This postcard from a private swap shows the Chung-cheng Lake (中正湖) in Meinong District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). A man-made lake originally built in 1748 known as Jhongjun Pi (中圳埤), it was renovated into a reservoir between 1916 and 1920 during the Japanese occupation. With an area of 21 hectares or 52 acres, the lake had a capacity to furnish water for irrigation of over 130 hectares or 321 acres of farmland. It was also used for fish farming. After World War II, the lake was renamed to Chung-cheng Lake in 1956, after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石: October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng (蔣中正) who was the leader of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975. A pavilion was also built in the lake in honor of Chiang. However, there have been petitions to change the name of the lake to Meinong Lake (美濃湖) since 1996, in protest of Chiang's role in the 228 Massacre. On a side note, many statues of former president Chiang Kai-shek have been vandalized across the island around the 68th anniversary of the 228 Incident on Saturday, February 28, 2015.

While the lake capacity for water supply has been diminishing due to sediment built-up since the 1957 Meinong flood, it becomes part of the largest wetland ecosystem in the area that hosts a large number of migratory birds during the winter months from October to March next year. More than 60 bird species have been spotted around the lake. A wooden boardwalk around the lake was completed last November to accommodate nature lovers.

De Alde Feanen National Park

Postcard NL-2466145 from the Netherlands shows the Alde Feanen National Park, located in Friesland Province, the Netherlands. It is part of the Natura 2000, an ecological network of protected areas in the European Union. There are at least 450 plant species and 100 bird species in the morass, lake, forest, peatland and meadow ecosystems.