World Water Day and Mesopotamia
World Water Day on March 22
Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Back Another Day! is not a tune sung in California and by 55 million people globally according to the WHO. It is said that 25% of the earth could see permanent drought in the next 25 years. But I am not here to lecture and scare my readers. I am here to discuss the history so that we can help the future.
Water has always been the source of economic prosperity and growth. As all elementary schoolers learn, it was between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that the first civilization, Mesopotamia, arose. This ancient area thrived for over 5000 years due to these rivers and fertile nature of the land. What caused its downfall ultimately was drought and dust storms. The city-states within this crescent warred for centuries to have greater access to the water. Farmlands were not tended. Greed made kings take too much. The people failed to work together for the common good. And in the end, the great Mesopotamia fell and people scattered across to the globe to occupy other rivers and lands according to its coasts.
In 1993, the first World Water Day was observed on March 22. It was proposed at the UN Earth Summit (see Agenda 21 link below) in Rio de Janeiro in June of 1992. My question I propose to you to ponder today is how did they come up with that date? While I do not 100% as I was not there, I suspect it has to do with the Equinox, which is when the sun is exactly above the equator and day and night are of equal length; also, either of the two points in the sky where the ecliptic the Sun’s annual pathway) and the celestial equator intersect, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. In the northern hemisphere, it is called the Vernal Equinox and marks the beginning of spring. In the southern hemisphere, it is called the Autumnal Equinox and marks the beginning of fall or autumn.
During these beginning days of spring, after the vernal equinox, birds chirp more, worms emerge from the earth, and trees start to bud new leaves. The days get longer and begin to get warmer. Farmers use this time to start planting. It is my opinion that March 22 was given as the day to mark that only through proper agriculture, environmental preservation, and global economic sustainability that our society will escape the dust storm and downfall of the ancient Mesopotamians.
Note: In 1970, Earth Day was first observed on April 22 and In 1973, World Agricultural Day was first celebrated on March 21.
Agenda 21 Rio Declaration of Environment and Development
https://web.archive.org/web/20140730190755/http://habitat.igc.org/agenda21/
Barnard College Forum on Water Conversation 2022