VANCOUVER—Rivers and streams around the world will get some extra special attention on Sept. 27 when millions of people and thousands of organizations take part in World Rivers Day (WRD).
From Canada to Cameroon, England to South Africa, and Taiwan to Serbia, WRD participants will do their bit to dole out some TLC to their local waterways.
Now in its fifth year, WRD grew from B.C. Rivers Day which was founded in 1980 by Mark Angelo, WRD chair and chair of the Rivers Institute at British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Thanks to some extensive lobbying on Angelo’s part, WRD has become an international grassroots event that is recognized by and receives support from UN agencies and other organizations involved in caring for and managing river eco-systems.
“I just think it’s wonderful to see this event that started out as a B.C. event blossoming into this incredibly successful international celebration,” Angelo says.
WRD activities include extreme clean ups, habitat enhancement programs, stream restoration initiatives, educational programs, and community riverside festivals and celebrations.
While the event provides an opportunity for people to get out and enjoy their local waterways, it also helps raise awareness of the need to take better care of river ecosystems, Angelo says.
“It focuses on the many values of our rivers; it also creates greater awareness of some of the threats facing our rivers and helps encourage people to get more involved as river stewards.”
From Canada to Cameroon, England to South Africa, and Taiwan to Serbia, WRD participants will do their bit to dole out some TLC to their local waterways.
Now in its fifth year, WRD grew from B.C. Rivers Day which was founded in 1980 by Mark Angelo, WRD chair and chair of the Rivers Institute at British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Thanks to some extensive lobbying on Angelo’s part, WRD has become an international grassroots event that is recognized by and receives support from UN agencies and other organizations involved in caring for and managing river eco-systems.
“I just think it’s wonderful to see this event that started out as a B.C. event blossoming into this incredibly successful international celebration,” Angelo says.
WRD activities include extreme clean ups, habitat enhancement programs, stream restoration initiatives, educational programs, and community riverside festivals and celebrations.
While the event provides an opportunity for people to get out and enjoy their local waterways, it also helps raise awareness of the need to take better care of river ecosystems, Angelo says.
“It focuses on the many values of our rivers; it also creates greater awareness of some of the threats facing our rivers and helps encourage people to get more involved as river stewards.”
The world’s rivers, Angelo explains, face “an array of pressures—things like pollution, urbanization, a loss of streamside or riparian habitat, the excessive extraction of water, and the building of dams.”
Angelo is also involved in compiling an annual “most endangered rivers list” for rivers in B.C. Topping that list this year is the Flathead River due to concerns about a controversial proposed open pit coal mine slated for the region.
The Flathead flows through southeastern B.C. into Montana and is considered one of North America’s wildest and most beautiful waterways. The river supports important trans-boundary fish populations while also sustaining the highest density of inland grizzly bears anywhere in North America, Angelo says.
“The Flathead River is an amazing waterway worthy of protection. No other region along the Canada/U.S. border sustains such a diversity of wildlife and ecosystems.”
Angelo is also involved in compiling an annual “most endangered rivers list” for rivers in B.C. Topping that list this year is the Flathead River due to concerns about a controversial proposed open pit coal mine slated for the region.
The Flathead flows through southeastern B.C. into Montana and is considered one of North America’s wildest and most beautiful waterways. The river supports important trans-boundary fish populations while also sustaining the highest density of inland grizzly bears anywhere in North America, Angelo says.
“The Flathead River is an amazing waterway worthy of protection. No other region along the Canada/U.S. border sustains such a diversity of wildlife and ecosystems.”
World Rivers Day complements the United Nations Water for Life Decade, launched in 2005. The 10-year initiative aims to raise awareness of water issues around the world and, by 2015, reduce by half the number of people who are unable to access or afford safe drinking water.
Angelo, who in 2001 received the Order of Canada for his environmental work, says the popularity and growth of WRD and the fact that activities are taking place in about three dozen countries bodes well for the future.
But there is much work to be done. “We still have a long ways to go,” he says.
“We have to look at our water resources as something that we have to do a better job of managing and caring for. I think we have to treat water with a greater amount of respect than we have in the past.”
Angelo, who in 2001 received the Order of Canada for his environmental work, says the popularity and growth of WRD and the fact that activities are taking place in about three dozen countries bodes well for the future.
But there is much work to be done. “We still have a long ways to go,” he says.
“We have to look at our water resources as something that we have to do a better job of managing and caring for. I think we have to treat water with a greater amount of respect than we have in the past.”
