The President of the Republic defended this Saturday, within the framework of the National Water Day, that guaranteeing the continuity of access and the sustainability of water resources is “everyone’s responsibility”, and warned about the need for a “more efficient management“.
“At a time when drought and lack of water are worrying so many Portuguese, the President of the Republic recalls the importance of this National Water Day, which marks the beginning of the hydrological year,” says a note published on the website of The presidency.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa considers that, “to ensure the balance and optimization of shared uses and coordination between the different users, more efficient management is necessary, a reduction in losses and waste, increasing the reuse and circularity of water, promoting the diversification of water sources, the increase in storage capacities, the improvement of infrastructure and the deepening of knowledge, innovation and technological development”.
“Guaranteeing the continuity of access to water and the sustainability of water resources for future generations are great challenges that we have to overcome as a society, being an imperative and a responsibility of all, governments, municipalities, organizations, companies and all of us. as citizens, assume this commitment”, defends the President of the Republic.
In the note, the head of state highlights that “water is a vital resource for life and for the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversityessential for various economic activities such as agriculture, industry, hydroelectric power production or tourism”.
And he warns that “water reserves reach their minimum, as a result of the more irregular rainy season, a consequence of climate change, with the change in the historical stability of this cycle and the occurrence of increasingly extreme phenomena that are already occurring. manifesting. themselves all over the world.” and also in Portugal.
National Water Day has been celebrated annually on October 1 since 1983 to raise awareness of the importance of the resource and its more efficient use. This year occurs when Portugal is going through one of the longest dry spells on record. The first day of October coincides with the beginning of the hydrological yearthe moment when, as a rule, water reserves are minimal and the rainy season begins.
Source: Observadora
