From Mark Angelo, Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia:

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 marked the announcement of World Rivers Day (WRD), the first initiative to mobilize a global response addressing the urgent need for improved management and conservation of river ecosystems worldwide while at the same time celebrating the value of our international waterways.

Millions of people, and thousands of international organizations, are expected to contribute to World Rivers Day on September 25, 2005. The event is being led by non-government organizations around the world and is being endorsed by the United Nations University; and the International Network on Water, Environment, and Health – both agencies of the UN.

Planned WRD events include river cleanups, fish enhancement projects, international workshops, educational programs, and riverside festivals. “It’s pretty exciting to see an event that started 25-years ago in BC evolve into such positive efforts to better care for our rivers around the world.” says Mark Angelo, BC and World Rivers Day founder and Head of BCIT’s Fish, Wildlife, Recreation Department. “Beyond celebrating our rivers, WRD will also hopefully encourage people to be more active as river stewards, and will create a greater public awareness of the many threats that confront our waterways.”

Angelo, who is this year’s WRD Chair, started BC Rivers Day in 1980 in conjunction with the Outdoor Recreation Council and this event has since become the biggest of its kind in North America with more than 75,000 people participating, province wide. The success of BC Rivers Day will be used as a template for World Rivers Day.

World Rivers Day is already fostering solidarity amongst international organizations focusing on water-related issues while promoting core values associated with sustainability, conservation, and stewardship activities. “Rivers are the arteries of our planet,” says Angelo. “And WRD will provide an opportunity for people to get out and enjoy our waterways and appreciate the extent to which they contribute to the quality of life in their communities.”

WRD also compliments the water-related efforts of the United Nations, which recently launched a 10-year initiative to raise awareness of water issues around the world and halve, by 2015, the number of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water.

Last year, Angelo was recognized by the UN as the inaugural recipient of the International Year of Fresh Water Stewardship Award for his river conservation efforts at home and abroad.

Angelo was also joined at the announcement by the Honorable Barry Penner, BC Minister of Environment, and Bob Sanford, Chair, UN Water for Life/Canada.

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