Lausanne, Switzerland, March 22, 2019 – The FIVB is celebrating World Water Day, which is observed by the United Nations and is linked to a key sustainable development goal: clean and safe water for all by 2030. World Water Day comes shortly after the FIVB launching its own Good Net project, to protect seas and oceans by removing discarded fishing nets and recycling them into volleyball nets.
In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recognising “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right” and in 2015 the human right to sanitation was explicitly recognised as a distinct right.
This year’s World Water Day theme is “Leaving no one behind”, which resonates strongly with volleyball’s identity as a team sport.
The FIVB’s commitment to support the removal of ghost nets from the world’s oceans is an important step by a sport to ensure the sustainability of our water sources, with microplastics in the food chain an increasing source of concern. The FIVB has teamed up with marine conservation group the Ghost Fishing Foundation, to raise awareness of the threat of ghost nets and to raise funds for their removal.
Currently, more than 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear is left in the ocean each year. This endangers marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, turtles and fish of all kinds.
Good Net, part of the UN’s Clean Seas Campaign, aims to raise global awareness of the problem while also contributing to the solution.
“We must all play our role in looking after our environment,” FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça Fᵒ said.
“The UN’s commitment to protecting our natural waters is having a great impact all over the world and I am delighted that the volleyball family is also playing its part.”
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