When water is life, knowledge is king

What countries can do to accelerate efforts in implementing water SDGs

Water is the source of life. That is why water-related targets are a significant part of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and essential for meeting many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But the current reality is that the world is off-track to meet these water targets by 2030. Ensuring countries get the support to meet these goals is a priority for agencies like the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which works closely with the UNEP-DHI Centre on Water and Environment to help countries track and accelerate progress towards many water-related SDGs.

Challenge

The SDGs are a call for action to improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth while tackling climate change and protecting our ecosystems such as water bodies, oceans and forests.

To meet these objectives in a sustainable way, we must address the environmental, social and economic dimensions of development and advance them in tandem with each other. Three specific targets under ‘SDG 6: Ensuring access to water and sanitation for all’ emphasise the need to manage water resources, address water quality and ensure water ecosystem health. UNEP is the organisation responsible for helping countries to track and progress on these three targets.

There is enough freshwater on our planet to satisfy demands now and in the foreseeable future. Yet since water is essential for so much of our human, household and industrial needs, the problem is ensuring its availability when and where most needed. That is why implementing integrated water resources management (IWRM) strategies is so important.

However, the latest UN report reveals that more than 65% of countries are lagging in implementing IWRM, which is directly linked with strategies to:

• Safeguard good water quality
  Because our ecosystems and human health depend on it
• Balance water demands
  So that we all have access to enough water
• Protect and restore water-related ecosystems
  To ensure that the lifeblood of our planet keeps flowing

Sustainable water management involves balancing competing water demands from across society and the economy, without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. This is achieved through coordinated policy and regulatory frameworks, management arrangements and dedicated financing.

When countries adopted the SDGs, they committed to regularly reporting data to the UN to track progress and ensure accountability. As the saying goes, you can’t manage what you can’t measure. But we know it’s easier said than done, and many countries have struggled to take these ambitious new goals on board.

Providing countries with the support they need to achieve these goals is a priority for UN agencies like UNEP. It works closely with partners including the UNEP-DHI Centre to help countries track and accelerate goal progress. The UNEP-DHI Centre takes a lead role in the target for water resources management, and also supports with monitoring of water quality and water ecosystems health.