Looking back over the last 15 years, how realistic is the new Sustainable Development Goal on water and sanitation?
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| Source: The 17 SDGs adopted by 193 nations |
It is interesting to observe how much things have changed in
15 years. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the beginning of the
century incorporated targets for Water, Hygiene and Sanitation under the
heading ‘Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability’, out of a total of 8 goals. This
year, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been established with Goal 6
dedicated to ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and
sanitation for all. With more goals to focus on, will this hinder the ability
to achieve them? Or does specific focus allow for more issues to be addressed?
In terms of water, the MDG set in 2000 was very much a success
on the surface. The aim to reduce the proportion of people without access to an
improved drinking water source, by 50%, was achieved 5 years ahead of schedule,
according to a report published by the UN in 2014. However this only focused on
drinking water and sanitation, and a number of additional issues were not
targeted. With Climate Change shifting the way we view our resources, it is
vital that all aspects of the water cycle are taken into consideration in order
to achieve the aim to “leave no-one behind”.
This year, the SDG for water and sanitation will now include
the sustainable management of water, wastewater and ecosystem resources. Six additional targets have been incorporated within this goal which I believe is a
step in the right direction to tackle these additional issues. We have proven that we are able to hit targets, so why stop
there? With greater international involvement, including middle/low-income
countries, these SDGs are the most universal yet. They take into consideration
basic human rights standards across the board, with a number of the goals
having cross-disciplinary implications.
With these goals expecting to shape political policy across
193 countries, a greater range of goals might seem unachievable to many.
However I remain optimistic. We are finally addressing a number of water management issues which 15
years ago were swept under the carpet.
Really enjoyed reading this, it's promising to see policies developing in order to better address environmental/climate issues. Thought it's almost worrying that the international community didn't see the importance of water resources as it's own entity 15 years ago!
ReplyDeleteHowever, the fact that within those 6 additional targets they are including the concept that water is a trans-boundary resource is hugely important. I think I remain happily optimistic with you here in terms of these goals.
Excellent post. I agree that the sucess of the MDG should increase our commitment in the SDG. And becuase so many of the SDGs are connected I think it is an achievable undertaking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the positive response! I agree- I think what makes these SDGs that much better is that there is such a cross over between them. Outlining the need for multidisciplinary action seems to be the way forward!
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