To ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

The sixth Sustainable Developmental goal is centered around clean water and sanitation. According to the United Nations, water and sanitation are at the core of sustainable development, and the range of services they provide underpin poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental sustainability. However, in recent decades overexploitation, pollution, and climate change have led to severe water stress in locales across the world.

According to the United Nations, a good 2.2 billion people across the world lack access to safely managed drinking water and this number is even higher with those that lack safely managed sanitation. In such instances, we can look at various aspects that have caused this. Climate change hasn’t helped the situation with the increase in disasters that have caused floods, drought and other disasters. The report continues to explain how 80 per cent of the world’s wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without proper treatment. This has posed a major threat to the quality standards of the water and hygiene nations experience today.

We discussed many of the threats that raise concerns with achieving this particular SDG. It is crucial for the world to manage its water resources and delivers water, sanitation and hygiene services. Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation provides a blueprint to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Below are the six targets to do with clean water and sanitation:

1) To achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030.

2) To achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations by 2030.

3) To improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.

4) To substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity.

5) To implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate.

6) To protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.

7 a) To expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies.

b) To support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management.

INDICATORS

Goal six is not limited to the quality of our water bodies, sanitation and hygiene but is also aimed at the quality and sustainability of water resources. This goal has the following indicators:

1) The proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality (Tier II)

This indicator tracks the percentage of water bodies in a country with good ambient water quality. “Good” indicates an ambient water quality that does not damage ecosystem function and human health according to core ambient water quality parameters and is set at the national level.

2) Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services.

3) Proportion of wastewater safely treated.

4) Change in water-use efficiency over time.

5) Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources.

6) Degree of integrated water resources management implementation (0-100)

7) Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation.

8) Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time.

9) Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management.

10) Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan.

Water is nature’s daughter, she’s gentle and sweet. If you let her go, we lose the flow and end up in retreat.

– The Dahama Trails