The sixth global goal is to provide safe and secure access to clean water and sanitation worldwide once the SDGs are due in 2030. While reaching this goal includes overcoming numerous challenges, the global community is on a good path to improve water quality and availability and ensure access and sustainable management of water sources through many different programs.
Video Transcript
The sixth Sustainable Development Goal concerns water and ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Perhaps obviously, SDG 6 aims to “achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all” by 2030. Access to clean water varies wildly. In 2017, 70% of people did have access to safe drinking water, up from 60% in 2000, and a further 20% had access to more basic services. But over 780 million people still didn’t have access to any sort of reliable drinking water.
But there are a few major problems still threatening water security. Currently, water pollution from the release of hazardous materials and chemicals poses considerable risk, along with untreated wastewater, which rejoins water streams without being treated.
Another problem that impacts water security also pertains to sanitation and hygiene, in many parts of the world, people don’t have access to safely managed sanitation services like toilets and faucets with clean water, only 45% as of 2017. Also in 2017, 700 million people still practiced open defecation, which is a serious hindrance to ensuring access to clean water as well as an affront to human dignity.
Whatsmore, everywhere but particularly in places where water is scarce, attention needs to be paid to efficient water use in the public sector - so water used in big industry and production - and the private, which also includes smaller agriculture.
Water-related ecosystems, meaning mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes, are very important to biodiversity and the general health of the planet, so by protecting our waters, we are also protecting humans and creating a more sustainable planet.
The resolution of these problems relies heavily on the establishment or increased activity of infrastructure and water management programs. More so than certain other SDGs, attaining the goals of SDG 6 requires a high degree of cooperation between nations, since the distribution of water on Earth is independent of human-fabricated national boundaries.
By 2030, the UN hopes to expand international cooperation and capacity, so as to build support for developing countries in water and sanitation related activities, which includes water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment and recycling technologies.
Of the countries that the UN has data for, it estimates that, following current trends, 60% will fall short of meeting the goal of the full implementation of water and sanitation programs.
These are worrying trends, but with 10 years to go to meet the goals, there is always hope that with a renewed interest, we can get even closer to meeting SDG 6, ensuring universal access to water, sanitation, and taking care of the valuable resource more generally, by 2030.