UN SDG 6 main goal is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. However, the most recent UN report on Water warned of an approaching global water crisis because of pollution, global warming and overconsumption.
In today’s blog, you'll read about some of the main problems related to water and sanitation that are included in the United Nations Agenda, but are far away from being solved.
Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is the most basic human need for health and well-being, and still having unlimited water running out of the sink is a privilege:
In 2020, only 74% of the global population had access to safely managed drinking water services. Meaning that two billion people live without these services.
Sanitation is essential to prevent diseases such as diarrhoea which is the second leading cause of death in children under five. 946 million people still openly defecate and 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation (7 out of 10 in rural areas).
Periods of severe droughts are becoming more frequent due to climate change. The negative consequences are multiple, such as:
This map is showing Water stress predictions by 2040. A higher percentage means more water users are competing for limited supplies.
Water is contaminated by different pollutants, from human waste to highly industrial discharges. Treating wastewater is costly and difficult (sometimes it becomes impossible to eliminate pollutants). That’s why 80 percent of global wastewater goes untreated, contaminating food chains and causing critical human health diseases such as cholera or diarrhoea.
Gender inequalities that arise from the water sector:
If SDG 6 was fully implemented, there will be available clean and safe water for all. A world where everyone would have access to basic sanitation, children won’t die for diseases such as diarrhoea and all women could handle their menstruation hygiene. It would also be the end of gender inequalities derived from poor access to water.
This goal would also impact the improvement of ecosystems as it would protect and restore mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.
As we’ve seen, this SDG is highly linked to climate change. Therefore, a world with this SDG achieved, is a world where we’ve mitigated droughts’ impacts. This means that no more humans would be forced to migrate and there won’t be risks of food shortages.
Achieving this goal is essential for guaranteeing human basic needs and rights and taking care of the planet.
Governments should support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies.
The private sector is also responsible on improving 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.
And what about us as individuals?
Are you an educator looking to make a difference? Equip yourself with the tools and strategies to teach sustainability and empower the next generation to tackle global challenges like water scarcity and pollution.
Our Educator’s Academy is designed to help you confidently integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into your teaching, no matter the subject or age group. Together, we can inspire real-world change, one classroom at a time. Join us now and start shaping a sustainable future!
Every fortnight we will release a blog which explains each Sustainable Development Goal and how we as individuals and collectives can do our part support these goals.
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Thank you for reading today.
The FSG Team đź’š
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