SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Water is absolutely essential to life. A person can only live for 3 days without water and not having access to clean, safe drinking water and sanitation causes millions of totally preventable deaths every year. Beyond this, water is also crucial to the agricultural systems we rely on for food, is used in industry and to produce energy, and is a critical component of biodiversity and nature. It truly is one of those issues that is inherently linked to so many others and this is why SDG 6 is dedicated to ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
This particular goal has 8 targets and 11 indicators that explores a variety of topics related to water including how we provide clean drinking water and basic sanitation, how we deal with wastewater and prevent water contamination, water use efficiency, addressing water scarcity, preventing conflicts over water, protecting water ecosystems, and more.
Target 6.1
By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
What it means
A safely managed drinking water service is defined as one located on the premises, available when needed, and free from contamination. Safely managed drinking water comes from what is referred to as an “improved source”, and according to UN Water this includes: link piped supplies, boreholes and tubewells, protected dug wells, protected springs, rainwater, water kiosks, and packaged and delivered water. (UN Water)
Affordability is very subject to an individual’s context - what is affordable in the United States would be very different from what is affordable in Ethiopia for example. Keeping this in mind, UNICEF and the WHO, define affordability as payment for services that does not present a barrier to access or prevent people from meeting basic human needs. This is usually measured by the cost of the expenditure as a proportion of total income.
Where we are currently
2 billion people still lack access to a safely managed drinking water supply, which is approximately 26% of the world’s total population.
The progress on this target is mixed. We have seen some promising improvements - between 2015 and 2020, there was an increase in proportion of the global population using safely managed drinking water services from 70.2% to 74%. However, the progress we saw varied greatly depending on the region. For example, the good progress just referenced is due mainly to improvements in Central and Southern Asia, and in sub-Saharan Africa the number of people without access to safe drinking water has actually increased from 703 to 766 million people since 2015.
In addition, of that 2 billion overall number, 771 million do not even have the most basic of drinking water services available. Among this more vulnerable group, 8 out of 10 live in rural areas and nearly half live in least developed countries. (UN Water)
And on the affordability front, it is pretty much a general rule that the poorer you are the more of your total income you spend on drinking water supply. According to WaterAid, there are countries where people pay nearly half or more of their income on obtaining clean drinking water. For example, people in Papua New Guinea spend 60% of their income on water.
Target 6.2
By 2030, 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
What it means
Basic hygiene is one of those things that so many of us take for granted. Having a toilet and a sink just feels like second nature but there are literally billions of people who do not have access to these services around the globe. This goes beyond a dignity issue and is also an extremely important part of public health. According to the WHO, poor sanitation is linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio and exacerbates stunting.
This particular target is measured by two indicators - The first focuses on the proportion of the population using safely managed sanitation services, which are where excreta is safely disposed of directly or removed and treated offsite. And the other looks at if people have access to a handwashing facility with soap and water. Both of these targets specifically focus on these services being available at home and not being shared with other households.
Where we are currently
The proportion of the global population using safely managed sanitation services increased from 47.1% in 2015 to 54% in 2020. However, 3.6 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, including 1.7 billion people without even basic sanitation services. (UN Stats)
In addition, 2.3 billion people or roughly 3 in every 10 people lack hand washing facilities in their homes.
Open defecation rates have been decreasing steadily. From 2000-2020, the number of people practising open defecation declined from 1.2 billion to 494 million, an average decrease of 37 million people per year. (WASH Data)
And while the world is on track to eliminate open defecation by 2030, achieving universal access to safely managed sanitation by 2030 will require a quadrupling of current rates of progress. (UN Stats)
Target 6.3
By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
What it means
Target 6.3 sets out to improve ambient water quality. Ambient refers to open, naturally occurring waters such as rivers, lakes, streams, and groundwater supplies. Improving ambient water quality is essential to protecting both ecosystem and human health, by eliminating, minimizing and significantly reducing detrimental pathogens, nutrients and other types of pollution from entering the environment.
This target is measured by the proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated, and the proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality. It looks at the volumes of wastewater which are generated through different activities, and the volumes of wastewater which are safely treated before being discharged into the environment. Protecting our water sources is crucial because preventing contamination is far easier than restoration after they have been polluted.
Where we are currently
Data on both these indicators is lacking to properly be able to assess where we currently stand on this target.
For the first indicator on wastewater flows, only 90 countries have reported data. It is estimated that globally, 56% of all wastewater flows generated by households in 2020 were collected at treatment facilities and safely treated. The remaining 44 % that are not safely treated are mostly the result of a lack of collection at centralized treatment plants or septic tanks.
For the second indicator on ambient water quality, water bodies were assessed in 89 countries and 60% had good ambient water quality. However, only 52 countries had information about groundwater, which is problematic because groundwater often represents the largest share of freshwater in a country. (UN Water)
Target 6.4
By 2030, 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
What it means
This target addresses water scarcity, and aims to ensure there is sufficient water for the population, the economy, and the environment by increasing water-use efficiency across all sectors of society. Increasing water-use efficiency over time means decoupling a country’s economic growth from its water use. To this end, water use efficiency is measured as the ratio of dollar value added to the volume of water used. Agriculture, industry, energy and municipal water supply are particularly relevant and important to assess and improve due to their high water use. (UN Water)
Where we are currently
Agriculture is by far the largest water user globally, especially in low and middle-income countries. Worldwide, 72% of all water withdrawals are used by the agriculture industry. Other large users include municipalities that use 16% for households and services, and 12% used by industry. Encouragingly, between 2015 and 2018, water-use efficiency in the all sectors increased but there is still a long way to go.
When a country or territory withdraws 25% or more of its renewable freshwater resources, it is considered water stressed. This challenge affects countries on every continent, and in 2018, 2.3 billion people lived in water-stressed countries, with 721 million living in countries with high or critical levels of water stress. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2021/goal-06/
Another complicating factor here is the disparity in water distribution globally. Interestingly, freshwater resources are abundant worldwide and as a global society we only withdraw about 9% of the total. However, these resources are very unevenly distributed across regions and within countries. In 2011, 41 countries experienced water stress, of which 10 withdrew more than 100% of their renewable water resources. Water scarcity – both physical and economic – is currently affecting more than 40% of the global population.
Target 6.5
By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
What it means
Many different sectors are dependent on water, and as a result, where water resources are limited, conflicts over its use often arise. And beyond just this tension between various water user groups, there is a further issue in that most of the world’s freshwater resources are transboundary, meaning they cross borders of multiple countries, which makes coordination and cooperation especially challenging.
In response to this, target 6.5 aims to implement integrated water resources management (IWRM) at all levels. IWRM promotes the coordinated development and management of water- and land-related resources, in order to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of ecosystems. That definition is a mouth full but is basically saying managing the resources we have in a way that balances the economy, people, the environment, and equity.
Where we are currently
According to data from 2017 to 2020, only 24 of the 153 countries that share transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers have 100% of their transboundary basin covered by operational arrangements that it make it possible to effectively manage, and only another 22 countries have more than 70% covered. On average globally, 58% of transboundary basin areas have an operational arrangement for water cooperation. Europe, Northern America and sub-Saharan Africa show the greatest coverage.
In 2020, 129 countries and territories were not on track to meet the target for implementing IWRM by 2030, which includes financing and coordination mechanisms, basin management and monitoring. Globally, the average implementation rate for IWRM increased from 49% in 2017 to 54% in 2020. The current rate of progress needs to double to achieve sustainable management of water resources by 2030. (UN)
Target 6.6
By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
What it means
You will notice that this particular target is actually aimed at 2020 and not 2030 like most of the others. This is because it is part of the Aichi Targets which are related to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. They were meant to be updated in 2020 but due to the pandemic that process has been delayed and will likely congregate in spring 2022 to recast these targets. I have a couple of videos on that process that I will link in blog post if you are interested in learning more about them.
Target 6.6 really seeks to halt the degradation and destruction of water ecosystems, and to assist in the recovery of those that are already degraded.
Where we are currently
Globally, lake water quality is poor: of the 2,300 large lakes assessed in 2019, nearly a quarter recorded high to extreme levels of turbidity which iswater cloudiness. Turbidity can adversely impact human and ecosystem health. An assessment of 10 percent of the world’s large lakes in 2019 showed that at least 21 million people, including 5 million children, live within a 5-kilometre radius of lakes with high turbidity
Natural wetlands around the world are in long-term decline, with more than 80% estimated to have been lost since the pre-industrial era.
Between 1970 and 2015, inland and marine/coastal wetlands each shrank by approximately 35%, three times the rate of forest loss. The area covered by coastal mangroves declined globally by 4.9 % between 1996 and 2016. (UN Stats)
It is estimated that globally one fifth of the world's river basins are experiencing either rapid increases or decreases in surface water area. (UN Water)
Overall, the data on these indicators is extremely lacking making it difficult to understand the full extent of the challenges we face in protecting our water-related ecosystems.
Means of Implementation
6A By 2030, 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
6B Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
Keep Learning
Here are a few great resources for further reading and learning:
Goal 6 Overview (2021, United Nations)
SDG 6 Data Portal (2021, UN Water)
SDG Tracker (2021, Our World in Data)
UN Water (2021, United Nations)
Summary Progress Update 2021: SDG 6 — water and sanitation for all (2021, UN Water)
Sanitation (2019, WHO)
Toilets for All (2022, UCL)