Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals on water
The establishment of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" confirms the importance of water and sanitation in the global political agenda. SDG 6 addresses the sustainability of water and sanitation access by focusing on the environmental aspects of freshwater ecosystems and resources – including their quality, availability and management..
SDG 6 recognizes that social development and economic prosperity depend on the sustainable management and sharing of freshwater resources and ecosystems, and that achievement of this goal is essential for achieving the entire 2030 Agenda. SDG 6 acknowledges that ecosystems and their inhabitants, including humans, are water users and that their activities on land can compromise the quality and availability of fresh water. Water-related ecosystems addressed in SDG 6 include wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes, which sustain a high level of biodiversity and life.
These ecosystems are also vital for providing multiple benefits and services, such as hydropower, irrigation, humidity and precipitation, habitats for aquatic life and water purification. Well-managed water-related ecosystems contribute to addressing competing demands for water, mitigate climate change risks and causes, and help build community peace and trust. They are therefore essential for achieving sustainable development, peace, security and human health and well-being.
As of the UN 2023 Water Conference in March 2023, for which UNEP was one of the lead authors of Interactive dialogue 3: Water for climate, resilience and environment, the world was alarmingly off track in achieving SDG 6 by 2030. The SDG Summit in September 2023 and the Summit of the Future in 2024 will contribute to the aim of quadrupling the rate of progress on this goal.
What we do
UNEP, as the global custodian for the environmental aspects of SDG 6, has a mandate to help countries develop, implement and report on three “environmental” indicators. UNEP therefore helps countries monitor and report on ecosystem health and their quality (6.6.1 and 6.3.2) and integrated water resources management (6.5.1). UNEP supports countries in the process of submitting and verifying data for these indicators. UNEP also measures progress on water-related ecosystems and the SDGs.
Beyond SDG 6, as many of the other SDGs relate closely to fresh water, UNEP provides input to freshwater aspects as they relate to other areas of sustainable development, such as coastal and marine ecosystems, food and energy production.
UN Member States report on the global progress of SDG 6 (see the Summary Progress Update 2021: SDG 6 — water and sanitation for all). An SDG 6 Synthesis Report is prepared to support this review, and this is backed up by more detailed individual reports on each SDG 6 indicator. UNEP leads the preparation of SDG 6 indicator progress reports on ecosystem health (6.6.1) and their quality (6.3.2), and integrated water resources management (6.5.1). A new SDG Water Quality Hub was launched for 6.3.2. in April 2023.
UNEP collaborates with some members of the Global Earth Observation community to monitor freshwater ecosystems through the Freshwater Ecosystem Explorer. This platform complements the efforts of countries in generating accurate data using satellite imagery. The satellite imagery will generate data on the spatial extent of freshwater ecosystems as well as certain water quality parameters of freshwater ecosystems.
