When the Sustainable Development Goals, humanity’s blueprint for a better future, were launched in 2015, there was already growing alarm at the state of the planet’s freshwater resources. Rivers, lakes, wetlands and aquifers around the world were under increasing pressure from climate change and pollution, putting at risk the water sources that support billions of people.
Sustainable Development Goal 6 committed countries to universal access to clean water, sanitation, and to preserving and restoring the ecosystems that provide sources of fresh water.
Since then, humanity has put more stress on the global water system, with countries worldwide experiencing extreme water events like flooding, drought, and the degradation of freshwater ecosystems more frequently. The planet is losing these ecosystems, and the biodiversity within them, faster than any other.
In March 2023, for the first time in 46 years, the United Nations met at the General Assembly to tackle this growing crisis.
We sat down with Susan Gardner, Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Ecosystems Division, to talk about the perils facing freshwater resources, how to restore them, the importance of tracking water-related environmental data, and how UNEP is taking forward the outcomes of the UN 2023 Water Conference.
Water-related disasters have worsened in the past few years as the planet heats up. Many rivers, lakes and groundwater aquifers are also heavily polluted or over-abstracted. Have the Earth’s freshwater ecosystems reached a crisis point?
Susan Gardner (SG):
When it comes to water-related disasters, we’re talking about tragic loss of life and tremendous loss and damage – extreme flooding and drought hits the most vulnerable hardest. Recent extreme flooding in Pakistan killed over 1,700 people; 8 million were displaced; millions of survivors returned home to destroyed houses, ruined crops and dead livestock, and drinking water supplies were disrupted. We’re talking about the loss of entire families, the loss of livelihoods, including in agricultural areas in a world already facing severe rising food costs and irreversible damages to ecosystems and the services they provide us.
Water is the source of all life on Earth and yes, it’s under serious threat.
Despite covering only about 1 per cent of the Earth’s surface, freshwater habitats house an incredible proportion of the world’s biodiversity. But this biodiversity has been in sharp decline in recent decades due to a combination of climate change, over-abstraction and pollution. Around one-third of all rivers in Latin America, Africa and Asia are badly affected by pathogenic pollution, and severe and moderate salinity pollution affect around 10 per cent of all rivers, making these water bodies in effect unusable for what we need them for: drinking, agriculture and recreation.
Climate change is compounding the problem. We’ve seen major climate-linked impacts and disasters. As in Pakistan, we’ve seen major floods in the last year alone in Chad, Malawi, South Africa, most recently in Italy, while other countries from Somalia to Spain, are facing severe droughts. In many situations, this can lead to further loss of life, social instability, food insecurity and conflict.
The problem is getting more widespread. Even historically “water-rich” countries like Sweden are now facing challenges of occasional water scarcity. The number of countries under severe water stress is increasing, with seasonal water shortages becoming the norm.
So, yes, we face significant challenges – but within these challenges there are solutions.
There are just seven years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Are you optimistic the world will be able to reach its targets related to clean water and sanitation?
SG: As an environmentalist, you always have to see the glass half full – but through a lens of realism and unfettered pragmatism. It’s about doing what needs to be done and quickly. Integrated water management is a powerful tool that looks at water through a continuum – identifying the linkages between land, freshwater, wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems, source to sea.
We have the solutions at our fingertips, but they need to be implemented at scale, and urgently. We need to increase international investment in nature-based solutions – in restoring, maintaining and sustainably using freshwater ecosystems. Investments in such solutions need to triple by 2030 if we are to achieve the water and environment-related SDGs from source to sea. We also need to invest in innovative technologies to implement early warning systems, close data gaps, and enable joined-up landscape to seascape planning by connecting data systems.
We can do this if we expedite and couple these approaches through stronger collaboration across ecosystem boundaries, food systems and water governance systems and by reconfiguring our approaches within institutions. We need policy coherence and integration across siloed systems; and the meaningful involvement of Indigenous People and Local Communities and their invaluable knowledge.
What support does UNEP provide?
SG: UNEP is here to support Member States as they review options and opportunities to address water issues. We promote evidence-based approaches, implement nature-based solutions for water, promote sustainable consumption and work on integrated water resources management worldwide. This includes managing data portals which help Member States move from information to decision-making, enabling them to know what water resources they currently have and future projections for increased resilience and better planning.
This month, UNEP is seeking updates from countries on their progress for the three SDG 6 indicators for which it is responsible: ambient water quality (6.3.2), integrated water resources management (6.5.1) and freshwater ecosystems (6.6.1). Why is this type of data collection important?
SG: You can only manage what you can measure. Without data you are flying blind. Without data you cannot see progress. UNEP takes its mandate as a custodian of environmental SDG indicators very seriously, and we regularly launch an effort to see exactly how well countries are living up to their environmental SDG pledges.
In April, we supported 193 UN Member States on the request for water-related environmental data on SDG 6, as part of the UN’s broader 2023 Data Drive on water. This six-month process is key to our understanding of changes to our water bodies and preventing their further degradation. Sound water data and information are the basis for effective decisions and policymaking in response to climate change impacts, disaster risks, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Globally, 3 billion people are at health risk due to scarce data on water quality. With this data drive, UNEP is seeking to address the lack of water-related environmental data, which directly affects people: Accurate and timely data allow decision-makers to identify countries, people and sectors that are left behind and set priorities for increased efforts and investments.
The March 2023 UN 2023 Water Conference ended in the adoption of the Water Action Agenda, which included major funding commitments to accelerate progress on SDG 6. What does this mean?
SG: The Water Conference was truly a “watershed” moment. It allowed the world’s leaders, supported by the highest levels of the UN, to come together to discuss how to tackle these interlinked water challenges. For UNEP, for example, as one of the leads on the theme related to Climate, Resilience and the Environment, we were able to highlight areas of interconnectivity, such as the links between food and water systems, and the opportunities for increasing the resilience of both. We can’t afford to fail, or not to act, on water.
Partnerships will be key. What’s good is that governments, the UN system and stakeholders are paying attention to the cross-cutting and intersectoral nature of water, with around a quarter of commitments in the Water Action Agenda also relating to global targets on biodiversity, hunger and health. The commitments made by Member States are key – and we now need to move from commitment to action. If these commitments are honoured it will mean improved access to water for the millions of people who do not have it, improved biodiversity and ecosystem services – and access to drinking water and sanitation for all. This has significant health implications: three out of 10 people, 2.3 billion humans around the world, lack a handwashing facility with water and soap at home. Improved water quality and water management are powerful economic drivers with associated benefits for well-being and social progress. If water is our lifeblood, then UNEP is at its heart. Beyond the provision of taps, toilets and pipes – water is an environmental issue at its core – and UNEP stands ready to support.
The outcomes of the UN 2023 Water Conference will directly inform the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2023, the SDG Summit in September 2023 and the Summit of the Future in 2024, which will contribute to the aim of quadrupling the rate of progress on water. UNEP is helping to lead within UN-Water, the UN inter-agency coordination mechanism for water, on the drafting of the SDG 6 Synthesis Report, which will provide policy recommendations to Member States on how to achieve SDG 6 by 2030, including how water policy and governance can interact with other SDGs for greater impact.
For further information, please contact Georgina.Avlonitis[at]un.org, Michael.Alexander[at]un.org, Joakim Harlin: joakim.harlin[at]un.org, or Lis Mullin Bernhardt: lis.bernhardt[at]un.org
