Sustainable Water Management

The devasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic fully demonstrate the importance of having access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities. WASH services are fundamental to fight the virus and preserve the health and well-being of all people. The impacts of COVID-19 are forecast to be considerably higher on the urban poor living in slums and informal settlements who don’t have access to clean water.

Progress on SDG 6 is alarmingly off track. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 there are 2.2 billion people around the world who still lack safely managed drinking water, including 785 million without basic drinking water.

The United Nations states that “water is at the core of sustainable development and is critical for socio-economic development, healthy ecosystems and for human survival itself. It is vital for reducing the global burden of disease and improving the health, welfare and productivity of populations. It is central to the production and preservation of a host of benefits and services for people. Water is also at the heart of adaptation to climate change, serving as the crucial link between the climate system, human society and the environment.”

The lack of progress on SDG 6 undermines progress on all of the other SDGs, particularly on global health, education, food, gender equality, energy and climate change. The situation compromises the entire 2030 Agenda and other international agreements and weakens the international community’s ability to combat and prevent pandemics.

Local governments have a key role to play in sustainable water management and ensuring access to clean water and sanitation as it is a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life.

Below are 5 programmes on the use platform being implemented by local governments in partnerships with NGO’s, civil society and the private sector to build sustainable water practices in their cities.

 

Semarang Eco-district: water management based urban planning

The Eco-district pilot project aims to develop resilience and sustainability in two urban villages (Kaligawe and Sawah Besar) using a smart technology water management system and provide a starting point for a sustainable transformation for the rest of the city.

 

Paraná’s Water Basin Committees

The City of Paraná has implemented a strategy that facilitates citizen participation in the environmental management of the cities 16 streams.  Citizens work with the Departments of Sustainable Environment and Planning to further develop strategies and plans, identify challenges and research possible solutions.

 

Pluit Reservoir Revitalization Project

The Pluit Reservoir Revitalization Project is an initiative of the City of Jakarta to reduce urban flooding, improve water storage capacity and the quality of its prime water source and transform some areas into parks and public open space.

 

Sylhet: building a water-logging resilient city

In 2014, Sylhet City Corporation identified waterlogging as a city-wide crisis and prioritized funding to implement projects and strategies to address the issue. This project is a community-based initiative to raise awareness and ensure preservation of natural water resources through sustainable drainage systems that will help eradicate waterlogging in the city.

 

The Lima Ecological Infrastructure Strategy  

The Lima Ecological Infrastructure Strategy (LEIS) aim is to integrate in a participatory way, urban landscape planning and design with water management, to support the urban water cycle. This includes the treatment and reuse of wastewater to increase access to green public spaces and ecosystem service in the city, considering different ecological, environmental, socio-economic and cultural landscapes.

 

For more programmes and policies related to Sustainable Water Management search the use data base by SDG 6 or topic – sustainable water management: https://use.metropolis.org/search