The struggle in which many countries are engaged to design effective plans to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has led to the creation of a new digital tool by the United Nations University to guide these nations through of a six-step roadmap (SDG 6) towards the desired goal of clean drinking water and sanitation for all .
The Sustainable Development Policy Support System (sdgpss.net/en/) was just launched last Friday, March 22, World Water Day, on the website of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) of the UNU based in Canada. At the moment it is in English and there will be Spanish and French versions soon. It has been based on in-depth research inspired by a universal formula to accelerate the progress of these initiatives.
Authorship corresponds to UNU-INWEH, the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), the Korea Environment Corporation (K-eco), the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Korea and national institutions in Costa Rica, Ghana, Pakistan, Tunisia, partner countries in the development of the system.
” Water-related problems are the cause of growing crisis situations in more and more countries, ” according to UNU-INWEH director Vladimir Smakhtin. Between 1,500 and 2,000 million people currently live in areas suffering from physical scarcity of the liquid element. , where water resources are insufficient to meet the basic demands of human consumption, at least for part of the year. And nearly one billion human beings lack water throughout the year . Since 1969, the availability of global drinking water per inhabitant it has fallen more than 50% ”.
The implementation of the Water Objective brings enormous economic benefits, for health and for the development of the peoples . But unfortunately you are too often faced with limited budgets and private interests putting other priorities first, even though water is the development issue that affects the most people .
According to Dr. Jong-Soo Yoon, Director of UNOSD, “Sharing knowledge and providing citizens with a proven system that works will help countries to assess their circumstances effectively and try to improve their situation with policies and action plans. viable. Ultimately, it will help combat water scarcity and pollution , reduce the impact of disasters, and slow the ongoing degradation of water-dependent ecosystems. “
The system and tools, which are free and whose operation is explained in an online tutorial, are designed for professionals dedicated to the problem of water and for policy makers interested in achieving the objectives of SDG 6.
Three of the points of the program have to do with capacities and three with sustainability. Countries must be able to obtain, maintain and achieve their own development goals, define the costs and benefits of achieving SDG 6 goals, and align national finances with the goals of the SDGs. The gender perspective is also introduced, as national policies must address the specific needs of women related to water so that they can participate at all levels of water resources management .
Nations must have strong mechanisms to anticipate disasters and reduce water-related risks and scarcity to protect affected communities, help them recover from such disasters, and protect infrastructure and other water resources. Governments must end corruption and maintain integrity and transparent practices in all water policies to build accountability and trust in decision-making.
Credit: Kibae Park, UN
