ENVIRONMENT- WATER
Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Introduction
If you think about it, water links to almost everything in the world. Health. Nature. Urbanization. Industry. Energy. Food. Equality.
In 2015, the world will agree on how we want to shape our sustainable future. And for this future to happen we need water and sanitation.
Water is at the core of sustainable development. Water resources, and the range of services they provide, underpin poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental sustainability. From food and energy security to human and environmental health, water contributes to improvements in social well-being and inclusive growth, affecting the livelihoods of billions.
Facts:
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2.6 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water sources since 1990, but 663 million people are still without
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At least 1.8 billion people globally use a source of drinking water that is fecally contaminated
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Between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the global population using an improved drinking water source has increased from 76 per cent to 91 per cent
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But water scarcity affects more than 40 per cent of the global population and is projected to rise. Over 1.7 billion people are currently living in river basins where water use exceeds recharge
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2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines
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More than 80 per cent of wastewater resulting from human activities is discharged into rivers or sea without any pollution removal
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Each day,nearly 1,000 children die due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrhoeal diseases
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Hydropower is the most important and widely-used renewable source of energy and as of 2011, represented 16 per cent of total electricity production worldwide
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Approximately 70 per cent of all water abstracted from rivers, lakes and aquifers is used for irrigation
Targets:
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By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
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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
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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
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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
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By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
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By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
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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
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Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
Freshwater is the most important resource for mankind, cross-cutting all social, economic and environmental activities. It is a condition for all life on our planet, an enabling or limiting factor for any social and technological development, a possible source of welfare or misery, cooperation or conflict.To achieve water security, we must protect vulnerable water systems, mitigate the impacts of water-related hazards such as floods and droughts, safeguard access to water functions and services and manage water resources in an integrated and equitable manner. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/
Water Is...
Health
Water is essential to human health. The human body can last weeks without food, but only days without water. Water is essential to our survival. Regular handwashing, is for example one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others. Despite impressive gains made over the last decade, 748 million people do not have access to an improved source of drinking water and 2.5 billion do not use an improved sanitation facility. - See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/#sthash.38y2z6Gr.dpuf
Nature
Ecosystems – including, for example, forests, wetlands and grassland – lie at the heart of the global water cycle. All freshwater ultimately depends on the continued healthy functioning of ecosystems, and recognizing the water cycle is essential to achieving sustainable water management. Yet most economic models do not value the essential services provided by freshwater ecosystems. This leads to unsustainable use of water resources and ecosystem degradation. - See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/#sthash.38y2z6Gr.dpuf
Urbaniztion
one in two people on the planet live in a city.
Thousands of kilometres of pipes make up each city’s water infrastructure. Many antiquated systems waste more freshwater than they deliver. In many fast-growing cities (small and medium-sized cities with populations of less than 500,000), wastewater infrastructure is non-existent, inadequate or outdated. - See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/#sthash.38y2z6Gr.dpuf
Industry
Every manufactured product requires water. Some industries are more water-intense than others. 10 litres of water are used to make one sheet of paper. 91 litres are used to make 500 grams of plastic.
Industrialization can drive development by increasing productivity, jobs and income. It can provide opportunities for gender equality and youth employment. However, industry’s priority is to maximize production rather than water efficiency and conservation.
- See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/#sthash.38y2z6Gr.dpuf
Energy
Water and energy are natural partners. Water is required to generate energy. Energy is required to deliver water. See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/#sthash.38y2z6Gr.dpuf
Food
Globally, agriculture is the largest user of water, accounting for 70% of total withdrawal.
Economic growth and individual wealth are shifting diets from predominantly starch-based to meat and dairy, which require more water. The current growth rates of agricultural demands on the world’s freshwater resources are unsustainable. Inefficient use of water for crop production depletes aquifers, reduces river flows, degrades wildlife habitats, and has caused salinization of 20% of the global irrigated land area.
Equality
Investments in water and sanitation show substantial economic gains.
Climate change negatively impacts fresh water sources. Current projections show that freshwater-related risks rise significantly with increasing greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating competition for water among all uses and users, affecting regional water, energy and food securities. Combined with increased demands for water, this will create huge challenges for water resources management
Goal 14: Life Below Water
The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind.
Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. Throughout history, oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation.
Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future
Facts
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Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth’s surface, contain 97 per cent of the Earth’s water, and represent 99 per cent of the living space on the planet by volume
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Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods
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Globally, the market value of marine and coastal resources and industries is estimated at $3 trillion per year or about 5 per cent of global GDP
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Oceans contain nearly 200,000 identified species, but actual numbers may lie in the millions
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Oceans absorb about 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming
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Oceans serve as the world’s largest source of protein, with more than 3 billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source of protein
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Marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people
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Subsidies for fishing are contributing to the rapid depletion of many fish species and are preventing efforts to save and restore global fisheries and related jobs, causing ocean fisheries to generate US$ 50 billion less per year than they could
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As much as 40 per cent of the world oceans are heavily affected by human activities, including pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats
Targets
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By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
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By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
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Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels
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By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics
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By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information
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By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation
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By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism
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Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries
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Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets
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Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want
11 of the 15 degraded ecosystem services mainly comprising:
Regulating services: climate, water, natural hazard and disease regulation, water purification and waste treatment, which are often strongly affected by the overuse of provisioning services;
Provisioning services: freshwater, energy (especially the emerging issues around biofuel production) and capture fisheries;
Cultural services: Recreation and ecotourism service;
Supporting services: nutrient cycling and primary production which underlie the delivery of all the other services but are not directly accessible to people.
