This is the UN-Water proposal for a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on water, presented at the Budapest Water Summit in October 2013. The proposal is the result of an extensive consultation among UN-Water Members and Partners as well as relevant stakeholders. The final proposal will be published in early 2014.

1. Emerging Advice on a
Potential SDG on Water
Budapest Water Summit,
October 2013
Joakim Harlin
UNDP
Slide 1
www.unwater.org

2. Objectives and process
 To contribute to the SDG
consultation process as well
as to the discussions on the
post-2015 development
agenda
– Guided by the priorities agreed
at the Rio+20 Conference
– Building on thematic, national
and regional consultations
– Drawing on the reports of the
High Level Panel, Sustainable
Development Solutions Network,
UN Global Compact, the Open
Working Group on SDGs
 Work in progress…
Slide 2
www.unwater.org

3. Why a water SDG?
 The Future We Want:
– “water is at the core of sustainable
development”
 Water is at the heart of adaptation
to climate change
 Billions lack access to the most basic
water supply and sanitation services
 Increasing demand, pollution, risks,
competition for water resources…
 Current situation presents a global
threat to human health and
wellbeing as well as to the integrity
of ecosystems
Slide 3
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4. Building on existing commitments
and experience
 Monitoring progress on the
MDG Target on water
supply and basic sanitation
 The human right to water
and sanitation
– Obligations on all Member
States to make provision for
progressive realization of the
right
“unfinished
business” in WASH must
 Finishing the
remain a top priority
Slide 4
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5. Building on existing commitments
and experience (continued)
Slide 5
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6. Building on existing commitments
and experience (continued)
“unfinished
business” in water
resources management
 Finishing the
is also a priority
– Agenda 21 (1992), JPOI (2002) and
subsequent CSD meetings (2005,
2008, 2012)
 Recent UN-Water survey of more
than 130 countries, thematic and
national consultations
– show that there has been
widespread adoption of
integrated approaches to water
management, but…
 Significant challenges
still remain!
Slide 6
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7. Building on existing commitments
and experience (continued)
 Improving water quality
and wastewater
management need to be a
priority too
– Water quality has to date been
very much neglected
– 80% of wastewater is discharged
without treatment
– Impact on the water resource and
therefore on drinking-water
supply
– Impact on ecosystems
 These concerns were clearly
expressed at Rio+20
Slide 7
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8. Possible post-2015 development goals
need to address three priority areas…
.. which broadly correspond to the dimensions of sustainable
development and contribute towards poverty reduction
 Healthy people
– Universal access to water,
sanitation and hygiene
 Shared prosperity
– Sustainable use and
development of water
resources
 Healthy ecosystems
– Improving water quality and
Slide
wastewater management 8
www.unwater.org

9. Sustainable water for all
Universal access to safe
water supply, sanitation
and hygiene



Improved water quality
and wastewater
management
Targets by 2030

Sustainable use and
development of water
resources
Targets by 2030
Targets by 2030
No one practices open
defecation
Everyone has water, sanitation
and hygiene at home
All schools and health centres
have water, sanitation and
hygiene
Water, sanitation and hygiene
are sustainable and inequalities
in access have been
progressively eliminated


Bring freshwater withdrawals in
line with sustainably available
water resources while
increasing water productivity
for all uses by [x%]
Maintain a threshold level of
environmental flows in all
countries [of y%]



Reduce both the urban
population with untreated
wastewater and untreated
industrial wastewater flows
by [x%]
Increase urban and industrial
wastewater reused safely by
[y%]
Reduce nutrient pollution
from agriculture by [z%]
Crosscutting targets by 2030


Improve resilience to floods, droughts and other water related disasters of
all people by [x] and economies by [y]
Improved governance and integrated management systems for freshwater
and sanitation in place in all countries in accordance with national targets
Slide 9
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10. Costs and benefits
 Universal access to sanitation, benefits
outweigh costs 5.5 to 1
 Universal access to drinking-water, the ratio
is 2 to 1
 Irrigation infrastructure in Africa, rates of
return are up to 26%
 Watershed protection initiatives in the US
yield USD 7.5 to USD 200 for every
dollar invested, compared to conventional
water treatment costs
 1% increase in drought area, 2.8%
reduction in economic growth
 1% increase in the area impacted by floods,
1.8% reduction in economic growth
 Bogota River, Colombia, lack of wastewater
treatment costs USD 110 million/year
 … to be continued…
Slide 10
www.unwater.org

11. Next steps
1. Revision of draft paper (until
Dec. 2013)
–
–
Side event at Budapest Water
Summit (9 Oct. 2013)
GWOPA Congress (27-29 Nov.
2013)
2. Side event during the 6th
session of the OWG
3. UN-Water workshop to
finalise paper (Geneva, 16-17
Dec. 2013)
4. Release of final version at a
side event for the Member
States (New York, 29 Jan.
2014)
Slide 11
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12. Thank you
Joakim Harlin
UNDP
Slide 12
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