SDG 6 Progress.pdf

The world is not on track to achieve the availability and sustainable management of water for all people by 2030. Great progress is being made in some countries, including India, but in most countries, progress is not fast enough, and some are going backwards. The consequences of not being on track include foregone economic development opportunities, environmental degradation, heightened risk of conflict, and limited opportunities for rural women and girls to lead full and dignified lives.

The SDG 6 targets are ambitious, and the imbalance between water supply and demand is worsening due to population growth, economic development, and climate change. However, the technologies exist, the science is known, and there is enough money, labor, and skills in the world to achieve this goal. The problem is that many governments are not making the necessary decisions and are not giving this challenge the necessary priority.

Governments face difficult decisions, such as implementing tariffs for water services, managing transboundary water systems, and protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems. These decisions can be politically risky, and governments may be hesitant to take action. However, water professionals need to make the case to governments and the public that it is worth taking these risks, as water management is essential for achieving development objectives, including health, education, food and energy security, urban development, human rights, disaster risk reduction, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Global multilateral processes, such as the United Nations system, can support difficult decision-making at the national level by providing a set of policy options that have been successful in different social and cultural contexts. This "policy scaffolding" can make it safer for governments to take the necessary risks and create a successful outcome. The concept and content of this policy scaffolding could be considered in the United Nations General Assembly or a global conference with United Nations authority.

In Australia, considerable experience has been gained in wrestling with these political challenges, and lessons have been learned about what works and what doesn't. For example, attempts to frame water issues as technical problems that can be solved by scientists and experts do not work, as water solutions require political skills and processes to understand and integrate community opinion. Bipartisan agreement and the support of community leaders are crucial for sustainable water policies, and markets in share-based water access rights can greatly assist farmers in managing drought periods and adapting to climate change.

The National Water Initiative in Australia, which was agreed upon by the Commonwealth Government and all States and Territory Governments in 2004, has been a successful basis for many state policies, with states relying on this to make politically difficult decisions and learning from each other's experiences. In closing, achieving the availability and sustainable management of water for all people by 2030 requires policies to be devised and implemented that will often be politically difficult, and multilateral processes can provide an opportunity to make it safer for national governments to take these risks.