Understanding United Nations Water Policies and Sustainable Development Goal 6

Water is fundamental to human survival, yet billions of people around the world still lack access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Recognizing this critical challenge, the United Nations has established comprehensive policies and frameworks to address global water needs. These policies not only treat water access as a matter of development-but as a fundamental human right. Understanding these frameworks is essential for anyone interested in smart city development, sustainable urban planning, and improving quality of life in both cities and villages.

The human right to water and sanitation 🔗

On July 28, 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 64/292, marking a historic moment in international law. With 122 countries voting in favor and none against, the Assembly recognized access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right essential for the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights.

This recognition came at a time when approximately 884 million people lacked access to safe drinking water and over 2.6 billion were without basic sanitation. The resolution expressed deep concern that 1.5 million children under five years old were dying annually from water- and sanitation-related diseases.

What the human right to water entails 🔗

According to international standards, the human right to water specifies that every person should have access to sufficient water for personal and domestic uses-typically between 50 and 100 liters per person per day. This water must meet several criteria:

Availability: Water supply must be sufficient and continuous for drinking, washing, food preparation, and household hygiene. Accessibility: Water sources should be within 1,000 meters of the home, with collection time not exceeding 30 minutes. Affordability: Water costs should not exceed 3% of household income. Quality: Water must be safe and free from microorganisms, chemical substances, and radiological hazards that threaten health.

Following the General Assembly resolution, the UN Human Rights Council affirmed in September 2010 that these rights derive from the right to an adequate standard of living-a binding human right on almost all states. Since then, numerous countries including Costa Rica, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, and Zimbabwe have incorporated these rights into their constitutions.

SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation for all 🔗

Building on the human rights framework, the United Nations established Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The goal’s official aim is to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”

SDG 6 goes beyond simply providing drinking water. As UNEP emphasizes, the goal also addresses the quality and sustainability of water resources, which are critical to the survival of people and the planet. The 2030 Agenda recognizes that improved drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene play vital roles in progress across multiple areas including health, education, and poverty reduction.

The link between water and broader development 🔗

Water access is deeply interconnected with other development objectives. According to the UN, water is essential not only to health but also to poverty reduction, food security, peace and human rights, ecosystems, and education.

Consider these connections: when children no longer spend hours fetching water, they can attend school regularly-particularly benefiting girls who often bear this burden. When healthcare facilities have reliable water access, they can maintain proper hygiene and prevent infections. When farmers have sustainable water supplies, they can improve food production and escape poverty cycles. WHO research indicates that for every dollar invested in sanitation, there is a return of at least $5.50 in lower health costs, increased productivity, and fewer premature deaths.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these connections dramatically. Handwashing with soap and water became one of the most effective actions to reduce the spread of pathogens. Yet in 2024, 1.7 billion people still lacked basic hygiene services at home-leaving them especially vulnerable.

Targets and indicators: measuring progress on SDG 6 🔗

SDG 6 encompasses eight targets and eleven indicators to track global progress. Six targets are outcome-oriented with 2030 deadlines, while two focus on the means of achieving these outcomes. Understanding these targets helps clarify what the international community has committed to accomplish.

Target 6.1: Safe drinking water 🔗

This target aims to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. The indicator measures the proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services-meaning water from an improved source that is accessible on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination. Despite progress, 2.1 billion people remained without safely managed drinking water services in 2024.

Target 6.2: Ending open defecation 🔗

Target 6.2 focuses on achieving adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, with special attention to the needs of women, girls, and vulnerable populations. The target explicitly aims to end open defecation. Progress has been made-the population using safely managed sanitation increased from 48% to 58% between 2015 and 2024-but 3.4 billion people still lacked safely managed sanitation services.

Target 6.3: Improving water quality 🔗

This target addresses water pollution by aiming to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increase recycling and safe reuse globally. According to UN data, only about 56% of domestic wastewater was safely treated in 2022, with little progress being made toward the 2030 target.

Target 6.4: Water-use efficiency 🔗

Target 6.4 calls for substantially increasing water-use efficiency across all sectors while ensuring sustainable freshwater withdrawals. The target also aims to reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity. Global water use efficiency improved from $17.5 per cubic meter in 2015 to $21.5 per cubic meter in 2022-a 23% increase. However, roughly half the world’s population experienced severe water scarcity for at least part of the year as of 2022.

Target 6.5: Integrated water resource management 🔗

This target promotes implementing integrated water resources management (IWRM) at all levels, including transboundary cooperation where appropriate. Global progress remains slow-implementation reached only 57% in 2023, far below the 91% needed by 2030. While 153 countries share transboundary waters, only 43 have operational arrangements covering 90% or more of these shared resources.

Target 6.6: Protecting water ecosystems 🔗

Target 6.6 originally aimed to protect and restore water-related ecosystems by 2020-including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and lakes. The world has experienced a net increase in permanent surface water between 2005 and 2022, though regional losses linked to droughts and increased water demands remain concerning.

Targets 6.A and 6.B: International support and local engagement 🔗

These two “means of implementation” targets focus on expanding international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries (Target 6.A) and strengthening participation of local communities in water and sanitation management (Target 6.B). Official development assistance to the water sector was approximately $8.7 billion in 2023, slightly down from the previous year. Community participation remains important-over 70% of countries have procedures for local engagement defined in law or policy, though actual high-level participation remains below 40%.

Current status and the road ahead 🔗

Despite meaningful progress, the sobering reality is that none of the SDG 6 targets are currently on track to be met by 2030. Achieving universal coverage would require current progress rates to increase five to eight times. Climate change continues to exacerbate water challenges, with droughts affecting over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

The OECD estimates that achieving SDG 6 would require approximately $1 trillion per year in global spending on water infrastructure and services. A UN Water Conference is scheduled for 2026 to accelerate implementation and renew global commitment to these goals.

For smart cities and smart villages, integrating SDG 6 principles into urban and rural planning is not optional-it is foundational. Water-efficient technologies, wastewater recycling systems, ecosystem protection, and community-based management approaches must be central to any sustainable development strategy.

What do you think? How can smart city technologies and community-based approaches work together to accelerate progress toward universal water and sanitation access? What role should local governments play in implementing the human right to water within their communities?

References

1. https://press.un.org/en/2010/ga10967.doc.htm
2. https://www.unwater.org/news/10th-anniversary-unga-resolution-human-rights-water-and-sanitation
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_right_to_water_and_sanitation
4. https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2020/07/10th-anniversary-recognition-water-and-sanitation-human-right-general-assembly
5. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6
6. https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/sustainable-development-goals/why-do-sustainable-development-goals-matter/goal-6
7. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/
8. https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/sdg-target-6-ensure-availability-and-sustainable-management-of-water-and-sanitation-for-all
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goal_6