Recently, the global community has agreed on a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which would serve as a new framework for development in the post-2015 development era. In the case of water, the SDG goes ‘beyond water and sanitation to include hygiene… and also addresses priority concerns relating to safety, equality and sustainability’ (UN Water 2014, p. 15-16). Moving forward, in addition to addressing the SDGs-specific targets and challenges, the national and provincial policy frameworks must respond to issues relevant to water scarcity, low water productivity, water governance, rising water pollution, degradation of land resources, as well as frequent occurrence of extreme events such as floods and droughts. Clearly, with this expanded water agenda come additional challenges related to capacities, technologies, resources, governance and monitoring etc.

Accordingly, this presentation will draw upon the experiences of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to highlight: (i) implications of the water SDG on water sustainability and security; (ii) guiding principles for steering the transition from MDGs to SDGs; and (iii) key elements of an implementation strategy leading to achievement of the SDGs. The presentation will also elaborate on the policy research needs within the context of the water-development nexus for improving water sustainability and governance.

Reference

UN Water 2014, 'A Post-2015 Global Goal for Water: Synthesis of key findings and recommendations from UN-Water', January, , accessed 27 October 2015.