Resources

Water-related SDGs have a central role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its interlinked Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets. While the dedicated goal on water (SDG6) aims to ensure availability and the sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, pursing this goal supports the achievement many other goals. Regional monitoring and reporting of the water-related SDGs thus supports a better understanding of water across the sustainable development agenda and provides insights on the progress and challenges facing the Arab region as it aims to achieve the SDGs and associated national targets under conditions of water scarcity and increasing water stress.

This eighth issue of the Water Development Report of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) examines the water-related SDGs from the perspective of water security and scarcity in the Arab region. It identifies ways to assess and address present and projected water scarcity at the regional and national levels for various climate change scenarios. It reviews regional and national water strategies and action plans coherency with global water-related goals and targets. The study analyses how the water-related SDG targets and indicators can guide the development of policy measures to tackle water challenges in the Arab region. Proposed policy interventions include measures to conserve and protect water resources and generate additional nonconventional water resources. Selected policy options are quantified and analysed for two climate scenarios for the future period 2030-2050 in view of informing sustainable planning and appropriate decision support systems to optimize and rationalize water use. The report also provides insights on institutional mechanisms in place for monitoring and implementing water-related SDGs at various scales.