‘Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All’

Abstract

SDG 6 enshrines the international community’s solemn commitment to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. As such, it is an important developmental goal in its own right but also due to its impact on all other sectoral SDGs. Efforts to achieve the goal needs to be supported by formal rules of domestic and international water law, environmental law, and human rights law. Moreover, SDG 6 is likely to act as a strong catalyst for the development of international and domestic rules for sustainable water management and sanitation services provision. The chapter aims at illustrating the two-way interrelationship between international law and the SDGs by exploring the mutually supportive approaches embodied in international water, environmental and human rights law, and SDG 6, and by identifying the key values enshrined in each of its targets and their relationship with international law. Simultaneously, it gives due account to the progress made so far in the implementation of the goal.