Impact of Implementing Constructed Wetlands on Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ (UN SDGs) action call promotes worldwide social, environmental, and economic prosperity. Each country developed a local plan to achieve the SDGs’ objectives and targets. The UN presents an annual global SDG progress report, based on an international indicator framework and regional available data. Wetland ecosystems contribute to the SDGs; however, more research is required to evaluate wetlands’ impact on sustainable development. This study investigates how implementing constructed wetlands (CW) at a local scale can contribute to achieving and promoting the SDGs with application in Kuwait. A preliminary design of a constructed wetlands wastewater treatment system is proposed alongside a local scoring framework based on regional information to assess the future projection of the SDGs in Kuwait. Overall, CW implementation plans contributed positively to improving the level of achievement of SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 3: Good Health, SDG 6: Clean Water, SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, and SDG 15: Life on Land. The analysis also highlights synergies that need to be considered for integrated environmental governance and enhanced policy coherence for Kuwait’s sustainable development management.