Circular Economy as a Catalyst for Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: A Positive Relationship between Two Self-Sufficient Variables

Governments, civil society organisations and companies have expressed an interest in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, but incorporating these goals into their strategies and activities is not an easy task. This study aims to provide information on the role of circular economy as a tool to boost progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals to assist these different stakeholders in their quest to attain the goals. Using heuristic methodology, a review of the existing literature was conducted to explore the relationship between the two terms. Specific attention was paid to the development goals with the highest interdependence with circular economy: Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water), 8 (Decent work), 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 15 (Life on land). Having identified the reciprocal relationships between the two variables, the results of the literature review were then analysed to explore their possible self-sufficiency. The findings of the study are intended to assist stakeholders in incorporating the SDGs into their corporate sustainability strategies.

An Inconvenient Truth about Access to Safe Drinking Water

The phrase inconvenient truth associated with global warming and climate change has received a great deal of publicity some years back. The objective of this article is to highlight a different kind of inconvenient truth which affects about 29% of the world population. It is about the lack of access to safe drinking water that results in over 1.2 million preventable deaths annually. The first two targets of UN sustainable development goal 6 (SDG6) aim at providing universal, affordable and sustainable access to “water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)”. Recognizing the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a basic human right, issues related to this problem as well as possible options to alleviate the problem are discussed.

The Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale: comparison scores from 27 sites in 22 countries

Household survey data from 27 sites in 22 countries were collected in 2017–2018 in order to construct and validate a cross-cultural household-level water insecurity scale. The resultant Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) scale presents a useful tool for monitoring and evaluating water interventions as a complement to traditional metrics used by the development community. It can also help track progress toward achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 ‘clean water and sanitation for all’. We present HWISE scale scores from 27 sites as comparative data for future studies using the HWISE scale in low- and middle-income contexts. Site-level mean scores for HWISE-12 (scored 0–36) ranged from 1.64 (SD 4.22) in Pune, India, to 20.90 (7.50) in Cartagena, Colombia, while site-level mean scores for HWISE-4 (scored 0–12) ranged from 0.51 (1.50) in Pune, India, to 8.21 (2.55) in Punjab, Pakistan. Scores tended to be higher in the dry season as expected. Data from this first implementation of the HWISE scale demonstrate the diversity of water insecurity within and across communities and can help to situate findings from future applications of this tool.

Managing Non-Sewered Sanitation for Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 in India

The challenge of ensuring clean water and safely managed sanitation towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goal 6 is made more complex by unplanned urbanisation in South Asia. Nearly 50% of all toilet-owning households globally and 83% in South Asia depend on non-networked sanitation, with a multi-step service chain comprising containment, collection, conveyance, and treatment of faecal waste. Over the last few years, South Asian governments have begun to eschew the long-enduring preference for centralised sewerage infrastructure in favour of better management of non-networked sanitation as part of city-level wastewater management systems. However, these interventions have largely excluded the household-level containment systems that hold the potential to create both adverse localised and diffuse public health and environmental outcomes if dysfunctional. The present Chapter discusses evidence from a multi-state household survey in India to assess the nature and quality of containment systems in use by urban Indian households. Secondly, it reviews approaches to their governance under more evolved paradigms to inform an ecosystem-wide strategy for managing these systems in India and countries with similar contexts.

Water Literacy in the Southeast Asian Context: Are We There Yet?

The water situation in Southeast Asia has changed from one of relative abundance to one of relative scarcity. Conventional water management that strategized around the provision of adequate water supply to users has limited sustainability. Though nations in this region have adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Plan into their water management framework, successful outcomes are limited thus far. Water literacy has a growing importance for improving water sustainability, especially in developing countries. A literature search was employed to extract data on the different dimensions of water literacy in Southeast Asia including the sources and consumption patterns, water governance and management, and sociodemographic elements as well as the various aspects of water related challenges faced. Results from the review and analysis show that a large proportion of Southeast Asian populations are not part of a water sustainable society, and this presents a major hurdle for the countries to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030. Therefore, active cognitive engagement through the creation of a water literate environment is critical for breaking the chain of water illiteracy and to achieve long-term water sustainability in Southeast Asia countries. Overall, this paper provides a critical analysis on lessons learnt from the region that can be mirrored in other parts of the world.