Clean water and sanitation for all: interactions with other sustainable development goals

Access to water and sanitation for all is a part of the recently (September 2015) approved Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, natural constraints, climate change and the increase of population forecasts will challenge this goal and how it interacts with others. In particular, domestic water will compete with additional water demands essential for the achievement of other goals (i.e. SGD2 on zero huger or SDG14 life below water). We assess how future domestic water demand in cities will interact with other SDGs. First, we use an evaluation framework to identify positive and negative relations. We then calculate the required water to meet this demand and compare it with the performance of other water-dependent goals. Our results show that larger increases in domestic water demand will happen in countries underperforming in other water-dependent goals. How urban areas deal with water resources will shape these relations. Crucially, urban water decisions will determine the sustainability of global water resources and, ultimately, the performance of all SDGs. © 2017, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.