Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
This month, we, from the Secretariat of Solidarity, present a short reflection on Sustainable Development Goal 6. We have already pointed out previously how these goals must be understood together and how they are related to other actions and initiatives such as the Laudato Si’ Platform for Action.
Life begins with the simplest things. That is water. That is life. Water is life.
Fortunately, we are becoming increasingly aware of the need to take care of our planet including the care and good use of water resources. Not everything goes in our rivers, lakes or seas. Not everything is good enough to continue progressing. The title of these goals reminds us of this: “Sustainable Development”.
A few days ago, visiting the Trevi Fountain in Rome, the tourist guidebook drew our attention to the need for clean water and adequate sanitation. These two elements have enabled Rome to be the largest city in the world for many centuries. On the Trevi Fountain there is an inscription which explains the meaning of the two female figures representing Abundance and Healthiness: Abundance of life comes from access to clean, drinkable water and Healthiness, thanks to water that cleanses.
United Nations data indicate an improvement in the population’s access to drinking water and sanitation, even though there are still millions of people who lack both services. Lack of access to these services has undoubtedly conditioned the difficulty in maintaining minimum hygiene conditions during this time of the pandemic. We can say that water generates and saves life.
Among the Marist development aid projects in recent years, there has been the facilitating of access to drinking water for the population, especially in rural areas including the construction of wells and the installation of water purification equipment.
At the beginning of this article, we pointed out the connection between this Sustainable Development Goals and ecology. The deterioration of our planet is leading to more natural disasters related to water use and consumption (floods, natural disasters and droughts are the order of the day in our newspapers).
There is an urgent need to appeal to governments and raise awareness in our societies for personal and family-community reflection on the use we make of water. As Marists of Champagnat we want to participate in these actions. Responsible use, cleaning of aquifers, conservation of the natural environment, projects for access to this resource, installation of wastewater treatment systems… are some of the concrete actions that we can take. How can we face the demographic and economic growth, the greater need for water, the needs of millions of people without access to running water? How can we achieve “universal” access to drinking water without putting at risk the future of the next generations? The answers to these questions are undoubtedly a major challenge.
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Br. Angel Diego – Secretariat of Solidarity