WASTEWATERMANAGEMENT IN ASIAPACIFIC AND SDGS
AWAP PARTNERSHIPS
Bridging Partnerships for attaining SDG 6.3

ContentsI.
II.
III.
IV.
V.

Work of ESCAP
Roadmap for Partnerships on SDG 6.3
If Wastewater is a Currency?
Integrating Policy Frameworks
Ten Steps Flowchart: Start with End inMind

The Environment and Development Division• Facilitates policy development tointegrate the environmental concerns
into development.
• Focuses on management of natural
resources and urban development• Areas of work
– Sustainable Development Goals
and the 2030 Agenda– Policies for Environment and Development– Sustainable Urban Development
Analysis and research to enhance understanding on regional
dimensions of sustainable development and facilitation ofimplementation of NUA
3Analysis and research to enhance understanding
regional dimensions of sustainable development•

Reframing and re-prioritizing relationships between
economy, society and environment•

Government capacity to set a clear direction fortransformation•

Regional cooperation holds potential to establish
shared normative visions.

•Urbanization at the core of the region’s futuresocio-economic and sustainable development
prospects•

Growing gaps between current patterns ofgrowth and what is needed for a more inclusive
and sustainable urban future•

Comprehensive policy analysis and options
focusing on finance, transport, inclusivity ecocities.

Regional and Global Milestones
June 2012

Committee onEnvironment andDevelopment 4thSession

March 2017

April 2016

November/December 2015
October 2015
October 2016
July 2016“Water-resilientsustainable cities”

September 2017

THE HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM - HLPF
» Global platform for follow-up and review of the SDGs

2017 Eradicating poverty & promoting prosperity in a changing
world

2018 Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies

PROGRESS: on addressing poverty, hunger & malnutrition
CHALLENGES REMAIN: environmental stressors impact health; lack ofsocial inclusion; public & private resources must be leveraged; lackof official statistics, data and effective monitoring systems; access toscience and technology must improve.

277 million people lack access to clean andsafe drinking water
70-80% of wastewater isuntreated
Over half of Asia-Pacific’s
urban population live in low
coastal areas
Water runs the economy; cities
produce 80% of global GDP
Challenges of provision of clean and safe
water in periods of water-related
disasters and climate change effects

Challenges

Statistics: SDG 6 progress
in Asia and the Pacific•••••SDG 6.1: 94% population have access to improved clean drinking water(2015)
SDG 6.2: 65% population use improved sanitation facilities (2015)
SDG 6.3: 70-90% wastewater is untreated in some countries (2011-2012);
Singapore is the only country that achieves 100% treated wastewater (2013)
SDG 6.4: 13% total freshwater withdrawals on average in the upper middle
income economies; no data in low and lower middle economies (2005)
SDG 6.5: Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Indicators arewell utilised in some countries, such as Japan and Singapore. Project-based
examples: Mekong River and Aral Sea Basin management

Ref: AQUASTAT database, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); OECD data; MDG Indicators database.

Regional challenges, needs
and opportunities• Address water- and sanitation related
vulnerabilities associated with natural disasters &climate change in cities• Strengthen Integrated Urban Water Management(IUWM) based on principles of Integrated Water
Resource Management (IWRM) and Integrated
River Basin Management (IRBM)• Increase impactful investments in water andsanitation infrastructure (water efficiency andsustainable sanitation services) for sustainable
and livable cities• Enhance understanding of water and otherresource cycles & its economy, by localizing SDGs

‘Cascading Use’ Technologies forenvironmental recharge
Maximize waste-to-resource
opportunities (harvestingsewage for nutrients or energy)

Wastewater
as aResource:Policies andTools

Partnership and impact
investments in Sustainable
Sanitation Services (Viet Nam)
Financial incentives for resource
extraction (Australia and Nepal)
Wastewater management(DEWATS, Philippines)

Case study: Wastewater use in India
A case study in 2013 attempted
to look at the overall urban
wastewater challenges [6.3] inIndia (generation, its uses,
livelihood benefits and healthimpacts)
Growing water demand forces
to lift water from agriculture
waterscapes
Wastewater was found as areliable water supply for crop
production [2.4, 2.3, 2.1]
However, wastewater
agriculture is not without
negative externalities

1.4
2.1

15.1

2.3

3.9

6.3

2.4

6.1
7.3

6.4

Water and sanitation for sustainable cities• Substantive analysis on SDG is presented inthe in Statistics Yearbook 2015, regional
chapters of the World Water Development
Report (2016, 2017) and Asia and the Pacific
SD Outlook• Policy Guidance

Manual on Wastewater
Management and Sanitation with a Special
Emphasis on Decentralized Wastewater
Treatment Systems was prepared in technicalcooperation of ESCAP-UN-Habitat and Asian
Institute of Technology and was launched at
APUF-6 in October in Jakarta, Indonesia• Secretariat is promoting effective policy frameworks
using integrated urban water management approaches
and sensitizing governments to empower businesscases and to enable local communities in managing
water-efficient urban infrastructure (upcoming twoe-modulesforpolicymakersatthe
https://sustdev.unescap.org/course/category/1 )Integrated approaches for Sustainable
Development Goals planning:

The case of Goal 6 on
Water and Sanitation

Making Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive,Safe, Resilient and Sustainable by Localizing SDGs

Ten Steps Flowchart

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9

Incentivizing collaborative frameworks
for impactful investments in wastewaterStart with the End in Mind
– What is your Vision for a Sustainable Future?
Identify thematic priorities aligned withSDG profiles and institutional mandates and values
Systems mapping at goal & target level
Identification of Policy Leverage Points
and scoring interactions between targets
Formulation of Integrated Policy Statements
Revisit System Maps by adding SDG indicators,
and mapping of institutions and partners
Finding complementarities and driving forces among
institutions
Joint Scenario Planning

Joint Implementation Plans

Step 10