Integrated water resources management (IWRM) provides an essential framework to achieve not only Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6—to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”—but also to achieve all SDGs. This report focuses on two complementary SDG indicators related to IWRM:
- 6.5.1 - Degree of integrated water resources management implementation
- 6.5.2 - Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation
This report examines the work of 172 countries that provided information on efforts to implement IWRM. Through quantitative data and qualitative discussion, it presents a global picture of the current state of affairs on water management, including assessments of successes and challenges.
The key finding is that IWRM implementation needs to accelerate significantly in order to realise the 2030 Agenda. While 80 percent of countries have laid the foundations for IWRM, only 60 percent of countries are unlikely to reach the global target by 2030 unless implementation is accelerated. The report, therefore, recommends that these countries set national, interim targets and prioritise activities that can have the greatest impact.