Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Global report on Sanitation and Wastewater Management in cities and human settlements

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) (
United Nations / Multilateral body
)
#SDGAction49797
Description
Description
UN Habitat will launch the Global Report on Sanitation and Wastewater Management in Cities and Human Settlements during UN Water Conference 2023. Around 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Projections show that urbanization, the gradual shift in residence of the human population from rural to urban areas, combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050, with close to 90% of this increase taking place in Asia and Africa, according to 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects report (2018). Many countries are experiencing rapid growth due to rural-to-urban migration will inevitably witness the prevalence of informal settlements or slums in and around large cities. With these developments, challenges of sanitation, wastewater and faecal sludge management place growing pressure on countries to invest in this infrastructure. A lack of clarity around mandate and responsibilities for urban sanitation as a public service continues to be a bottleneck to service improvements. The report intends to provide a global reference on sanitation, wastewater and faecal sludge management in cities and human settlements. It provides a situation assessment of wastewater and faecal sludge management and monitoring represented by selected cities. Drawing from existing literature and primary data collection across 18 cities, the study has un-derlined the scale of the challenge in strengthening wastewater and faecal sludge manage-ment at the global level, while also demonstrating that many inspiring examples exist for cities and countries to follow. The report synthesises key conclusions and recommendations, with the way forward to bringing wastewater and faecal sludge management to the heart of urban development. In addition, 5 case studies from Medellín and the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley (Colombia), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Dhaka (Bangladesh) , Nakuru (Kenya), and Hanoi (Vietnam), drawn within the 18 selected cities have been developed for different thematic areas including; sanitation data management, extending services to informal settlements, sanitation services, and wastewater management in megacities, while covering the institutional and regulatory aspects, implementing climate-resilient wastewater management systems including reuse and long-term planning and financing of citywide wastewater and sanitation services. The report targets national-level decision makers involved in urban development and urban sanitation, reginal and global actors, urban sanitation and urban development practitioners and researchers. The report demonstrates UN-Habitat’s commitment to support the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028. UN-Habitat is committed to mobilise resources to support bi-annual update of the global report to widen the number of cities and case studies covered as a contribution to the Water Action Agenda.
Expected Impact
The Global report will impact on approaches to improve and strengthen sanitation, wastewater and faecal sludge management, better monitoring of wastewater management at city/regional/global level, improves incentive mechanism at the city level for effective sanitation, wastewater and faecal sludge management and enhance sanitation, wastewater and faecal sludge management. Global report will provide the current statues of the overall value chain of sanitation including wastewater and faecal sludge management that draw conclusion and recommended action for the The Way forward — bringing wastewater and faecal sludge management to the heart of urban development that include: 1. Invest more, and more smartly 2. Clarify roles and responsibilities for wastewater and faecal sludge management 3. Integrate wastewater and faecal sludge management services with wider urban development and slum upgrading processes 4. Allocate human and financial resources to regulation for greater accountability 5. Radically improve national and global monitoring of wastewater and faecal sludge management 6. Implement measures for safe wastewater and faecal sludge valorisation 7. Invest in further research on wastewater and faecal sludge management 8. Support peer-to-peer learning and south-south collaboration The report demonstrates UN-Habitat’s commitment to support the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028. The report is expected to contribute to the Interactive Dialogues: (1) Water for Health: Access to WASH, including the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation (SDG 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 and SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 17), and (2) Water for Development: Valuing Water, Water- Energy-Food Nexus and Sustainable Economic and Urban Development (SDG 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 and SDGs 2, 8, 9, 11, 12) The report is interlinkage with Interactive Dialogue 5; Water Action Decade, following the recommendation: - 43: Shifted thinking on financing water and sanitation and take new approaches. - 47: It is needed to enable the local authorities, municipalities, and cities to adopt new data systems which is often hampered by low capacities, bureaucratic, resource constrained, and policy challenged national environments. Improving coordination among the stakeholders, improving data access, and strengthening standardization of monitoring indicators across - 53: There is a strong need to address critical capacity bottlenecks that still plague sustainable water and sanitation service provision in informal settlements, urban low-income areas, and peri-urban zones in view of their special situation. - 62: There is a need to establish a cooperative, cross-sectoral approach by establishing vertical and horizontal governance, based on cooperation between all stakeholders, sectors and countries, to manage conflicting and cross-sectoral interests and ensure accountability, strengthen policy coherence through effective cross-sectoral coordination, between water and environment, health, energy, agriculture, industry, spatial planning and land use policies.
Partners

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
French Development Agency – AFD - Agence Française de Développement

Goal 6

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 6

6.1

By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all

6.1.1

Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services

6.2

By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations

6.2.1

Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water

6.3

By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally

6.3.1

Proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated

6.3.2

Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality

6.4

By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
6.4.1

Change in water-use efficiency over time

6.4.2

Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources

6.5

By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate

6.5.1

Degree of integrated water resources management 

6.5.2

Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation

6.6

By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
6.6.1

Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time

6.a

By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies
6.a.1

Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan

6.b

Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management

6.b.1

Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management

Goal 11

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 11

11.1

By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums

11.1.1

Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing

11.2

By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
11.2.1

Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

11.3

By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
11.3.1

Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate

11.3.2

Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically

11.4

Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

11.4.1

Total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by source of funding (public, private), type of heritage (cultural, natural) and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)

11.5

By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations

11.5.1

Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population

11.5.2

Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global domestic product (GDP)

11.5.3

(a) Damage to critical infrastructure and (b) number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters

11.6

By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management

11.6.1

Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities

11.6.2

Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population weighted)

11.7

By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
11.7.1

Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

11.7.2

Proportion of persons victim of non-sexual or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months

11.a

Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

11.a.1

Number of countries that have national urban policies or regional development plans that (a) respond to population dynamics; (b) ensure balanced territorial development; and (c) increase local fiscal space

11.b

By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels

11.b.1

Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030

11.b.2

Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies

11.c

Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials

Goal 17

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Goal 17

17.1

Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection

17.1.1
Total government revenue as a proportion of GDP, by source
17.1.2
Proportion of domestic budget funded by domestic taxes

17.2

Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries

17.2.1
Net official development assistance, total and to least developed countries, as a proportion of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee donors’ gross national income (GNI)

17.3

Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources

17.3.1

Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources 

17.3.2
Volume of remittances (in United States dollars) as a proportion of total GDP

17.4

Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress

17.4.1
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods and services

17.5

Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries

17.5.1

Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries

17.6

Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism

17.6.1

 Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed

17.7

Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed

17.7.1

Total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies

17.8

Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology

17.8.1
Proportion of individuals using the Internet

17.9

Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation

17.9.1

Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries

17.10

Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda

17.10.1
Worldwide weighted tariff-average

17.11

Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020

17.11.1

Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports

17.12

Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access

17.12.1

Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States

17.13

Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence

17.13.1
Macroeconomic Dashboard

17.14

Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development

17.14.1
Number of countries with mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence of sustainable development

17.15

Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development 

17.15.1
Extent of use of country-owned results frameworks and planning tools by providers of development cooperation

17.16

Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries

17.16.1

Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

17.17

Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships 

17.17.1

Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure

17.18

By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts

17.18.1

Statistical capacity indicators

17.18.2
Number of countries that have national statistical legislation that complies with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics
17.18.3

Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding

17.19

By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries

17.19.1
Dollar value of all resources made available to strengthen statistical capacity in developing countries
17.19.2

Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration

Name Description
Final deliverable is the Publication of Global report on sanitation and wastewater management in cities and human settlements. UN Habitat committed to support bi-annual repot update to widen the number of cities and case studies covered.
Other, please specify
UN-Habitat is committed to mobilise resources to support bi-annual update of the global report to widen the number of cities and case studies covered as a contribution to the Water Action Agenda.
No progress reports have been submitted. Please sign in and click here to submit one.
False
Action Network
water logo
Share
FacebookTwitterLinkedIn
Timeline
N/A
Entity
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
SDGs
6 11 17
Region
  1. Global
Other beneficiaries

Consortium: WSUP (Lead), AguaConsult, UCL, 2iE, ESAWAS, GSMA, DSTL

Countries
France
France
United States of America
United States of America
Contact Information

Hezekiah Otieno, WASH LLead, Urban Basic Services

pireh.otieno@un.org