Centering Local Knowledge and Leadership Are Critical to Achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Water Security Goal

A photo of water coming out of a pipe
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Recently published paper coauthored by ASRC Environmental Science researchers details learnings from a global virtual marathon on water access.

Water is one of the most critical and threatened resources in the face of climate change and environmental upset. So much so that addressing water security is among the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. That goal took center stage this past March at the U.N. Water Conference and during a 24-hour virtual global marathon event hosted by the ASRC Environmental Science Initiative and the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. Now, a recently published paper in the journal Eos details findings coming out of the satellite global marathon event, which was attended by more than 500 scientists, policymakers and practitioners from around the world.

Participants in the global marathon brainstormed ways to help the Sustainable Development water goal—SDG 6— get back on track so that countries and communities can achieve and maintain universal access to basic drinking water. The Eos paper, which CUNY ASRC Environmental Sciences Initiative Director Charles Vorosmarty and Assistant Director Anthony Cak helped to author, highlights key lessons from the discussions, including that solutions cannot be one-size-fits-all, but need to be tailored to local situations. You can read more about the group’s findings in Eos.