Clean Water and Sanitation
Notre Dame Virtual School’s March Theme is Clean Water and Sanitation.
Sustainable Development Goal 6
Sustainable Development Goal 6 declares the importance of achieving “clean water and sanitation for all.” It is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly to succeed the former Millennium Development Goals. (Wikipedia)
Billions of people still lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, despite improvement in the provision of these basic services. Water scarcity is a growing problem in many parts of the world, and conflicts and climate change are exacerbating the issue. In addition, water pollution is a significant challenge which affects both human health and the environment in many countries. Achieving universal coverage by 2030 will require a 6-fold increase in current global rates of progress on drinking water, a 5-fold increase for sanitation, and an 8-fold increase for hygiene. Boosting infrastructure investment, improving cross-sectoral coordination, and addressing climate change is key to getting SDG6 back on track. Source: [ https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6#progress_and_info ]
Discuss:
Videos:
The Sustainable Development Goals Explained: Clean Water and Sanitation (2:41)
United Nations
[ https://youtu.be/LCKsU4bPFOQ?si=L-0dHnW1c-77zWK3 ]
Understand Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation (Secondary) (2:26)
Participate
[ https://youtu.be/7x2Ch-aMqEY?si=xuS_LXbyy9bAoh1B ]
- Water and sanitation are at the core of sustainable development, and the range of services they provide underpin poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental sustainability. However, in recent decades overexploitation, pollution, and climate change have led to severe water stress in locales across the world.
- Today, 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. Climate change is exacerbating the situation, with increasing disasters such as floods and droughts. 80 per cent of wastewater in the world flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, and 70 per cent of the world’s natural wetland extent has been lost, including a significant loss of freshwater species.
- The COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional impediment, impairing access for billions of people to safely managed drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services – services desperately needed to prevent the virus from spreading.
Understand Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation (Secondary) (2:26)
Participate
[ https://youtu.be/7x2Ch-aMqEY?si=xuS_LXbyy9bAoh1B ]
Two additional resource sites:
[ http://www.laudatosiplatform.org ]
[ https://www.sowinghopefortheplanet.org/ ]
As the people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace and justice. “Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.” –Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti
Download and Read: Study Guide for Fratelli Tutti
