CEWP has published a comparative analysis of action plans on implementation of the water-related Sustainable Development Goal between the European Union and China. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 6 is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. The principal aim of the study was to comprehend the status quo of the EU and China’s progress on SDG 6 targets. Another objective was to contemplate how the EU and China can take forward implementation in partnership to enable and accelerate progress towards achieving SDG 6, and how the EU and China can go beyond SDG 6 to establish linkages across the 2030 Agenda in the context of water-energy-food nexus.
The Study was conducted as a desk study using data publicly available; complemented with a questionnaire to selected EU Member States. The report can be downloaded here.
According to the report there are some preliminary proposals that could be taken into account. First, the EU and China could develop a national indicator system together regarding SDG 6 targets. There are still quite a few global indicators, which have not yet been localized and adapted to the country context. Second, the EU and China could establish a national indicator database together, in accordance with the national indicator system. Data underpin good water governance. How to precisely assess the SDG 6 progress is through a pursuit of the availability of comparable data for each indicator. Third, the EU and China could conduct a lesson learned workshop together, in terms of equitable, participatory, and transparent SDG 6 policy process. The principal purpose of this workshop would be to achieve mutual benefit and win-win cooperation on water sustainability of the EU and China, by reviewing, discussing, and brainstorming the characteristics of action plans on SDG 6 implementation from both parties. It is also noteworthy that a cautious approach is needed, when transferring lessons learned from one country to another, and governance problems should be considered within their specific context on a case-by-case basis.