Policy Regulations and SDGs – Ashok K. Chapagain

Interlinkages between cross-sectoral policies

Policy, regulations and SDGs

Nexus approach in policy making

Water is crucial for the global economy. Virtually every economic sector, from agriculture, power generation, manufacturing, beverage and apparel to tourism, relies on fresh water to sustain its business. Yet water scarcity and water pollution levels are increasing in river basins around the world due to growing populations, changing consumption patterns and poor water governance.

The interlinkages between agriculture, trade, economic and energy policy and water resources management must be understood. A holistic approach to sustainable development will help ensure that the aims of each individual sector do not lead to unintended consequences that hamper progress and result in negative impacts on water resources and water-related ecosystems. Trade-offs in food security and water security coming from reliance on internal or external water resources for food, export value and supply chain inputs should be investigated for a balanced approach to development.

UK Environment Agency

Faced with growing problems related to water scarcity and pollution, the UK Environment Agency commissioned the Water Footprint Network to conduct a comprehensive Water Footprint Assessment of surface and groundwater in 35 sub-catchments in the Hertfordshire and North London Area. The finding highlighted the ways water management and regulations have contributed to water scarcity and water pollution levels and proposed a regulatory framework that integrates water quantity and quality resource management

WFA of sub-Saharan Africa

We prepared the Water Footprint Profiles for seven Sub-Saharan African countries: Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique and Rwanda. The project was conducted to support the Ministry’s target of increasing water productivity by 25% in Dutch financed projects. The profiles provide an overview of:

- Water use in each country, from the perspective of the goods produced within the country;

- A comparison of major crops produced against global water footprint benchmarks to assess how efficiently water is being used in producing a crop and the potential for increasing water and land productivity;

- The sustainability of water used for crop production in each country when compared with water availability;

- The consumption of goods (in particular agricultural crops) by citizens of that country; and

- Whether these goods are produced domestically or imported from other countries.

Interlinkages between cross-sectoral policies