Hydrological sciences realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals

This presentation intends to inspire the scientific community with an overview of tangible examples on how hydrological research can help realising each of the global Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 at a sub-goal level (in brackets below). Examples will be given from on-going work in the following hydrological fields, where new knowledge and understanding is crucial.

Hydrological forecasting and warning services help reducing exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events (1.5), increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (7.2), devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism (8.9), significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses (11.5).

Water allocation and ecosystem services strengthen food production systems for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters (2.4), protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes (6.6), achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources (12.2), ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services (15.1).

Water quality assessments help ending water-borne diseases (3.3), improve water quality by reducing pollution (6.3), achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and significantly reduce their release to water (12.4), prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities (14.1).

Climate change impact assessments strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters (13.1).

Education, capacity development, participatory modelling and co-creation with stakeholders ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development (4.7), enhance the use of enabling technology also empowering women (5b), support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management (6.b), facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries (9.a), empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all (10.2), ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels (16.7), broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries (16.8) and enhance international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation with knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms (17.6).