{"title":"Water neutrality: Concept, challenges, policies, and recommendations","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.gsd.2024.101306","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Agriculture, urbanisation, and industrial growth have significantly increased water demand, leading to water pollution, necessitating the protection of rivers, wetlands, and ecosystems. Hence, a strategy is needed that is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which includes ensuring safe and affordable drinking water (SDG 6.1), implementing integrated water resources management (SDG 6.5), and protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems (SDG 6.6). This review article introduces the concept of water neutrality (WN), a planning approach for new urban developments aimed at minimising impacts on water security. The peer-reviewed articles and governmental reports published between 2014 and 2024 provide an overview of the current water situation. It also explores the potential benefits of WN, evaluates existing policies and case studies, and offers actionable recommendations. The study reveals that implementing water-related policies often faces challenges, such as political commitment, insufficient funding, and weak monitoring systems, particularly in developing countries. In India, water policies primarily focus on irrigation, drinking water supply, and pollution control. However, these policies struggle due to weak enforcement and conflicting stakeholder interests. The study recommends significant policy reforms and the adoption of new approaches to achieve WN, which promote integrated water resource management, strengthen governance, pricing mechanisms, advanced pollution control technologies, climate-resilient infrastructure, and public awareness, all while aligning with SDG 6. Innovative solutions, such as smart irrigation systems and water recycling programs, offer promising paths to address water scarcity. Additionally, international collaborations can further support these goals. Integrating WN into SDG 6 has the potential to significantly enhance global water security and sustainability.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37879,"journal":{"name":"Groundwater for Sustainable Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Groundwater for Sustainable Development","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352801X24002297","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Agriculture, urbanisation, and industrial growth have significantly increased water demand, leading to water pollution, necessitating the protection of rivers, wetlands, and ecosystems. Hence, a strategy is needed that is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which includes ensuring safe and affordable drinking water (SDG 6.1), implementing integrated water resources management (SDG 6.5), and protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems (SDG 6.6). This review article introduces the concept of water neutrality (WN), a planning approach for new urban developments aimed at minimising impacts on water security. The peer-reviewed articles and governmental reports published between 2014 and 2024 provide an overview of the current water situation. It also explores the potential benefits of WN, evaluates existing policies and case studies, and offers actionable recommendations. The study reveals that implementing water-related policies often faces challenges, such as political commitment, insufficient funding, and weak monitoring systems, particularly in developing countries. In India, water policies primarily focus on irrigation, drinking water supply, and pollution control. However, these policies struggle due to weak enforcement and conflicting stakeholder interests. The study recommends significant policy reforms and the adoption of new approaches to achieve WN, which promote integrated water resource management, strengthen governance, pricing mechanisms, advanced pollution control technologies, climate-resilient infrastructure, and public awareness, all while aligning with SDG 6. Innovative solutions, such as smart irrigation systems and water recycling programs, offer promising paths to address water scarcity. Additionally, international collaborations can further support these goals. Integrating WN into SDG 6 has the potential to significantly enhance global water security and sustainability.
期刊介绍:
Groundwater for Sustainable Development is directed to different stakeholders and professionals, including government and non-governmental organizations, international funding agencies, universities, public water institutions, public health and other public/private sector professionals, and other relevant institutions. It is aimed at professionals, academics and students in the fields of disciplines such as: groundwater and its connection to surface hydrology and environment, soil sciences, engineering, ecology, microbiology, atmospheric sciences, analytical chemistry, hydro-engineering, water technology, environmental ethics, economics, public health, policy, as well as social sciences, legal disciplines, or any other area connected with water issues. The objectives of this journal are to facilitate: • The improvement of effective and sustainable management of water resources across the globe. • The improvement of human access to groundwater resources in adequate quantity and good quality. • The meeting of the increasing demand for drinking and irrigation water needed for food security to contribute to a social and economically sound human development. • The creation of a global inter- and multidisciplinary platform and forum to improve our understanding of groundwater resources and to advocate their effective and sustainable management and protection against contamination. • Interdisciplinary information exchange and to stimulate scientific research in the fields of groundwater related sciences and social and health sciences required to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for sustainable development.