Synergies and trade-offs between sanitation and the sustainable development goals

Priti Parikh; Loan Diep; Pascale Hofmann; Julia Tomei; Luiza C Campos; Tse-Hui Teh; Yacob Mulugetta; Ben Milligan; Monica Lakhanpaul

doi:10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000016

Synergies and trade-offs between sanitation and the sustainable development goals

UCL Open Environ. 2021 Apr 27:3:e016. doi: 10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000016. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Priti Parikh¹, Loan Diep¹, Pascale Hofmann², Julia Tomei³, Luiza C Campos⁴, Tse-Hui Teh⁵, Yacob Mulugetta⁶, Ben Milligan⁷, Monica Lakhanpaul^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Engineering for International Development Centre, Bartlett School of Construction Project Management, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HB, UK.
² Environmental and Sustainable Development, The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London, 34 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9EZ, UK.
³ Energy, Resources and Development, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, UK.
⁴ Environmental Engineering, Centre for Urban Sustainability and Resilience, Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, Chadwick Building, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
⁵ The Bartlett School of Planning, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, UK.
⁶ Energy and Development Policy, UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering & Public Policy (STEaPP), Shropshire House (4th Fl), 11-20 Caper Street, London WC1E 6JA, UK.
⁷ Sustainable Development Law and Policy, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁸ Integrated Community Child Health, Population, Policy & Practice Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
⁹ Whittington NHS Trust, Magdala Ave, London N19 5NF, London, UK.

Abstract

To better leverage opportunities arising out of sustainable and inclusive management of sanitation services there is a need for robust and comprehensive evidence of the wide-ranging benefits that sanitation can deliver. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a comprehensive framework for sustainable development broken down into 169 interconnected Targets which are articulated under 17 Goals. Based on a methodology developed at University College London (UCL), this study identifies linkages between sanitation and the 169 Targets corroborated by published evidence. We show that there are synergies between sanitation and all 17 Goals and 130 (77%) of the Targets, and trade-offs for 28 (17%) of the Targets. We identified 83 Targets (49%) that call for action in the sanitation sector. The results demonstrate the far-reaching benefits that can be unlocked from investment in sanitation, which extend beyond health and spread across sectors. The evidence base for the 17 Goals establishes links that can inform cross-sectoral action, collaborations and investment across governance levels for integrated sanitation solutions. The research provides different stakeholders with a framework that can be applied to context-specific cases and projects. We propose a range of recommendations to policy makers, practitioners and researchers who seek to take this study further to help achieve the SDGs.

Keywords: SDG; cross-sectoral partnerships; interdisciplinary; sanitation; sustainable development; synergies; the environment; trade-offs; water.

Grants and funding

This research has been supported by the Vitol Foundation with in-kind contribution from University College London and led by UCL’s Engineering for International Development Centre.