Training Competencies for Sustainable Thinking Through …
363
“By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking
water for all.” Because of the fact that water is indispensable to life, it needs to be
reused. Before returning used water into the water cycle, cleaning is to be guaranteed.
An increasing number of the world’s population lives in cities. “In 2015, close to
4 billion people—54% of the world’s population—lived in cities and that number is
projected to increase to about 5 billion people by 2030.” For the realization of SDG
11 (“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”)
an economized and efficient handling of water must therefore have priority.
Furthermore, water is a means of production in agriculture and industry. The
increase of the economic efficiency in this area must accompany the increase of the
effectiveness of resource usage, therefore also of water usage (see SDG 12.2 “By
2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources”).
The improvement of the “water footprint” and a decrease of the “virtual water” can
serve to clarify global problems. Moreover, both approaches can influence individual
purchase decisions significantly.
Nevertheless, the pollution of water resources (ground water and surface water)
has to be minimized in order to provide enough water in a sufficient and high quality
(see SDG 6.6: “By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including
mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.”). In relation to that, economic development has to comply with environmental standards (see SDG 2).
Moreover, water is a natural habitat for many organisms which contribute to a
functioning ecosystem. Hence, a further SDG is the preservation of the diversity of
species (see SDG 15.5: “Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation
of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent
the extinction of threatened species.”). Intensive use of agriculture or forestry affects
this goal.
The topic of “sustainable usage of water” is summed up by Fig. 2 of the SDG. In
over 12 of 17 SDG’s a relation to water is given, although to different extents.
Reconsidering all mentioned examples of the meaning of water, on the one hand,
it is obvious that responsible handling of water as a resource causes emotional commitment for many people. On the other hand, all topics of the SDG are strongly
connected with each other, so that the ability of complex problem-solving can be
clearly demonstrated on the topic “water”. As a function of the experiences and the
position of the respective actor, the decisions will be different. However, there is no
“right” or “wrong”.
A further aspect which can be trained within the usage of waster is the consideration of local acting and global impacts (think global—act local). This can be clarified
with the help of the “water footprint”: “The water footprint measures the amount of
water used to produce each of the goods and services we use. The water footprint
looks at both direct and indirect water use of a process, product, company or sector
and includes water consumption and pollution throughout the full production cycle,
from the supply chain to the end user.
1 Once the water consumption is visible for the
end user, buying decisions can depend on it.
1 http://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/what-is-water-footprint.
363
“By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking
water for all.” Because of the fact that water is indispensable to life, it needs to be
reused. Before returning used water into the water cycle, cleaning is to be guaranteed.
An increasing number of the world’s population lives in cities. “In 2015, close to
4 billion people—54% of the world’s population—lived in cities and that number is
projected to increase to about 5 billion people by 2030.” For the realization of SDG
11 (“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”)
an economized and efficient handling of water must therefore have priority.
Furthermore, water is a means of production in agriculture and industry. The
increase of the economic efficiency in this area must accompany the increase of the
effectiveness of resource usage, therefore also of water usage (see SDG 12.2 “By
2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources”).
The improvement of the “water footprint” and a decrease of the “virtual water” can
serve to clarify global problems. Moreover, both approaches can influence individual
purchase decisions significantly.
Nevertheless, the pollution of water resources (ground water and surface water)
has to be minimized in order to provide enough water in a sufficient and high quality
(see SDG 6.6: “By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including
mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.”). In relation to that, economic development has to comply with environmental standards (see SDG 2).
Moreover, water is a natural habitat for many organisms which contribute to a
functioning ecosystem. Hence, a further SDG is the preservation of the diversity of
species (see SDG 15.5: “Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation
of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent
the extinction of threatened species.”). Intensive use of agriculture or forestry affects
this goal.
The topic of “sustainable usage of water” is summed up by Fig. 2 of the SDG. In
over 12 of 17 SDG’s a relation to water is given, although to different extents.
Reconsidering all mentioned examples of the meaning of water, on the one hand,
it is obvious that responsible handling of water as a resource causes emotional commitment for many people. On the other hand, all topics of the SDG are strongly
connected with each other, so that the ability of complex problem-solving can be
clearly demonstrated on the topic “water”. As a function of the experiences and the
position of the respective actor, the decisions will be different. However, there is no
“right” or “wrong”.
A further aspect which can be trained within the usage of waster is the consideration of local acting and global impacts (think global—act local). This can be clarified
with the help of the “water footprint”: “The water footprint measures the amount of
water used to produce each of the goods and services we use. The water footprint
looks at both direct and indirect water use of a process, product, company or sector
and includes water consumption and pollution throughout the full production cycle,
from the supply chain to the end user.
1 Once the water consumption is visible for the
end user, buying decisions can depend on it.
1 http://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/what-is-water-footprint.