Institute for Sustainable Development and Governance (ISDG), a public policy research and advocacy Centre, organized an Advocacy Dialogue meeting on Clean Water, Sanitation and Sustainable Cities and Communities on April 19th 2018, at ISDG Centre, Golf Links. This was the fifth such meeting it had been organizing in the series on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Shri. John Samuel (Executive Director Forum Asia for Human Rights and Development) delivered the keynote address. He enlightened the gathering on Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, its targets, indicators and more importantly, provided a synopsis on the historical background and underlying perception regarding the evolution of Sustainable Development Goals over the Millennium Development Goals. He pointed out that a wide gap exists between aspirations and capacity in the realization of Sustainable Development Goals and hence advocated for having more comprehensive political economy approaches over technocratic approach.
Dr. V. Subhash Chandra Bose (Scientist, Kerala State Remote Sensing & Environment Centre) made his presentation on Goal-6, Clean water and sanitation, in which he spoke about the key problems and impact regarding the virtual water concept. While being critical about the implementation and progress of the Goal, he was able to provide comprehensive insights into various water harvesting programs and its importance and impact in realizing Sustainable Development Goals. He reiterated the significance of agriculture and water conservation in the fast moving technological era and raised questions on the viability of Sustainable Development Goals. He opined that SDGs are too ambitious to be realized in the persisting ambiguous institutional framework.
ISDG Senior Fellow, Shri E. Nizamudeen, presided over the meeting. Experts in the areas of academics, public policy, civil society and media also participated in the meeting.