Population growth, climate change and drinking water scarcity mean that sustainably managing global water resources is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. To help solve the conflicts developing around this “blue gold”, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has initiated the "Water as a global Resource (GRoW)“ funding measure on the basis of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Agreeing on the SDGs was a tremendous accomplishment for the international community, and continuing on this path is essential for our joint future. To achieve the targets, we will have to make ongoing efforts, adopt new approaches and examine multiple challenges. In view of the forthcoming High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and this year’s SDG 6 in-depth review, the partners in the research program Water as a Global Resource (GRoW) produced a position paper highlighting key scientific challenges to achieving the ambitious SDG 6.
In the paper, the GRoW partners emphasise the need to build a better evidence base for achieving and monitoring SDG 6. They call for a global platform that would bring together science, policy and practice to bundle key water topics, consolidate knowledge on achieving the SDGs and thereby strengthen evidence-based decisions.
In April 2018 the GRoW-steering comittee discussed advances, challenges and steps ahead in the work of the 12 research projects during their second meeting in Berlin
GRoW attracts interest from international stakeholders and environmental organisations
A short summary of GRoW’s first year paints a positive picture. The research projects have started well and are also attracting a great deal of international attention. They have begun developing partnerships and networks with public and private international stakeholders, and are finding support among global environmental organisations. This keen interest shows that GRoW is doing relevant, topical work – primarily because it is successfully developing local and regional, globally transferrable solutions for protecting water resources.
