UN OWG Proposed Target 6.5
RATING: FAIR – this is a good first step in water resource management because, at the very least, it compels the collection of data and assessing a baseline of water usage within an area. The other positive about this target is that it requires relatively fewer actors to implement, with a corresponding reduction in complexity. The trans-boundary element of this target is however, difficult and would entail much higher costs.
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In our recent report, not just the target above, but all 169 targets have been assessed by 60 teams of the world’s top economists. The targets have been categorized into five ratings based on evidence of economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits. While we applaud that the UN Open Working Group's final outcome document contains 43 fewer targets than the previous document, we are concerned that many targets have simply been combined, therefore reducing the number of both phenomenal and poor targets assessed according to our cost-benefit analysis. Our new assessment includes suggestions for how these can be improved as reported in this article by the Financial Times.
