Obscuring complexity and performing progress: unpacking SDG indicator 6.5.1 and the implementation of IWRM

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cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Leedsen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationCranfield Universityen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationGreen Climate Fund, Swedenen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationNewcastle Universityen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationSchool of Planning and Architecture, Indiaen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversidad del Cauca, Colombiaen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Water Management Instituteen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationAddis Ababa Universityen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationAfrica Environmental Solutions, Tanzaniaen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversidad del Valle, Colombiaen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversiti Teknologi Malaysiaen_US
cg.coverage.countryColombiaen_US
cg.coverage.countryEthiopiaen_US
cg.coverage.countryIndiaen_US
cg.coverage.countryMalaysiaen_US
cg.coverage.countryUnited Kingdomen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2COen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ETen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2INen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2MYen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2GBen_US
cg.creator.identifierAlemseged Tamiru Haile: 0000-0001-8647-2188en_US
cg.identifier.iwmilibraryH052998en_US
cg.identifier.urlhttps://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol17/v17issue2/747-a17-2-5/fileen_US
cg.isijournalISI Journalen_US
cg.issn1965-0175en_US
cg.journalWater Alternativesen_US
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 6 - Clean water and sanitationen_US
dc.contributor.authorMdee, A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorOfori, A. D.en_US
dc.contributor.authorCohen, J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorKjellén, M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorRooney, E.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSinghal, S.en_US
dc.contributor.authorAmezaga, J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorAnkushen_US
dc.contributor.authorFigueroa-Benítez, A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorGupta, S.en_US
dc.contributor.authorHaile, Alemseged Tamiruen_US
dc.contributor.authorHaileslassie, A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorKongo, V.en_US
dc.contributor.authorKumar, A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorNoguera, S. A. M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorNagheeby, M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorNoor, Z. Z.en_US
dc.contributor.authorPolaine, X.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSingh, N.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSylvester, R.en_US
dc.contributor.authorWan Ahmad Tajuddin, W. A. N.en_US
dc.contributor.authorYusop, Z. B.en_US
dc.contributor.authorZúñiga-Barragán, J.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-31T21:05:54Zen_US
dc.date.available2024-07-31T21:05:54Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/149358en_US
dc.titleObscuring complexity and performing progress: unpacking SDG indicator 6.5.1 and the implementation of IWRMen_US
dcterms.abstractAt a rhetorical level, the SDGs provide a unified global agenda, and their targets and indicators are believed to drive action for social and environmental transformation. However, what if the SDGs (and their specific goals and indicators) are more of a problem than a solution? What if they create the illusion of action through a depoliticised and technical approach that fails to address fundamental dilemmas of politics and power? What if this illusion continues to reproduce poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation? This paper addresses these questions through a focus on SDG 6.5.1 – the implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM), measured on a 0-100 scale through a composite indicator. The paper presents an empirical analysis of SDG 6.5.1 reporting in Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia, and the UK, drawing on research from the Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub.1 An evidence review and series of expert interviews are used to interrogate the local politics of IWRM measurement, specifically three dilemmas of global composite indicator construction: (1) reductive quantification of normative and contested processes; (2) weak analysis of actually existing institutional capability, politics, and power; and (3) distracting performativity dynamics in reporting. The paper concludes that SDG 6.5.1 is an example of a 'fantasy artefact', and that in all countries in this study, IWRM institutions are failing to address fundamental and 'wicked' problems in water resources management. We find little evidence that these numbers, or the survey that gives rise to them, drive meaningful reflection on the aims or outcomes of IWRM. Instead, they tend to hide the actually-existing political and institutional dynamics that sit behind the complexity of the global water crisis.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Accessen_US
dcterms.available2024-06-01en_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationMdee, A.; Ofori, A. D.; Cohen, J.; Kjellén, M.; Rooney, E.; Singhal, S.; Amezaga, J.; Ankush; Figueroa-Benítez, A.; Gupta, S.; Haile, Alemseged Tamiru; Haileslassie, A.; Kongo, V.; Kumar, A.; Noguera, S. A. M.; Nagheeby, M.; Noor, Z. Z.; Polaine, X.; Singh, N.; Sylvester, R.; Wan Ahmad Tajuddin, W. A. N.; Yusop, Z. B.; Zúñiga-Barragán, J. 2024. Obscuring complexity and performing progress: unpacking SDG indicator 6.5.1 and the implementation of IWRM. Water Alternatives, 17(2):391-414. (Special issue: The Politics of Water Quantification)en_US
dcterms.extent17(2):391-414. (Special issue: The Politics of Water Quantification)en_US
dcterms.issued2024-06en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-NC-SA-3.0en_US
dcterms.publisherWater Alternatives Associationen_US
dcterms.subjectintegrated water resources managementen_US
dcterms.subjectsustainable development goalsen_US
dcterms.subjectgoal 6 clean water and sanitationen_US
dcterms.subjectindicatorsen_US
dcterms.subjectpolitical aspectsen_US
dcterms.subjectwater governanceen_US
dcterms.subjectwater managementen_US
dcterms.subjectinstitutionsen_US
dcterms.subjectcase studiesen_US
dcterms.typeJournal Articleen_US

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