Advancing collaborative approach for managing water conflicts from sectoral to transboundary scale (SDG 16)

The role of water is pivotal in achieving sustainable development, a prosperous economy, a healthy society, and also flourishing ecosystem. However, envisioning water security requires all countries by 2030 to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, to improve water quality by reducing pollution, and to deliver integrated water resources management. In meeting these goals, water forms a nexus with food security and energy resources, thereby forming one of the fundamental pillars of sustainable development. The human society is far from attaining its targets to reaching the water-related goals, be it even zooming out to see the interdependencies of various of facets of society and its interconnectivity with water. This chapter introduces the concept of water matters, as an integration between the scientific observations from natural sciences, implications through socio-economy, and applications through innovation and governance.