WATER AND SANITATION

Spanish Cooperation, recognizing the need to support the goals of the 2030 Agenda to achieve a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world, takes a comprehensive approach to the triple social, ecological, and economic transition, focusing on priority sectors such as access to water and sanitation, which are essential for the sustainability of human development. 

Spanish Cooperation’s Priorities in Water and Sanitation

The Spanish Cooperation Master Plan highlights the essential nature of water in its social and environmental dimensions and establishes the following priorities:

• A focus on integrated and watershed-based management.
• Improving indicators of access to drinking water, with special emphasis on rural areas.
• Adequate access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to prevent and control diseases.

Promoting a just ecological transition requires ensuring the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation, an area where Spain has demonstrated its firm commitment and international leadership since these rights were recognized more than a decade ago by the United Nations General Assembly. 

The AECID carries out numerous international initiatives to ensure access to drinking water, sanitation, and integrated water resources management, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) of the 2030 Agenda.

Key Features of Spanish Cooperation in Water and Sanitation

The AECID’s strategy focuses on expanding coverage of water, sanitation, and hygiene services through:

• The development and improvement of sustainable infrastructure for access to basic services.
• The consolidation of operators and technical training for the entities responsible for their management.
• The promotion of efficient, sustainable, and equitable public policies in the water sector.

As a cross-cutting theme in all its initiatives, the AECID is committed to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), promoting effective, participatory, and sustainable water governance that ensures the long-term maintenance of infrastructure and the economic viability of water systems.

The Human Rights to Water and Sanitation as a Strategic Priority

Despite the progress made in recent years, millions of people worldwide still lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation facilities, a shortfall that directly impacts public health, food security, and socioeconomic development. The lack of basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services remains one of the main drivers of inequality, particularly in regions affected by structural poverty, conflict, or the adverse effects of climate change.

Implementing the SDG 6 targets to improve the lives of the most vulnerable groups requires effective and sufficient funding. In this regard, Spanish Cooperation carries out projects such as:

•  The Masar Agua initiative in North Africa, aimed at improving water governance in contexts of climate crisis.
• The AECID’s most ambitious instrument in this area is the Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation (FCAS) in Latin America and the Caribbean, which has already benefited more than 4.6 million people, establishing itself as an international benchmark in water cooperation.

Principles Guiding the Work of the FCAS

The AECID guides the work of the FCAS based on a fundamental principle: access to safe drinking water and sanitation as human rights that facilitate other rights, which in turn guide the Fund’s actions:

• Gender equality. 
• Social cohesion.
• The fight against poverty and inequality.
• Cultural adaptation of programs.
• A territorial approach to development. 
• Sustainability and environmental governance. 
• Transparent and participatory public management. 
• The use of technology for human development that is appropriate and adapted to the context.  
• Education and awareness-raising for a new water culture.
• Adaptation to and the fight against climate change.
• Work with indigenous peoples and people of African descent.

Water, Climate Change, and the Protection of Water Ecosystems

The AECID gives priority attention to the effects of climate change on water resources, incorporating measures to reduce risks associated with droughts, floods, and extreme weather events into its cooperation programs.

Likewise, it considers the conservation of water ecosystems and the environmental protection of watersheds to be essential, as an indispensable condition for ensuring the quality, availability, and sustainability of water in the medium and long term. The protection of the natural environment is integrated as a key element in guaranteeing the right to water for present and future generations.