Goal 7: Environmental Sustainability

Global population growth has placed increasing strain on the environment.  Industrial emissions, deforestation, and unchecked consumption have caused climate change and disrupted ecosystems.  Many of the poorest regions are feeling the effect with scarcer resources, disrupted water supplies, and worsening natural disasters and infectious diseases.

These changes threaten the fragile living conditions of billions of people across the developing world.  Many people still live without basic sanitation facilities or safe water sources, and slums still dominate urban settings.

Millennium Development Goal 7 aims to reduce environmental destruction, slow climate change, and boost the living conditions of the world’s poorest through elimination of slums and increased access to basic sanitation and safe water.

Although progress has been made in some areas, much work remains to be done.  Significant investment and public donations will be needed to meet Goal 7 by 2015.

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TARGET 1: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

Although the world’s richest nations produce the bulk of harmful emissions, the poorest nations are often most adversely affected by climate change.  Climate change intensifies storms, floods, and droughts—putting small island nations, large delta regions in Asia, and vast African farmlands at risk.  Yet these poor regions are the least capable of responding to such disasters.

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CONTINUE TO RISE.  When “greenhouse gasses” like carbon dioxide accumulate in the Earth’s atmosphere, they insulate it contributing to slowly rising temperatures.  Despite agreements to reduce greenhouse gasses, levels continue to rise, with rich nations producing the most emissions per person.

USE OF OZONE-DEPLETING SUBSTANCES HAS DECREASED. When the ozone layer (a protective shield around the earth) is depleted by chemical emissions, more sunlight can enter and warm the earth.  Fortunately, use of ozone-depleting substances worldwide has decreased significantly in the past 20 years.

TARGET 2: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss.

Preservation of the world’s ecosystems is important not only in its own right, but also for human livelihood and reduction of climate change.  Protection of oceans and forests is essential.  Yet despite small increases in protected ocean and forests, destruction outpaces conservation.

THREATENED MARINE LIFE JEOPARDIZES FISHING ECONOMIES. Less than 1% of the world’s oceans are protected.  As a result, today 4 out of 5 fish species are depleted or exploited, jeopardizing poor coastal regions that depend on fishing for income.

DEFORESTATION HURTS CLIMATE AND INCREASES POVERTY. Trees absorb greenhouse gases, improve soil fertility, and increase water availability.  However, a net 28,000 square miles of forest is destroyed each year (roughly half the size of New York)—mostly in tropical developing nations.  Smoke from deforestation comprises nearly one fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions each year.

WATER SCARCITY AFFECTS ALMOST HALF THE WORLD’S POPULATION.  In the regions of Northern Africa, Western Asia, and parts of China and India, most river water is used for agriculture, leaving very little for human consumption.  Elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Southern Asia, water is not accessible due to poor infrastructure or limited funds.

TARGET 3: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Both basic sanitation (toilets, latrines, waste disposal) and safe drinking water (piped or pumped clean reservoirs) are essential for improving health in developing settings.  Important progress has been made, especially in urban regions.  But much work remains in the poorest and rural areas in order to meet the target by 2015.

ACCESS TO BASIC SANITATION INCREASES, BUT REMAINS LOW. Since 1990, 1.1 billion people have gained access to basic sanitation facilities, but 2.5 billion are still in need.  Despite notable progress in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, these regions still require the most progress to meet 2015 targets.

OPEN DEFECATION REMAINS COMMON, CREATING HEALTH RISKS. When people lack access to basic sanitation, defecation in open spaces becomes a last resort.  Nearly 1 in every 5 people worldwide defecates openly—mostly the extremely poor in rural Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. This creates significant health risks for the surrounding community.

ACCESS TO SAFE WATER IS ON TARGET, BUT GAPS REMAIN RURALLY. Since 1990, 1.6 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water, with most progress across Asia.  However, nearly 1 billion people still lack safe water—the vast majority in rural areas—Including over 1 in 3 sub-Saharan Africans and half of all Pacific Islanders.

TARGET 4: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

Urban slums remain a significant problem throughout the developing world.  Slum dwellings are often small and overcrowded, with limited access to clean water or adequate sanitation facilities.  Building materials are nondurable and easily destroyed by natural disasters.  Infectious diseases like TB and diarrheal diseases spread easily, and violence is high

IN DEVELOPING NATIONS, 1 IN 3 CITY-DWELLERS LIVES IN A SLUM. Sub-Saharan Africa is worst off, with nearly 2 in 3 city-dwellers living in slums.

SLUM POPULATIONS ARE DECREASING, EXCEPT IN WESTERN ASIA. Slum populations are falling in all regions due to improvements in national economies, infrastructure, and sanitation.  However, due to political turmoil in Western Asia, slums have actually increased since 1990 in this region.  1 in 4 city-dwellers in Western Asia lives in a slum.