Clean Water and Sanitation
Insights into the way our world is changing, highlight the impact of water resources
and sanitation on the environment and health
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In 2020, it was estimated that around two billion people live without safely managed drinking water services. Some 40% of water bodies across the world don’t meet the standards of ‘good’ water quality, and water stress levels in some areas of the world are over 70%.
The articles on this page highlight how research contributions across multiple disciplines can help to generate change and increase progress. Work being done by researchers with a range of focus areas, can come together to highlight issues and solutions that help to improve the status of clean water and sanitation across the world.
At PLOS, we know that research into these areas is one of the key ways that progress in the clean water sphere can be made. Our commitment to advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals means that we focus on publishing work with real-world impact.
Environment and health research
These articles provide insights into the way our world is changing, highlight the impact of water resources on the environment and health, and identify areas where progress still needs to be made.
Society and scarcity research
It’s not just the environment itself that feels the impact of problems – and solutions – related to water resources. These articles look at society and scarcity, discussing how water resource issues affect our neighborhoods and demographics, and identify paths forward that work towards achieving the targets laid out by the United Nations.
Investment needs to achieve SDGs: An overview
PLOS Sustainability and Transformation
Our commitment to sustainability
We’re proud to be a signatory of the UN SDG Publisher’s compact to advance the 17 Sustainable Development Goals through the Open Access research we publish and the actions we take across our business.