BEIJING, 7 September 2026 — More than 2 billion people worldwide still live without safe drinking water. As countries race to meet  the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty and save the planet, new technologies are being explored to identify where water challenges exist, who they affect, and where action is urgent. ,  

To help close the gap, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)  and the International Research Center of Big Data for the SDGs (CBAS) convened a session at the 6th International Forum on Big Data for the SDGs (FBAS 2026) on Sep 7 in Beijing.  

Participants explored how digital technologies and localized data systems can help translate Goal 6, on clean water and sanitation for all,  into practical action.

Themed “From Indicators to Action: Localizing SDG 6 through Digital Indicator Systems and Multi-scale Practices,” this assembled international organizations, research institutions, governments and demonstration areas. Together, they examined how advances in Earth observation, geospatial technologies, artificial intelligence and integrated data systems can strengthen water governance and support SDG 6 implementation.

Water is vital to sustainable development,  for farmers, families, businesses and nature.  

Yet governments struggle to protect it, with data fragmented, outdated, lor too broad to show what is happening in individual communities, and difficulties in translating monitoring results into policy decisions.

Against this backdrop, CBAS presented a new, localized digital indicator framework for SDG 6, developed through a dedicated sub-project under the UNDP-CICETE Water Governance Programme.  

The framework combines earth observation, geospatial analytics, artificial intelligence and socio-economic data. Researchers can use this to translate global SDG 6 targets into measurable, computable and locally relevant-indicators across different geographic scales. This builds on ongoing efforts by UNDP and CBAS to strengthen the use of big data and digital technologies for water governance, so water risks are better measured and managed. 

Zhang Weidong, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in China, moderated the session and delivered opening remarks.

Participants also shared examples of how governments and communities are putting these approaches into practice.

Representatives from three of China’s National Sustainable Development Innovation Demonstration Zones — Chenzhou (Hunan), Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Qinghai), and Ordos (Inner Mongolia) — shared experiences of translating sustainability objectives into local planning and management practices.  

Participants from Lao PDR, Cambodia, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences shared their practices in leveraging Big Earth Data to support SDG 6 monitoring, assessment, and decision-making. Representatives from Hungary, Nepal, and Kyrgyzstan provided reflections and shared experiences from Europe, South Asia, and Central Asia.

Their discussions underscored how countries benefit by sharing solutions: rivers that cross borders, droughts and floods that affect entire regions, and governments facing similar questions about how to monitor water, manage competing demands and protect communities. 

As China implements its 15th Five-Year Plan, participants considered how policymakers can further integrate digital tools, evidence and sustainability into water governance.  

They also called for closer links between scientists and decision-makers, stronger digital attention to local needs, and deeper international cooperation, so countries can adapt approaches that have worked elsewhere.,

These priorities reflect a wider global challenge. Progress towards water and sanitation for all remains off track, despite significant gains over the past decade, UN-Water reports. Achieving universal, safely managed drinking water by 2030 requires the world to increase its current rate of progress roughly eight-fold.

Through their partnership, UNDP and CBAS are helping policymakers move from measuring water challenges to acting on them, using better local data to protect people, livelihoods and ecosystems, in China and beyond.