World Water Day 2023

In March five engineering students from the University of Mauritius were announced as one of the winning entries for the UNESCO World Engineering Day Hackathon 2023. The global competition challenged students to come up with innovative solutions to real-world problems linked to Sustainable Development Goals 2 Zero Hunger, 3 Good Health and Well-being, and 6 Clean Water and Sanitation.

While exploring ideas for their entry the Mauritian students were inspired by one of their team-mate’s experiences facing a water crisis on the island of Rodrigues. The region is affected by periods of drought. This leads to a scarcity of clean water from the desalination plants and boreholes for consumption. Consequently, much of the population uses rainwater directly from household storage tanks. However, due to fallen debris and the growth of bacteria in the tanks the water can become unsafe leading to intestinal health problems. To address this critical issue related to SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation - Team Aqua-Smart was born. The students designed a rainwater harvesting system building on existing technologies of solar water heaters and rainwater tanks that are used by each household in Rodrigues.

In 2015 the world committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including Goal 6 that everyone would have safely managed water and sanitation by 2030. With less than 7 years left to achieve the 2030 Agenda we are seriously off-track. The health, education, and livelihoods of billions of people are being disrupted because their human rights related to water and sanitation have not yet been fulfilled. 

Although team Aqua-Smart began their project with the intention of addressing the challenges around SDG 6 they soon found that their design would also impact SDGs 3 Good Health and Well-being, 12 Responsible Consumption and Production and 13 Climate Action. Team member Zeeshan Bughalee explained:

“SDGs are interlinked a single solution can tackle a lot of problems.”

 

This interconnected nature of the SDGs means they should not be viewed in individual silos but must be addressed across sectors. In this way, challenges throughout the water cycle are undermining progress on all major global issues, from health to hunger, gender equality to jobs, education to industry, and disasters to peace. Equally, climate change is disrupting the water cycle, causing droughts and floods impacting the livelihoods and well-being of communities.

‘Accelerating Change’ is the theme of this year’s World Water Day. This message to act is aimed at everyone across all sectors of society BECAUSE water affects us all. No one government or institution can solve this crisis alone.  Empowering our young people is key as underlined by Aqua-Smart team member Eugenie Gontran:

“Youth are not bound by traditions, and we are tech savvy so we can bring new perspectives. We think outside the box as we’ve been brought up in the generation of rising technology.”

In his message for World Water Day the UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that WATER is the lifeblood of humanity. Each one of us has a role in protecting and using WATER sustainably to preserve it for present and future generations. The passion and innovation of the Aqua-Smart team demonstrate this. And shows when young people today are given the opportunity, they can become drivers for change.

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The members of team Aqua-Smart are University of Mauritius third-year engineering students: Hirthikraj Dabeeah, Zeeshan Bhugalee, Eugenie Gontran, Toolsee Devi Ramjeet, and Sahebally Mohammad Hammaad Ali.