Nordic Interventions In African Sustainable Water Development

Aligning with the beginning of a new sustainable development paradigm in 2000 and the introduction of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the international community has developed more collaborative and innovative approaches for solving sustainable water development challenges. Unfortunately, most developed countries have not promoted sustainable development in least developed countries and have failed to produce effective and successful partnerships relating to SDG 6, centred on ensuring clean water and sanitation for all. Denmark and Sweden, however, are notable exceptions. Using the case studies of the Denmark-Uganda partnership and the Sweden-Mali partnership, in this thesis, I explore which sustainable water development partnership approaches and tools are most likely to help LDCs in Africa implement water accessibility and availability strategies, clean water and sanitation measures, and management (sustainable use) practices, according to the criteria set forth in SDG 6. Furthermore, I ask: Are partnerships between developed countries and LDCs which exhibit higher levels of participation amongst stakeholders, more likely to result in higher levels of water sustainability, as measured by the targets of SDG 6? Ultimately, I hypothesized that partnerships that exhibit higher levels of participation will result in higher levels of water sustainability, as measured by SDG 6 targets. This thesis provides an overview of partnerships as a particularly helpful approach to fostering sustainable water development. I then discuss the different approaches taken by Nordic countries in achieving successful sustainable water development in least developed African countries. Comparing the Denmark-Uganda and Sweden-Mali partnerships, I observe that partnerships focused on prioritizing the participation of stakeholders - ensuring the participation of relevant actors in decision-making, problem-solving, and policy-making - are the most useful in advancing the agenda of SDG 6. Understanding how different approaches in partnerships can contribute to successful sustainable water development can provide a framework for developed countries and the broader international community to engage in partnerships with least developed countries designed to provide sustainable water development and implement the larger SDG framework.