Formulation of citizen science approach for monitoring Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation for an Indian city

Abstract

The United Nations acknowledges that action in one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will impact outcomes in others and that development should interact the social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Many countries have prioritized goals and targets based on their current progress and the prosperity of their people. This article focused on SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, especially the first two (6.1 and 6.2) out of eight targets. The author has considered SDG 6, a critical goal to focus on and achieve in Tirunelveli city municipal corporation. The study area is situated in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India's southernmost state. Citizen science (CS), also known as community science, has emerged as an effective method of collecting data and supporting a wide range of indicators from the SDG targets. The objective of this article is to utilize the benefit of the CS approach for monitoring the targets 6.1 and 6.2 pertained to drinking water and sanitation facilities respectively in the study area. The activities suggested for this SDG 6 CS project were framing the core question, identification of citizen scientists, data analysis, and action plan. College students, ward councilors, and community volunteers, referred to as three categories of citizen scientists, will collect household data for all 55 wards in the study area. The value of the collected data to various government agencies and monitoring organizations is also discussed.

Strategic urban design for sustainable development: A framework for studio and practice

“…These changing expectations are usually investigated with a ‘citizen science’ approach to ensure that the organisation adapts to first‐hand user views (Malhotra et al, 2017). Citizen science describes a method of public participation in scientific investigations wherein members of the public provide their real‐world sensing as (a) scientific data, and (b) directions for inquiry (Millar & Searcy, 2019; Venkatesh & Velkennedy, 2022).…”

The sustainable development goals: How does their implementation affect the financial sustainability of the largest Spanish municipalities

“…Almeida et al (2018) and Martínez‐Córdoba et al (2021) study the implementation of SDG 11 in Brazilian and Spanish municipalities, respectively. Pereira et al (2021) explore SDG 3 in Brazilian municipalities, and Venkatesh and Velkennedy (2023) focus on SDG 6 in an Indian municipality.…”

Spatial assessment on influence of land use and population density in the achievement score of sustainable development target 11.1

“…The geographical detail of the study area is shown in Figure 2. Table 1 presents the four zones in the study area (Melapalayam, Thachanallur, Tirunelveli, and Palayamkottai) with a total number of 55 municipal wards for administrative purposes (Venkatesh & Velkennedy, 2022).…”

“…The approximate geographical coordinate at the centroid point of the corporation area is 8 43 0 22 00 N and 77 43 0 0.84 00 E. The geographical detail of the study area is shown in Figure2. Table1presents the four zones in the study area (Melapalayam, Thachanallur, Tirunelveli, and Palayamkottai) with a total number of 55 municipal wards for administrative purposes(Venkatesh & Velkennedy, 2022).3 | DATA SOURCE AND METHODIndicator 11.1.1 for safe and affordable housing from the 2030 agenda needs the data to quantify the population proportion lives in slums, informal settlements, and inadequate housing to implement relevant programs and policies to ensure all people have access to adequate housing and upgradation of slums (United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), 2018). UN-Habitat defines a slum as a household with a few or more people living in the same confined space that lacks one or more amenities like durable housing, sufficient living area, access to improved water, improved sanitation facilities, and secure tenure (UN Habitat, 2016).…”