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Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources.



Reduce by half the pro-
portion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.



Achieve significant 
improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.
 
 
 
Sustainable development can be ensured only by protecting the environment and using its resources wisely. Poor people, often dependent on environmental resources for their livelihood, are the most affected by environmental degradation and natural disasters (fires, storms, earthquakes) whose effects are worsened by environmental mismanagement.
 
Most countries have adopted principles of sustainable development and agreed to inter­national accords on protecting the ­environment. But good intentions are not enough. Around the world land is being degraded. Forests are being lost. Fisheries are being overused. Plant and animal species are becoming extinct. And carbon dioxide emissions are driving changes in global climate.
 
Rich countries are major consumers of products and services from the environment. Thus rich countries and poor countries alike have a stake in using environmental resources wisely.
 
 Water and sanitation—basic services needed by all
 Population without access to an improved water source or sanitation facilities (%)
  Sub-Saharan Africa   South Asia
   
 
In Sub-Saharan Africa 300 million people lack access to improved water sources and 450 million lack adequate sanitation services. South Asia has made excellent progress in providing water, but progress has been slower in providing sanitation.
 
  East Asia & Pacific   Latin America & Caribbean
   
 
In East Asia rapid urbanization is posing a challenge for the provision of water and other public utilities. Latin America and the Caribbean, the most urban developing region, has made slow progress in providing sanitation services.
 
  Europe & Central Asia   Middle East & North Africa
   
 
Many countries in Europe and Central Asia lack reliable benchmarks for the early 1990s. In the Middle East and North Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco have made the fastest progress.
 
 

Source: World Bank staff estimates.

       

 
 

       

 Country by country progress toward access to water . . .
 Share of countries on track to achieve the target for access to improved water source (%)
    

Source: World Bank staff estimates.
     

    
Lack of clean water and basic sanitation is the main reason diseases transmitted by feces are so common in developing countries. Water is a daily need that must be met, but in some places people spend many hours to obtain water from sources that are not protected from contamination. Even the modest target of reducing by half the number of people without access to an improved water source will not be met in many countries at the current rate of progress.
 
 
 . . . and to sanitation
 Share of countries on track to achieve the target for access to improved sanitation source (%)
    

Source: World Bank staff estimates.
 

     
An improved sanitation system provides disposal facilities that can effectively prevent human, animal, and insect contact with excreta. It does not, however, ensure treatment of effluents to remove harmful substances before they are released into the environment. Large populations in Africa and Asia still lack adequate sanitation facilities, and few countries are currently on track to reach the target.
 

    
Forests falling
 Forest area (thousands of square kilometers)

Note: Positive values indicate an increase in forest area.
Source: FAO data and World Bank staff estimates.
 

 
Since 1990 the world has lost about 1.3 million square kilometers of forest— almost 100,000 square kilometers each year. The losses have been greatest in the great tropical forests of Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Forest products, including timber, are important sources of livelihood for people in developing countries, and forests provide habitat for many plant and animal species. To ensure sustainable development, forests must be managed wisely to continue to benefit future generations.
 

    
Fuel for climate change—high carbon dioxide emitters
 Emissions of carbon dioxide, 2002 (billions of metric tons)

Source: CDIAC data and World Bank staff estimates.
 

 
Carbon dioxide, which is produced by burning fossil fuels and manufacturing cement, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change. Emissions rose by billion metric tons between 1990 and 2002. High-income economies are the largest emitters of carbon dioxide, and their share has increased. However, China is the world’s second largest emitter, next to the United States. Emissions by India are also increasing.
         
 Text figures & Boxes
Water and sanitation—basic services needed by all   
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
East Asia & Pacific
Latin America & Caribbean
Europe & Central Asia
Middle East & North Africa
   
Country by country progress toward access to water . . .

               

. . . and to sanitation

           
Forests falling

   
Fuel for climate change—high carbon dioxide emitters