Sustainable development goals: utopias and perspectives for water management in Brazil

Abstract

United Nations agreements, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), require political decisions, convergent legislation, strong institutions, inclusive spaces and targeted actions. Due to the scope and nature of its guidelines, the UN 2030 Agenda is characterized as utopian on the one hand and a bold speech on the other, as it exposes injustices and inequalities. Based on this understanding, this essay proposes a reflection on how the SDGs approach both utopian conceptions, in the sense of distance from solid realities, and perspectives, in the sense of opening up dialogues and proactive positions. SDG 6 is adopted - the central theme is water and sanitation management, and the context is Brazil. Given the importance of the role of social actors and institutions for this issue, we highlight possibilities for action by some key institutions in favor of aligning sustainability agendas with national policies and laws. We highlight the possibility of the addition of efforts by key State institutions in support of social actors and collective participation so that sustainability agendas move among utopias and perspectives, beyond activist voluntarism and dependence on private and government power groups.