Inequality, water accessibility, and health impacts in Chiapas, Mexico

Limited success in implementing the 2030 Agenda underlines the need to leverage interactions among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Inequality (SDG 10), water accessibility (SDG 6), health (SDG 3), and terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15) interlinkages provide a case for identifying and understanding the need to integrate different SDGs when implementing the sustainable development agenda. Lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation remains prevalent in many rural areas, and intensive land-cover change has been the main cause of the deterioration of water resources worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to open up a conversation on how the prevalence of inequality in income, wealth, and access to natural resources affects marginalized people, particularly in rural areas. Drawing on the case study of three municipalities in the Río Grande de Comitán-Lagos de Montebello watershed in Chiapas, Mexico, we illustrate some of the consequences of the intensification of agricultural activities, alongside urban expansion, at the expense of forests and the negative impact on the water quality of surrounding areas during the last two decades. We discuss how individual and collective action (SDG 11), economy and finance (SDG 12), and governance (SDG 16) can act as levers for action to halt environmental degradation and its associated negative impacts on human health.