FAQ: Global Assessment of Sustainable Development in Transboundary River Basins

What is the main finding of this global assessment of transboundary basins?

The study found that transboundary basins have an average Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index score of just 42 out of 100, well below the global national average of 67, revealing significant sustainability challenges in shared water systems.

Why are transboundary basins particularly challenging to manage?

Transboundary basins face complex governance challenges due to competing national priorities, climate change, rising populations, land-use shifts that intensify upstream-downstream tensions, and political instability that can derail cooperation.

How did researchers assess sustainability in these shared river systems?

Researchers developed a four-step framework that integrated Environmental Gini coefficients (measuring resource inequity) with 98 SDG indicators, mapping high-resolution water availability and socio-environmental data to produce composite scores for each basin.

What are the four distinct basin challenge types identified in the study?

The four types are: Institutional governance basins (strong governance but need deeper cooperation), Sustained growth basins (poor water quality, poverty, disease), Inclusive growth basins (economic strength with environmental pressures), and Social coordination basins (high exposure to floods and droughts).

What combination of Sustainable Development Goals shows the most promise for improving basin sustainability?

Achieving SDG 3 (health), SDG 6 (clean water), and SDG 8 (economic growth) together could elevate 38% of basins into sustainability, far exceeding the limited gains from achieving clean water alone.

Who conducted this research and where was it published?

The research was conducted by a team from Nanjing University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Stockholm University, and published in August 2025 in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology (DOI: 10.1016/j.ese.2025.100611).

How do regional differences in basin sustainability scores compare?

The study revealed striking regional contrasts, with basins in Africa scoring as low as 13 while European rivers surpassed scores of 75, indicating significant geographical disparities in transboundary water sustainability.

What makes this assessment different from previous studies on water sustainability?

This is the first comprehensive global assessment that captures basin-level realities and inequalities often hidden by national averages, using a novel framework that blends environmental inequality metrics with SDG performance.

What is the significance of using Environmental Gini coefficients in this research?

Environmental Gini coefficients (EGCs) were used to quantify inequalities between upstream and downstream regions, exposing a hidden layer of resource inequity in shared water systems that national statistics don’t capture.