Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

The Sustainable Development Goals are at the heart of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. 193 countries, including Switzerland, have adopted the 2015 Agenda. The 17 goals aim to advance sustainable development worldwide at the economic, social and environmental levels, put human dignity at the centre, protect the planet and promote peace and prosperity for all.

Eawag’s research enables progress towards attaining the 17 SDGs. First and foremost, our work naturally supports Goal 6: clean drinking water and sanitation. However, many research projects also contribute to Goals 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

By clicking on the SDG, the goal is explained and projects are shown that contribute to achieving the goal.

Laboratory set up in Bangladesh (Photo: Ferozur Rahaman).

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025Laboratories play an important role in effective water quality monitoring. The Eawag department of Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development (Sandec) is collaborating on the REACHLabs project, which is analysing the effectiveness of fit-for-purpose (FFP) laboratories in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries. FFP labs are laboratories designed to meet specific local operational and management needs of rural water supplies.

Newly elected Professor of Hydrology and River Systems at ETH and Eawag: Paola Passalacqua (Photo: Andre Leroux).

March 6, 2025

March 6, 2025For a long time, Eawag's research focus was primarily on water quality. Questions relating to hydrology, bed load or flooding tend to be investigated at WSL or ETH. Eawag is now strengthening its expertise in this area. Today, the ETH Board appointed hydrologist Paola Passalacqua as joint professor at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering and at Eawag.

Common barbel (Barbus barbus) and chub (Squalius cephalus) were evaluated in the study as representative species of fish communities in Swiss rivers (Photo: Eawag, M. Franco).

February 13, 2025

February 13, 2025Each year, tens of thousands of chemicals enter the market and ultimately the environment. While most of these compounds undergo safety testing before approval, their long-term effects on wildlife remain difficult to predict. To better estimate their potential threat for ecosystems, researchers at Eawag have explored biochemical signatures that indicate the level of chemical stress suffered by fish.