Engineering Diplomacy in Action
Fixing What We Can’t Measure in Water Sustainability Goals
Sustainable Development Goal 6.4 aims to improve water-use efficiency (WUE) and reduce water scarcity by 2030. Lofty on paper, murky in practice. Despite the ambition, billions still lack reliable access to clean water, and many countries don’t even know how many people “suffering” from water scarcity are—because that word, “suffering,” has no agreed-upon indicator to measure.
So how do we turn abstract targets into real outcomes?
Let’s look at how Engineering Diplomacy Framework (EDF)—a principled, pragmatic way to transform vague goals and contested values into actionable strategies. EDF builds on the Water Diplomacy Framework but goes further, helping actors operate under complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity.
And at the heart of EDF are three simple questions:
· What is 1 + 1?
· Where do we put the X?
· How do we find the 18th camel?
Let’s unpack these metaphors—and see how they can make SDG 6.4 more effective, grounded, and actionable for desirable outcomes,
What Is 1 + 1?
Shared Understanding in a Fragmented World of Multiple Perspectives
Most water professionals agree that water scarcity is a problem. But ask them what scarcity means—and the answers diverge. Is it about physical supply? Economic access? Institutional delivery? Environmental flows?
SDG 6.4 tries to address this with two indicators:
6.4.1: Water-use efficiency (economic value per cubic meter of water used), and
6.4.2: Level of water stress (percentage of renewable water withdrawn).
But here’s the problem: the target also includes reducing “the number of people suffering from water scarcity.” There’s no global indicator for that. We’re measuring cubic meters and GDP—but not suffering.
The metaphor “What is 1 + 1?” asks: when we add technical efficiency (the first 1) to human experience (the second 1), are we actually getting 2? Or are we adding apples and camels?
Operational Insight:
Countries can use EDF to reframe indicators by pairing quantitative metrics with qualitative insights. For instance, alongside water-use efficiency, governments could track household-level water access, perception of water quality, or incidence of water-related illness. EDF supports such hybrid metrics—ones that reflect both numbers and narratives.
Where Do We Put the X?
Strategic Intervention over Grandiose Planning
Charles Steinmetz, an engineering wizard, once charged $10,000 for marking a single “X” on a machine to fix it—because he knew exactly where to mark it. In engineering diplomacy, the “X” is the leverage point: the place where small, well-placed action has disproportionate impact.
Singapore knew where to put its X. With negligible internal freshwater, it invested in NEWater (recycling), desalination, and regional treaties. The result? One of the world’s most water-resilient nations—despite being one of the most water-stressed on paper.
Denmark found its X in pricing and public values. High tariffs encouraged conservation, and citizens now use just ~100 liters/day, among the lowest in Europe.
Jordan, facing extreme physical scarcity, found its X in wastewater reuse, rooftop storage, and diplomatic deals—like its “electricity for water” swap with Israel.
Operational Insight:
EDF helps countries diagnose before they act. It asks: where is the most strategic, politically feasible, and locally meaningful place to intervene? Not every country needs mega-projects. Sometimes the “X” is better governance, trust-building, or leak reduction.
How Do We Find the 18th Camel?
Exploring Creative Options to Break Deadlocks
In this classic fable, three heirs are supposed to divide 17 camels in fractions: half, a third, and a ninth. It seems impossible—until a wise elder temporarily adds an 18th camel. Now the math works: 9, 6, and 2. After the split, the 18th camel is returned. Problem solved, not by brute calculation but by changing the frame.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has abundant water but low access—only ~50% of the population has safe water. By SDG 6.4 indicators, the DRC looks great: low stress, high availability. But millions suffer daily. The missing “18th camel” here? Institutional delivery, infrastructure investment, and perhaps most importantly, rethinking what counts as scarcity.
In contrast, Jordan’s 18th camel was the desalinated water it gets through a deal with Israel—powered by Jordanian solar farms. An 18th camel born of engineering, diplomacy, and creativity.
Operational Insight:
EDF encourages countries to look for the missing element. A functional institution, a shared metric, a reframed question that encourages exploration options to enable actions.
Making EDF Operational for SDG 6.4
The Engineering Diplomacy Framework doesn’t promise a universal solution. Instead, it offers a mindset and a method for transforming ambiguity into action. Here’s how the three metaphors can be operationalized:
EDF asks us to go beyond compliance-based tracking. It urges adaptive, negotiated, and context-sensitive interventions. Not just abstract numbers, but better conversations for desirable outcomes.
💡 Reality Check: The Hard Work Behind the “X”
Identifying where to put the “X” or finding the 18th Camel may sound deceptively straightforward. An insightful reader reminded me real-world examples like Singapore and Jordan are anything but simple. This section is added after reflecting on the feedback and acknowledging the fallibility of our knowledge and adaptive nature of our learning by doing.
Singapore’s success with water recycling and regional agreements wasn’t just technical—it involved decades of political negotiation with Malaysia. Each step required careful navigation of sovereignty, infrastructure investment, and public trust.Jordan’s “electricity-for-water” deal with Israel did not emerge in isolation. It built on the 1994 peace treaty—an act of political courage—and required decades of diplomacy, regional instability, and support from international partners.These cases don’t illustrate how easy it is to act strategically—they show how hard, delicate, and context-specific such action truly is. Engineering Diplomacy isn’t about simplifying complexity—it’s about facing it with humility, creativity, and sustained commitment.
From Indicators to Interventions
The world is not on track to meet SDG 6.4. And maybe that’s because we’ve been too focused on measuring water use and too little on what those numbers mean to people.
Engineering Diplomacy is not a rejection of science, nor a celebration of negotiation for its own sake. It’s a framework that blends rigor and empathy, structure and flexibility, diagnosis and imagination.
If we want to substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity, we need to make suffering visible, link metrics to meaning, and shift from compliance to co-creation.
Maybe the question isn’t just “How do we meet SDG 6.4?”
Maybe the real question is: What is our 18th camel to meet SDG 6.4?
What to Do Next?
If you're a policymaker, engineer, analyst, or student working on water security, here are three things you can do now to apply the ideas of Engineering Diplomacy in your context:
Revisit Your Indicators
· Are your metrics capturing the full picture: both numbers and narratives?
Add a qualitative lens: Conduct interviews or surveys to understand water “suffering” from the community's point of view.
Pair Water Use Efficiency and stress with access, equity, and perceptions of fairness.
Diagnose Before Acting
Before building infrastructure or proposing a new policy, ask:
Where is the strategic leverage?
Who are the affected stakeholders, and what do they think the problem is?
Use EDF to find the X: the key leverage point where a modest intervention could unlock large gains.
Facilitate Conversations and Explore Option
Bring stakeholders together to explore and find their “18th camel”
What if we added something new—a temporary arrangement, a shared metric, or an intermediary institution—to make an impossible split possible?
How might cooperation or imagination unlock stuck solutions?
Want to go further?
Try applying EDF to another SDG—climate action, food security, or energy justice.
Use these metaphors in your own team or classroom to frame discussions differently.
Reach out to others experimenting with EDF. Share your “18th camel” moment.
By thinking like an engineer and acting like a diplomat, we can transform global targets into grounded, negotiated actions. EDF doesn’t just help you measure progress. It helps you make progress by turning abstract goals into collective wins.
Notes and References
Details of many of the examples mentioned in this piece are here: Engineering Diplomacy for Water Sustainability: From Global Indicators to Local Solutions; Sustainability 2025, 17(12), 5539; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125539