Nowadays, most Europeans take clean drinking
water for granted. Yet, in the European part
of the UNECE region alone, an estimated 120
million people, i.e. one person in seven, do
not have access to safe drinking water and adequate
sanitation, making them vulnerable to water-related
diseases, such as cholera, bacillary dysentery,
coli infections, viral hepatitis A and typhoid.
Cleaner water and better sanitation could prevent
over 30 million cases of water-related disease
each year in the region. The 1999 Protocol on
Water and Health was negotiated with this in
mind.
The main aim of the Protocol is to protect
human health and well being by better water
management, including the protection of water
ecosystems, and by preventing, controlling and
reducing water-related diseases. The Protocol
is the first international agreement of its
kind adopted specifically to attain an adequate
supply of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation
for everyone, and effectively protect water
used as a source of drinking water.
To meet these goals, its Parties are required
to establish national and local targets for
the quality of drinking water and the quality
of discharges, as well as for the performance
of water supply and waste-water treatment. They
are also required to reduce outbreaks and the
incidence of water-related diseases.
This Protocol introduces a social component
into cooperation on water management. Water
resources management should link social and
economic development to the protection of natural
ecosystems. Moreover, improving the water supply
and sanitation is fundamental in breaking the
vicious cycle of poverty.
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