Description
UNECE member States are aware of the need for cooperation if they are to ensure that transboundary waters are used reasonably and equitably. They know that they share the same water resources and rely on each other to apply effective solutions. This positive approach to the problem has been triggered, in no small measure, by the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, which 36 UNECE countries and the European Community have already ratified. The convention entered into force in 1996.
The main objectives of the convention are:
* Strengthen local, national and regional measures to protect and ensure the ecologically sustainable use of transboundary surface waters and groundwaters.
* Prevent, control, or reduce transboundary impacts
* Conservation and protection of ecosystems
* Precaution and intergenerational equity
* To prevent, control, and reduce the releases of hazardous, acidifying, and eutrophying substances into the aquatic environment
* To promote public information and public participation in relevant decision-making processes.
Categories
United Nations System