Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

1 4 6 / C H A L L E N G E S T O L I F E A N D W E L L - B E I N GProtecting Ecosystems for People and PlanetManagement. Ghana’s National Strategy incorporated in theEnvironment Action Plan adopted in 1991 aims to protect water andthe general environment. This was supported by the EnvironmentalProtection Agency Act passed in 1994, which conferred regulatory andenforcement powers on the EPA. In response, the EPA has providedguidelines for developments that affect the environment (a frameworkfor Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA]). A wide regulatoryframework has been developed in Hungary, including the Water Act of1995 with other general provisions under the Act on EnvironmentalProtection (1995). At the end of 1999, the National Assembly ofSlovenia adopted the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP),which defines objectives and basic guidelines in protection and use ofwaters as a public resource. The NEAP pays special attention tospecific problems of the littoral, rural areas and karst regions, inaccordance with principles of preserving biodiversity. Another mainstrategic goal identified in Slovenia’s NEAP is the construction ofwater supply networks in water-deficient areas. Bringing action to alower level, the government of Malawi has initiated a Programme ofDistrict Environmental Action Plans, emphasizing participatory planningand action. At a local level, the Local Health Inspection Boards ofIceland conduct on-site measurements of water supplies and enforcehealth regulations and standards.International cooperationInternational cooperation is an important requirement for countriesthat rely on water from shared groundwater or surface watersystems. There are many examples of cooperative sharing,addressed in more detail in chapter 12 on sharing water. TheLithuanian example provided here illustrates the complexity ofagreements required by some countries. Lithuania participates in the1974 Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the MarineEnvironment of the Baltic Sea Area and the 1992 UN EconomicCommission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Protection and Useof Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. TheLithuanian Government has signed bilateral intergovernmentalcooperation agreements in the field of environmental protectionwith the government of Flanders, Latvia, the Russian Federation andSweden. The Ministry of the Environment has signed bilateralagreements with related ministries and other institutions of Austria,Belarus, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia andUnited States. A trilateral agreement was also signed between thegovernments of the Republic of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.Environmental educationEnvironmental education is essential in achieving goals such asreduction in water usage and also for the successful implementationof participatory approaches to environmental management. In SaudiArabia, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water has undertaken a hugerange of education activities aimed at all levels of society andsectors. These include:■ publication and distribution of booklets, bulletins and posters;■ education of farmers on optimal agricultural methods such asdrip irrigation;■ rationalization of water consumption through television andradio programmes;■ contracts with advertising companies for awareness campaignson water saving based on billboards along most major roads; and■ recruitment of a specialized work force.The government of Poland has introduced a number of educationcampaigns geared towards sustainable water usage and minimizationof waste, including the ‘Save Water Campaign’ promoting economicaland rational water consumption, the ‘Blue Thumb’ – a nationwideprogramme on caring for resources, and ‘Now Vistula Time’ for theconservation of the natural course of the River Vistula.ReportingReporting at a national level on environmental quality and changes isa prerequisite for monitoring trends at a more global level. Manycountries now have the institutions and programmes in place toprovide regular reports. In Austria, the Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry, Environment and Water Management is charged withdelivering to Parliament at least triennial, published reports on thestatus of water protection in Austria. South Africa has begunpublication of a regular national report on the state of the nation’swater. The government of Barbados is testing the monitoring ofindicators for sustainable development. Management and protectionof aquatic resources in Peru is the responsibility of the GeneralDirectorate of Environmental Health (DIGESA), which is part of theMinistry of Health. DIGESA maintains databases/registers and reportson water quality throughout the country.Flow maintenanceMechanisms used to maintain required water quantities andperiodicity include abstraction management, based on controlledabstraction in the interests of downstream abstractors, dilution ofpollution, ecological river-flow objectives and water levels for rivertransport, floodplain/wetland needs and aesthetic values. Reservoircompensation flows are a further measure whereby downstreamflows are maintained (but at lower flow volumes) by deliberate andscheduled release of water from storage.In the United Kingdom, an urgent action programme wasintroduced to deal with over forty cases in which excessiveabstraction has resulted in unacceptably low flows in rivers. Underthe European Community Habitats Directive, all abstraction