Pressures on water resources affect human health, economic development and the environment at large.
In the pan-European region, industrialization, intensification of agriculture, urbanization, increased recreational water demands, conflicts between uses and users and more frequent and more devastating extreme weather events, as well as the anticipated negative impacts of climate change, heighten the need for sustainable management of water resources. Access to safe drinking water and sanitation for every one is far from being achieved; recent data show an alarming stagnation of progress towards access to sanitation, especially in the eastern part of the region. Moreover, mortality and morbidity caused by unsafe water and inadequate sanitation remain unacceptably high. According to the estimates of the World Health Organization, more than 13,000 children under the age of 14 die every year in the region from water related diarrhoea, mostly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Moreover, disparities between countries, between rural and urban populations and between different socioeconomic groups are broad.
The bottlenecks in addressing these problems often occur beyond the purview of the water and health sectors. They lie in the formulation and implementation of policies; the effectiveness of institutions and the arrangements between them; the translation of political will into action; the allocation of resources at national and international level; and in the capacity of countries.
The Protocol on Water and Health, jointly serviced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europ (UNECE) and the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO-EURO), has been negotiated specifically to ensure, by linking water management and health issues, the supply of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation for everyone. Its main aim is to protect human health and well-being through preventing, controlling and reducing water-related diseases and through improving water management.
The Protocol recognizes the complexity of the water and health nexus and requires Parties to tackle problems at their roots in a rational and coordinated way. It compels Parties to set national and/or local targets and the dates to achieve them in areas covering the entire water cycle and the related health consequences, to develop measures to achieve such targets and to regularly assess progress. Setting targets and review and assessment of progress, as defined in Articles 6 and 7 of the Protocol, are the backbone for action to reach the Protocol’s objectives.
The very process of setting targets brings benefits beyond their stated purpose. It creates a platform for cooperation between various stakeholders and different levels of government, as well as for the development of concerted national actions. It also provides a framework to analyse national situations and to streamline and harmonize responsibilities and commitments in the areas of water and health. It offers a step-by-step approach to achieving goals and guides authorities in the allocation of resources.
Target setting becomes the basis for realistic plans with prioritized time-bound objectives adapted to national situations. Setting targets is also a useful tool in complying with other international commitments, in particular the Millennium Development Goals and European Union legislation.
Clearly this is a complex and challenging process, but Parties are not alone in this difficult endeavour. A comprehensive framework for mutual assistance between Parties has been established under the Protocol which includes the provision of policy and technical guidance and of technical and financial assistance, mostly through the Project Facilitation Mechanism, as well as assistance in capacity-building and exchange of experience.
The Guidelines on the Setting of Targets, Evaluation of Progress and Reporting are a building-block of this mutual assistance framework, its theoretical and practical foundation. The Guidelines illustrate the steps that need to be taken and the aspects to be considered when setting targets, implementing relevant measures and assessing and reporting on the progress achieved. The Guidelines are based on existing good practices and experience of the Protocol’s Parties. They illustrate a variety of possible targets that can be set in accordance with the Protocol and provide a source of inspiration, information and assistance to Parties that are currently undergoing or will go through the process of target setting.
We trust that these Guidelines will serve as a useful and stimulating tool in the hands of national and local authorities and all other stakeholders engaged in the implementation of the Protocol. The joint UNECE/WHO-EURO secretariat will continue to support countries in their efforts to protect human health and well-being and to manage water resources in a sustainable manner.

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