|
Art.6 |
Article 6 |
|
Art.6.1 |
1. In order to achieve the objective of this Protocol, the Parties shall pursue the aims of: |
|
Art.6.1.a |
(a) Access to drinking water for everyone; |
|
Art.6.1.b |
(b) Provision of sanitation for everyone within a framework of integrated water-management systems aimed at sustainable use of water resources, ambient water quality which does not endanger human health, and protection of water ecosystems. |
|
Art.6.2 |
2. For these purposes, the Parties shall each establish and publish national and/ or local targets for the standards and levels of performance that need to be achieved or maintained for a high level of protection against water-related disease. These targets shall be periodically revised. In doing all this, they shall make appropriate practical and/ or other provisions for public participation, within a transparent and fair framework, and shall ensure that due account is taken of the outcome of the public participation. Except where national or local circumstances make them irrelevant for preventing, controlling and reducing water-related disease, the targets shall cover, inter alia: |
|
Art.6.2.a |
(a) The quality of the drinking water supplied, taking into account the Guidelines for drinking-water quality of the World Health Organization; |
|
Art.6.2.b |
(b) The reduction of the scale of outbreaks and incidents of water-related disease; |
|
Art.6.2.c |
(c) The area of territory, or the population sizes or proportions, which should be served by collective systems for the supply of drinking water or where the supply of drinking water by other means should be improved; |
|
Art.6.2.d |
(d) The area of territory, or the population sizes or proportions, which should be served by collective systems of sanitation or where sanitation by other means should be improved; |
|
Art.6.2.e |
(e) The levels of performance to be achieved by such collective systems and by such other means of water supply and sanitation respectively; |
|
Art.6.2.f |
(f) The application of recognized good practice to the management of water supply and sanitation, including the protection of waters used as sources for drinking water; |
|
Art.6.2.g |
(g) The occurrence of discharges of: |
|
Art.6.2.g.i |
(i) Untreated waste water; and |
|
Art.6.2.g.ii |
(ii) Untreated storm water overflows from waste-water collection systems to waters within the scope of this Protocol; |
|
Art.6.2.h |
(h) The quality of discharges of waste water from waste-water treatment installations to waters within the scope of this Protocol; |
|
Art.6.2.i |
(i) The disposal or reuse of sewage sludge from collective systems of sanitation or other sanitation installations and the quality of waste water used for irrigation purposes, taking into account the Guidelines for the safe use of waste water and excreta in agriculture and aquaculture of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme; |
|
Art.6.2.j |
(j) The quality of waters which are used as sources for drinking water, which are generally used for bathing or which are used for aquaculture or for the production or harvesting of shellfish; |
|
Art.6.2.k |
(k) The application of recognized good practice to the management of enclosed waters generally available for bathing; |
|
Art.6.2.l |
(l) The identification and remediation of particularly contaminated sites which adversely affect waters within the scope of this Protocol or are likely to do so and which thus threaten to give rise to water-related disease; |
|
Art.6.2.m |
(m) The effectiveness of systems for the management, development, protection and use of water resources, including the application of recognized good practice to the control of pollution from sources of all kinds; |
|
Art.6.2.n |
(n) The frequency of the publication of information on the quality of the drinking water supplied and of other waters relevant to the targets in this paragraph in the intervals between the publication of information under article 7, paragraph 2. |
|
Art.6.3 |
3. Within two years of becoming a Party, each Party shall establish and publish targets referred to in paragraph 2 of this article, and target dates for achieving them. |
|
Art.6.4 |
4. Where a long process of implementation is foreseen for the achievement of a target, intermediate or phased targets shall be set. |
|
Art.6.5 |
5. In order to promote the achievement of the targets referred to in paragraph 2 of this article, the Parties shall each: |
|
Art.6.5.a |
(a) Establish national or local arrangements for coordination between their competent authorities; |
|
Art.6.5.b |
(b) Develop water-management plans in transboundary, national and/ or local contexts, preferably on the basis of catchment areas or groundwater aquifers. In doing so, they shall make appropriate practical and/ or other provisions for public participation, within a transparent and fair framework, and shall ensure that due account is taken of the outcome of the public participation. Such plans may be incorporated in other relevant plans, programmes or documents which are being drawn up for other purposes, provided that they enable the public to see clearly the proposals for achieving the targets referred to in this article and the respective target dates; |
|
Art.6.5.c |
(c) Establish and maintain a legal and institutional framework for monitoring and enforcing standards for the quality of drinking water; |
|
Art.6.5.d |
(d) Establish and maintain arrangements, including, where appropriate, legal and institutional arrangements, for monitoring, promoting the achievement of and, where necessary, enforcing the other standards and levels of performance for which targets referred to in paragraph 2 of this article are set. |
|
Art.7 |
Article 7 |
|
Art.7.1 |
1. The Parties shall each collect and evaluate data on: |
|
Art.7.1.a |
(a) Their progress towards the achievement of the targets referred to in article 6, paragraph 2; |
|
Art.7.1.b |
(b) Indicators that are designed to show how far that progress has contributed towards preventing, controlling or reducing water-related disease. |
|
Art.7.2 |
2. The Parties shall each publish periodically the results of this collection and evaluation of data. The frequency of such publication shall be established by the Meeting of the Parties. |
|
Art.7.3 |
3. The Parties shall each ensure that the results of water and effluent sampling carried out for the purpose of this collection of data are available to the public. |
|
Art.7.4 |
4. On the basis of this collection and evaluation of data, each Party shall review periodically the progress made in achieving the targets referred to in article 6, paragraph 2, and publish an assessment of that progress. The frequency of such reviews shall be established by the Meeting of the Parties. Without prejudice to the possibility of more frequent reviews under article 6, paragraph 2, reviews under this paragraph shall include a review of the targets referred to in article 6, paragraph 2, with a view to improving the targets in the light of scientific and technical knowledge. |
|
Art.7.5 |
5. Each Party shall provide to the secretariat referred to in article 17, for circulation to the other Parties, a summary report of the data collected and evaluated and the assessment of the progress achieved. Such reports shall be in accordance with guidelines established by the Meeting of the Parties. These guidelines shall provide that the Parties can use for this purpose reports covering the relevant information produced for other international forums. |
|
Art.7.6 |
6. The Meeting of the Parties shall evaluate progress in implementing this Protocol on the basis of such summary reports. |
|
Art.8 |
Article 8 |
|
Art.8.1 |
1. The Parties shall each, as appropriate, ensure that: |
|
Art.8.1.a |
(a) Comprehensive national and/ or local surveillance and early-warning systems are established, improved or maintained which will: |
|
Art.8.1.a.i |
(i) Identify outbreaks or incidents of water-related disease or significant threats of such outbreaks or incidents, including those resulting from water-pollution incidents or extreme weather events; |
|
Art.8.1.a.ii |
(ii) Give prompt and clear notification to the relevant public authorities about such outbreaks, incidents or threats; |
|
Art.8.1.a.iii |
(iii) In the event of any imminent threat to public health from water-related disease, disseminate to members of the public who may be affected all information that is held by a public authority and that could help the public to prevent or mitigate harm; |
|
Art.8.1.a.iv |
(iv) Make recommendations to the relevant public authorities and, where appropriate, to the public about preventive and remedial actions; |
|
Art.8.1.b |
(b) Comprehensive national and local contingency plans for responses to such outbreaks, incidents and risks are properly prepared in due time; |
|
Art.8.1.c |
(c) The relevant public authorities have the necessary capacity to respond to such outbreaks, incidents or risks in accordance with the relevant contingency plan. |
|
Art.8.2 |
2. Surveillance and early-warning systems, contingency plans and response capacities in relation to water-related disease may be combined with those in relation to other matters. |
|
Art.8.3 |
3. Within three years of becoming a Party, each Party shall have established the surveillance and early-warning systems, contingency plans and response capacities referred to in paragraph 1 of this article. |
|
Art.10 |
Article 10 |
|
Art.10.1 |
1. As a complement to the requirements of this Protocol for Parties to publish specific information or documents, each Party shall take steps within the framework of its legislation to make available to the public such information as is held by public authorities and is reasonably needed to inform public discussion of: |
|
Art.10.1.a |
(a) The establishment of targets and of target dates for their achievement and the development of water-management plans in accordance with article 6; |
|
Art.10.1.b |
(b) The establishment, improvement or maintenance of surveillance and early-warning systems and contingency plans in accordance with article 8; |
|
Art.10.1.c |
(c) The promotion of public awareness, education, training, research, development and information in accordance with article 9. |
|
Art.10.2 |
2. Each Party shall ensure that public authorities, in response to a request for other information relevant to the implementation of this Protocol, make such information available within a reasonable time to the public, within the framework of national legislation. |
|
Art.10.3 |
3. The Parties shall ensure that information referred to in article 7, paragraph 4, and paragraph 1 of this article shall be available to the public at all reasonable times for inspection free of charge, and shall provide members of the public with reasonable facilities for obtaining from the Parties, on payment of reasonable charges, copies of such information. |
|
Art.10.4 |
4. Nothing in this Protocol shall require a public authority to publish information or make information available to the public if: |
|
Art.10.4.a |
(a) The public authority does not hold the information; |
|
Art.10.4.b |
(b) The request for the information is manifestly unreasonable or formulated in too general a manner; or |
|
Art.10.4.c |
(c) The information concerns material in the course of completion or concerns internal communications of public authorities where such an exemption is provided for in national law or customary practice, taking into account the public interest served by disclosure. |
|
Art.10.5 |
5. Nothing in this Protocol shall require a public authority to publish information or make information available to the public if disclosure of the information would adversely affect: |
|
Art.10.5.a |
(a) The confidentiality of the proceedings of public authorities, where such confidentiality is provided for under national law; |
|
Art.10.5.b |
(b) International relations, national defence or public security; |
|
Art.10.5.c |
(c) The course of justice, the ability of a person to receive a fair trial or the ability of a public authority to conduct an enquiry of a criminal or disciplinary nature; |
|
Art.10.5.d |
(d) The confidentiality of commercial or industrial information, where such confidentiality is protected by law in order to protect a legitimate economic interest. Within this framework, information on emissions and discharges which are relevant for the protection of the environment shall be disclosed; |
|
Art.10.5.e |
(e) Intellectual property rights; |
|
Art.10.5.f |
(f) The confidentiality of personal data and/ or files relating to a natural person where that person has not consented to the disclosure of the information to the public, where such confidentiality is provided for in national law; |
|
Art.10.5.g |
(g) The interests of a third party which has supplied the information requested without that party being under, or being capable of being put under, a legal obligation to do so, and where that party does not consent to the release of the material; or |
|
Art.10.5.h |
(h) The environment to which the information relates, such as the breeding sites of rare species. These grounds for not disclosing information shall be interpreted in a restrictive way, taking into account the public interest served by disclosure and taking into account whether the information relates to emissions and discharges into the environment. |
|
Art.11 |
Article 11 |
|
Art.11.1x |
The Parties shall cooperate and, as appropriate, assist each other: |
|
Art.11.1x.a |
(a) In international actions in support of the objectives of this Protocol; |
|
Art.11.1x.b |
(b) On request, in implementing national and local plans in pursuance of this Protocol. |
|
Art.12 |
Article 12 |
|
Art.12.1x |
In pursuance of article 11, subparagraph (a), the Parties shall promote cooperation in international action relating to: |
|
Art.12.1x.a |
(a) The development of commonly agreed targets for matters referred to in article 6, paragraph 2; |
|
Art.12.1x.b |
(b) The development of indicators for the purposes of article 7, paragraph 1 (b), to show how far action on water-related disease has been successful in preventing, controlling and reducing such disease; |
|
Art.12.1x.c |
(c) The establishment of joint or coordinated systems for surveillance and early-warning systems, contingency plans and response capacities as part of, or to complement, the national systems maintained in accordance with article 8 for the purpose of responding to outbreaks and incidents of water-related disease and significant threats of such outbreaks and incidents, especially from water-pollution incidents or extreme weather events; |
|
Art.12.1x.d |
(d) Mutual assistance in responding to outbreaks and incidents of water-related disease and significant threats of such outbreaks and incidents, especially from water-pollution incidents or extreme weather events; |
|
Art.12.1x.e |
(e) The development of integrated information systems and databases, exchange of information and sharing of technical and legal knowledge and experience; |
|
Art.12.1x.f |
(f) The prompt and clear notification by the competent authorities of one Party to the corresponding authorities of other Parties which may be affected of: |
|
Art.12.1x.f.i |
(i) Outbreaks and incidents of water-related disease, and |
|
Art.12.1x.f.ii |
(ii) Significant threats of such outbreaks and incidents which have been identified; |
|
Art.12.1x.g |
(g) The exchange of information on effective means of disseminating to the public information about water-related disease. |
|
Art.13 |
Article 13 |
|
Art.13.1 |
1. Where any Parties border the same transboundary waters, as a complement to their other obligations under articles 11 and 12, they shall cooperate and, as appropriate, assist each other to prevent, control and reduce transboundary effects of water-related disease. In particular, they shall: |
|
Art.13.1.a |
(a) Exchange information and share knowledge about the transboundary waters and the problems and risks which they present with the other Parties bordering the same waters; |
|
Art.13.1.b |
(b) Endeavour to establish with the other Parties bordering the same transboundary waters joint or coordinated water-management plans in accordance with article 6, paragraph 5 (b), and surveillance and early-warning systems and contingency plans in accordance with article 8, paragraph 1, for the purpose of responding to outbreaks and incidents of water-related disease and significant threats of such outbreaks and incidents, especially from water-pollution incidents or extreme weather events; |
|
Art.13.1.c |
(c) On the basis of equality and reciprocity, adapt their agreements and other arrangements regarding their transboundary waters in order to eliminate any contradictions with the basic principles of this Protocol and to define their mutual relations and conduct regarding the aims of this Protocol; |
|
Art.13.1.d |
(d) Consult each other, at the request of any one of them, on the significance of any adverse effect on human health which may constitute a water-related disease. |
|
Art.13.2 |
2. Where the Parties concerned are Parties to the Convention, the cooperation and assistance in respect of any transboundary effects of water-related disease which are transboundary impacts shall take place in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. |
|
Art.14 |
Article 14 |
|
Art.14.1x |
When cooperating and assisting each other in the implementation of national and local plans in pursuance of article 11, subparagraph (b), the Parties shall, in particular, consider how they can best help to promote: |
|
Art.14.1x.a |
(a) Preparation of water-management plans in transboundary, national and/ or local contexts and of schemes for improving water supply and sanitation; |
|
Art.14.1x.b |
(b) Improved formulation of projects, especially infrastructure projects, in pursuance of such plans and schemes, in order to facilitate access to sources of finance; |
|
Art.14.1x.c |
(c) Effective execution of such projects; |
|
Art.14.1x.d |
(d) Establishment of systems for surveillance and early-warning systems, contingency plans and response capacities in relation to water-related disease; |
|
Art.14.1x.e |
(e) Preparation of legislation needed to support the implementation of this Protocol; |
|
Art.14.1x.f |
(f) Education and training of key professional and technical staff; |
|
Art.14.1x.g |
(g) Research into, and development of, cost-effective means and techniques for preventing, controlling and reducing water-related disease; |
|
Art.14.1x.h |
(h) Operation of effective networks to monitor and assess the provision and quality of water-related services, and development of integrated information systems and databases; |
|
Art.14.1x.i |
(i) Achievement of quality assurance for monitoring activities, including inter-laboratory comparability. |
