Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a law “On ratification of the Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes,” Zakon.kz reports.

The Protocol was adopted on June 17, 1999, in London.

The purpose of the document is to ensure the protection of public health and well-being through sustainable water resource management, as well as through the prevention and control of water-related diseases.

The Protocol is a multilateral legal document whose objectives are strategically aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

On a global scale, it is the first and only treaty that focuses on water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and health issues.

The main obligations of countries under the Protocol are to establish specific and measurable targets for water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and health, to establish and improve a system for monitoring and early warning of water-related diseases, to develop contingency plans with the necessary resources for response, and to develop international cooperation in the field of water resources protection and use, sanitation, and health.

Thus, Kazakhstan has joined the institutional structure of the Convention and will gain access to advanced technologies and knowledge in the field of safe drinking water treatment and delivery, as well as wastewater disposal and reuse, and will be able to participate in the development of joint surveillance and early warning systems and emergency response plans.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-geneva/press/news/details/1124108?lang=kk