Europe and North America

Many countries in the UNECE region have high levels of economic development and per capita resource use, which exert increasing pressure on natural resources. at the same time, poverty is widespread in the eastern part of the pan-european region (south-eastern europe, eastern europe, the Caucasus and Central asia), where economic development is a priority. in both cases, the main challenges are increasing resource use efficiency, reducing waste, influencing consumption patterns and choosing appropriate technologies. there is friction between water use sectors in many basins in the region (UNECE, 2011). the challenge is to look beyond water to other sectors and address the need for more integration and coherence of sectoral policies. reconciling different water uses at the basin level and improving policy coherence nationally and across borders will be priorities for many years to come.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Clean Water and Sanitation