Water quality is equally important as water quantity for satisfying human and environmental needs. The continuing deterioration of the quality of world’s freshwater resources caused by pollution and nutrient discharges is a major global problem of growing importance. It is vital that our limited water resources are protected from increasing pollution to ensure the sustainability of human societies, water resources and ecosystems. The current trends and future scenarios of water quality degradation demonstrate the urgency of reducing water pollution and improving water quality for human and ecosystems uses.

Water pollution poses serious threats to human health and ecosystems. It causes water-related diseases, disrupts ecosystem functions and reduces the goods and services that ecosystems provide us. In addition, the decline of water quality in surface and groundwater resources due to pollution of all kinds resulting from human activities has multiple negative effects on the environment, biodiversity, fisheries and food production.

The most serious water pollution problem faced by worldwide is the increasing nutrient loading and urban wastewater discharge to our water resources. Eutrophication due to nutrient enrichment in surface water bodies has become a widespread phenomenon globally, reaching an alarming level of severe oxygen depletion in some rivers, where the survival of fish and aquatic organisms is seriously endangered. The production and discharge of municipal and industrial wastewater continue to increase as the world’s population grows and economic and industrial activities expand. With agricultural activities becoming more intense and heavily dependent on fertilizers, nutrient input to surface water bodies and coastal waters is increasing dramatically.

If current trends of urbanization and population growth continue in the future, the total global volume of urban wastewater is expected to increase exponentially too. In developing countries, over 80-90 percent of urban wastewater is discharged raw or after only partial treatment, whereas about 70 percent of industrial effluents is dumped directly to water bodies without any treatment, polluting usable water supplies by harmful substances, microbiological contaminants, and toxic chemicals. Urban wastewater also adds significantly to nutrient loading of water resources.

Pollution by pathogens is the most widespread and serious water quality problem in developing countries. Unsafe drinking water due to pollution is one of the leading causes of mortality among the poor, women and children. Numerous man-made organic and inorganic chemicals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals that are discharged with municipal wastewater, industrial effluents and agricultural runoff have become a human and environmental health concern. These micropollutants are persistent and accumulate in the environment, with their effects on human health and ecosystems remaining uncertain and unevaluated.

This Target on pollution and nutrient reduction aims to encourage governments and basin organizations to engage in setting a quantitative target, with a time-bound agenda, to reduce pollution and nutrient inputs to water resources from urban wastewater, agriculture and other land-based activities. It is imperative that national targets should be quantitative and supported with an agenda to achieve it within timeframes set forth. To effectively achieve the national targets, new and different ways of tackling water pollution need to be explored. Solutions based on innovative policies, strategies and approaches to prevent, control and reduce water pollution are essential and should be given priorities rather than investment-intensive, highly-engineered projects. The Target also encourages countries to prioritize the protection and enhancement of water quality as a national water strategy.

Reducing water pollution requires action across all sectors. This Target promotes the involvement of all stakeholders, as participation of local communities, industries, academia and the civil society is seen as a vital part of the effective implementation of national targets.

Draft target action plan: 3 1 3 DRAFT TAP - UNESCO IHP