A/HRC/24/44 integrated and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems that support economic, social and human development.38 The Special Rapporteur has made use of the notion of sustainability for her analysis in various thematic and country mission reports,39 and has also identified sustainability as one of the criteria that serve to identify good practices for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation (see A/HRC/15/31/Add.1). 20. Based on these human rights principles and taking into account the different dimensions of sustainable development, the Special Rapporteur puts forward a holistic understanding of sustainability as the direct counterpart to retrogression. In order for services to be sustainable, they must be available and accessible to everyone on a continuous and predictable basis, without discrimination. There must be “permanent beneficial change” that flows from quality services and sustained behavioural change,40 or, in human rights terms, progressive realization towards fully realizing the human rights to water and sanitation for everyone. Once services and facilities have been improved, the positive change must be maintained and slippages or retrogression must be avoided. 41 Services must be available for present and future generations and the provision of services today should not compromise the ability of future generations to realize the human rights to water and sanitation (A/HRC/15/31/Add.1, para. 65). 21. Sustainability is more than mere reliability or functionality, and requires a balance of its different dimensions. Water and sanitation must be provided in a way that respects the natural environment; finite resources must be protected and overexploitation cannot occur.42 Likewise, the economic and social dimensions have to be balanced: while service provision relies on raising sufficient revenue, this must be achieved in such a way as to ensure affordability for all people in society, including those living in poverty. 22. The provision of services and systems should be properly planned in a strategic manner, such that ongoing assessments of risks across the entire infrastructure are conducted. Services and systems must be appropriately financed for their full life cycle,43 including for operation, maintenance, repair and replacement. Technology must be appropriate for the given need and must also be appropriately maintained.44 23. To enable the sustainable provision of services, a number of factors within and beyond the water and sanitation sector must be reinforced, in particular, accountable governance. Water and sanitation services must be embedded in a sound legislative policy and regulatory framework.45 Institutions involved in the water and sanitation sectors must be responsive and accountable for their actions, and decisions must be participatory and transparent. All groups and individuals concerned and all relevant stakeholders must be provided with genuine opportunities to meaningfully participate and must be empowered in these processes. 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 8 General Assembly resolution 66/288, annex, paras. 4 and 8. See, for example, the Special Rapporteur’s reports on financing (A/66/255), national plans of action (A/HRC/18/33), and A/HRC/21/42/Add.1, A/HRC/15/55 and Corr.1, and A/HRC/18/33/Add.4. See for example the WASH Sustainability Charter (2011), available from http://sustainablewash.org/sites/sustainablewash.org/files/page/the_wash_sustainability_charter.pdf; WaterAid, Sustainability Framework (2011), p. 11; Water for People, Tracking Water Sustainability (2011). WaterAid, Sustainability Framework, p. 5. General comment No. 15, para. 28; see also the Triple-S WASH Sustainability Assessment Tool, available from http://waterservicesthatlast.org/news/new_wash_sustainability_assessment_tool. See the Triple-S WASH Sustainability Assessment Tool and the WASH Sustainability Charter. WASH Sustainability Charter. See the Triple-S WASH Sustainability Assessment Tool.