【正文】 and restoration of wetlands, but in practice the implementation of these plans was often problematic or extremely slow. The international obligations were inadequately operationalized in national policy: the ministry of nature management had not made agreements with local authorities on the fulfilment of international obligations. As a result, the local authorities were badly informed about the substance of the obligations. In the audit by the SAI of Egypt on the prevention of pollution of the Nile River (2020), pliance to national rules and regulations was the most important aspect. The audit was focused on pliance with environmental rules, legislations, and standards that safeguard protection of the Nile River and other fresh waterways, the actions taken against violations, and the state of the sanitation system. The SAI of France did an audit on the pollution of water that is intended for huma n consumption (2020). The audit report illustrates the dilemma of sustainable development— balancing the economic and social objectives with the environmental objectives. The main conclusion of the audit was that despite public expenditure since 1993, there has been no significant improvement in water quality. The regulations designed to reconcile water protection with agricultural activities were ignored in favor of the latter. Moreover, the regulations were poorly monitored and were primarily designed to avert accidental pollution and not pollution from diffuse sources. In 2020, the SAI of Mauritius conducted an audit on leakage in potable water storage and distribution systems. The reason for this audit was a large volume of unaccountedforwater (UFW) (around 47 percent of total production in 1998 and 1999) that led to the classification of Mauritius as a ―water stressed‖ country. The decrease in rainfall in bination with an estimated increase in the demand for potable water by more than 20% by 2020 poses an urgent problem for the country. This shortage can seriously hamper economic and social development. The audit office concluded that if the target of decreasing UFW to 35% by 2020 can be achieved, no other substantial water resources 9 have to be harnessed. The main identified causes of the high level of UFW are the poor performance of contractors, an inadequate monitoring of their work by the water panies, the abundant use of substandard materials, a general shortage of materials, equipment, and skilled labor, and limited job specifications. The last example is an audit of the SAI of the United States (2020), which is focused on policy information. The SAI determined whether the information in the National Water Quality Inventory of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was reliable and representative of waterquality conditions nationwide. Moreover, it reviewed available data to determine whether they were sufficient to allow state officials to make key management decisions regarding water quality. It is not possible to formulate a general conclusion on ―water policy‖ based on these reports. The variation in subjects and audit questions is too wide. Of course, this had never been the purpose of these audits. Nevertheless, there is one element that does seem to be a central problem of policy implementation and organization: the lack of sufficient and reliable information. Basic information on money spent, activities carried out, outputs delivered, and impacts achieved, to be used for key management and policy decisionmaking, often seems not to be adequate. These types of problems were identified in nearly all audit reports on water. International Agreements and Cooperation Between SAIs Environmental problems are often transboundary in nature. Examples of global environmental problems are global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, ocean pollution, and the exploitation of natural resources such as oil and gas or wood from tropical forests. Also, regional problems such as the water quality in major rivers, sustainable use of fish stocks, or the investigation of environmental crimes often cross the borders of national states. Therefore, many countries seek international cooperation to solve environmental problems. This has resulted in a growing number of international agreements on environmental issues. Examples of international environmental agreements are the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Ships, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes, the Ramsar Convention on the Protection of Wetlands, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. After ratification of the agreements by the member countries, national governments are responsible for implementing th