Assessment of Transboundary, Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters in South-Eastern Europe International Roundtable on Protection and Sustainable Use of Trans-boundary Waters in Southeastern Europe, 15-16.12.2011, Zagreb, Croatia

1. Petersberg Phase II / Athens Declaration Process
Protection and Sustainable Use of Trans-boundary Waters
in South East Europe
Roundtable on Trans-boundary Water Management
Assessment of Transboundary, Rivers,
Lakes and Groundwaters in
South-
South-Eastern Europe
Dimitris Faloutsos
Programme Coordinator for
South Eastern Europe

2. -About 90 % of the area of SEE is within international basins
-13 major transboundary rivers and 4 major transboundary
lakes as well as more that 50 transboundary aquifers in SEE
-More than half of the respective basins are shared by three
or more riparian states
-Cooperation for effective shared water resources
management is of particular importance, so as to ensure the
resources’ protection and sustainable use
3/23

3. LEGAL, POLICY AND
INSTITUTIONAL
FRAMEWORKS FOR
TRANSBOUNDARY WATER
MANAGEMENT
4/23

4. IWRM in shared basins Institutional and legal
depends largely on national frameworks in the SEE
water management countries
frameworks
Revised or under an on-
Basis for this reform process: the EU going revision process
accession Process
EU Water Framework Directive (WFD)
Transposition of the • Voluntarily by some countries in the non-EU
EU WFD in the legal : • Expected to have a positive effect on countries, has
framework of the the cooperation for the management of progressed at a
countries transboundary water resources different pace
• (Eventually / In principle) Harmonized depending on the
legal framework evolving cooperation
framework with the
EU, prevailing socio-
Overall, progress in lawmaking: considerable. economic situation
Nevertheless, deficiencies in the area of implementation and administrative
and enforcement. The reasons are manifold. capacities
5/23

5. have partially been adopted in the countries that are not EU
Member States (history of efforts at the level of strategic planning and
legislation adoption providing a basic framework for management
IWRM at at the basin level including provisions for integration - implementation
and enforcement remain considerable challenges).
the basin
level: pursuant to the EU WFD in EU Members States – River
Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) are the main tools (their
preparation is an issue in some countries)
Management of the shared water bodies in the SEE:
rather unilateral - level of cooperation varies, even among different
basins shared by the same two countries
Influenced by the developments at political
Transboundary cooperation for the
: and socio-economic scene at national and
management of the shared water bodies regional level and the bilateral relations of the
riparian countries
• There are many – in the majority of cases political
Agreements and protocols
obstacles and lack of resources have not allowed yet for
and other types of treaties :
proper implementation and significant results
for TWRM
• Nevertheless progress in several cases,
6/23 indicating also political will, has been achieved

6. Joint commissions – examples: between
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996 - Ohrid lake basin
agreement), Croatia and Slovenia (1996 - Skadar/Shkoder lake basin
agreement), Croatia and Hungary (1994 - Sava river basin
agreement), Croatia and Montenegro
(2007 agreement), the Serbian-Romanian
Joint Commission under the 1955
Agreement, and the Serbian-Hungarian Cooperation through
Joint Commission under the 1955 Joint Bodies
Agreement.
Prespa lakes basin
In most of the shared - low political prioritization of the issue,
Basins and aquifers - financial constraints and in some cases
cooperation is - insufficient institutional capacity
absent - conflicting interests among countries may also be a reason
among
the
Transboundary aquifers: low knowledge level
reasons:
adds to the difficulties of transboundary cooperation.

7. MONITORING OF TRANSBOUNDARY RIVERS,
LAKES AND GROUNDWATERS
8/23

8. Monitoring capacity Ongoing reform in the water
of most of the -difficult conditions sector: opportunity to improve
countries affected of the recent past coordination among
by the: institutions involved in
-non-integrated management
monitoring and assessment
of the water resources and lack of
coordination among institutions
Information received: not adequate for drawing an overall conclusion regarding
the status of monitoring of shared water bodies at the national and
transboundary levels
- All countries have a certain level of monitoring of surface waters in place
- It seems to be less information available about aquifers (compared to surface
waters), in terms of quantity and especially in terms of quality
- “Quality or quantity monitoring has to be improved or still needs to be
established”
- EU Member States: monitoring, assessment and reporting activities are
mostly steered by the obligations of different water-related Directives.
Level of implementation?
9/23

9. In most transboundary basins: information exchange is still very weak and
information produced in riparian countries is not harmonized.
Joint monitoring and assessment almost do not exist.
Nevertheless, there are exceptions to this rule:
e.g. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia (Trebišnjica/Neretva left aquifer)
- Hungary and Serbia (exchange of harmonized information on the basis of
relevant agreements)
- Serbia and Romania (monitoring of the Danube)
- Efforts for a joint monitoring system in Prespa
- Bulgaria and Turkey (Maritsa/Evros/Meric basin - telemetry hydrometric
stations)
Countries reported in many cases: “joint monitoring is needed” and relevant
proposals were made

10. MAIN PROBLEMS, IMPACTS
AND STATUS
11/23

11. Consumptive uses that Agricultural irrigation (in the Aegean Sea basin-with
rank first by the share of spatial variations) and drinking water supply (in the
total volume of water used Black Sea basin, followed by industrial water supply,
in the basins: agricultural irrigation - the order may vary on a case-by-
case basis)
-Water-use efficiency in the agricultural sector
Major issues in
-Water loss due to the degraded drinking
some countries
water supply networks
-Groundwater over-abstraction
Albania: hydropower contributes to over
Major non-consumptive Water for 90 per cent of the energy production (Drin
use in many countries: hydropower River basin : 70 per cent of the total
production energy produced in the country)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: it is an export
commodity
12/23

12. Agricultural activities (nitrogen, phosphorous and pesticides - pressure
varies among basins - Sava, Mesta/Nestos, Maritsa/Evros/Meric, Neretva
and Trebišnjica, Prespa, Somes/Szamos alluvial fan etc.)
Inappropriate sanitation – insufficiently treated and/or untreated
wastewater and/or improper use of septic tanks (mainly in rural
areas) as well as illegal wastewater discharges (Sava, Maritsa/
Evros/Meric, Timok, Struma/Strymonas, Mesta/Nestos, Nisava and
Pollution Neretva and in the Iron Gate reservoirs - Stara Plannina/Salasha
Montana, Tara, South-Western Backa/Dunav and the North-East Backa/
Danube-Tisza Interfluve etc.)
Insufficiently treated and/or untreated industrial wastewaters
(including illegal discharges): in many cases pollution by organic
compounds, heavy metals and other hazardous substances
Illegal waste disposal/uncontrolled dumpsites (Sava, Nisava, Neretva,
Struma/Strymonas, Mesta/Nestos, Drin River basins and Skadar/Shkoder
Lake)
Intensive periodically increase the liquid and solid waste generation and the
tourism water demands (Neretva River, Lakes Ohrid, Skadar/Shkoder and
activities Prespa) - illegal construction linked with tourism is of concern (e.g. in
the Drin basin)
13/23

13. Almost no information was
Climate change impacts:
provided by the countries
Their special characteristics are an additional factor of
Karst aquifer
complexity when it comes to transboundary water resources
systems
management ( Neretva, Trebišnjica, Trebižat, Prespa and
Ohrid basins)
Extent and limits of karst systems, drainage patterns and flow paths are little known
General lack of understanding of their vulnerability to anthropogenic as well as climatic
stresses increases the level of difficulty of managing them as well as threatens their
value and long-term sustainability
Great number of dams and associated reservoirs in shared basins
(for one or more of the following: hydropower generation, irrigation,
drinking and industrial water supply, flood protection and recreation)
Dams Many dams in Sava, Neretva and Trebišnjica, Drin,
+ Maritsa/Evros/Meric River basin (722), Iron Gates (Danube)
water surface water and in many cases:
regulation in groundwater hydrological and
structures (e.g. combination abstractions morphological
flood protection with (agricultural, alterations with
systems) municipal and different impacts
14/23 industrial use)

14. RESPONSES
15/23

15. - All countries, at different paces, are making steps
Basin towards their development
management - EU countries: preparation of RBMPs (EU WFD).
plans - Non EU Member States: Croatia, FYR Macedonia
- Sava Commission
to address issues linked with Countries reported either that
Good
agriculture (e.g. the overuse such measures are needed
agricultural
of water, nutrient and or that they have been
practices
pesticide pollution) implemented. Information on
the results is not available
Wastewater collection - In EU Member States: in Significant level of
and treatment systems accordance to the respective financial resources
and solid waste Directives needed:
management systems - Efforts are also being made a major challenge for
and facilities in non-EU countries the countries

16. THE WAY FORWARD
18/23

17. Action for IWRM at national level: creates the conditions for efficient
management at the transboundary level
Ongoing reforms of the water sector can benefit cooperation
between the countries in this respect: At the same time,
international cooperation could speed up national reforms
Eventual transposition of the The UNECE Water Convention has an
EU WFD across SEE would additional special role to play in SEE: it
lead to harmonization of offers a basis for enhanced cooperation
legal instruments for the and a common platform for EU and non-
management of water EU countries. Also a useful tool for
resources assisting the implementation of EU water
legislation by non-EU countries
19/23

18. Cooperation create the basis -building of trust
between riparians for establishing -design of
in monitoring and a common solutions on the
assessment: may understanding basis of
provide an initiating of water issues commonly agreed
point for and their root objectives
cooperation causes
Water Convention’s guidelines
and strategies for monitoring
Possible entry and assessment
points for
enhanced Joint fact-finding Prioritization of issues at the
cooperation: exercises and analysis national and transboundary
of the charact. of the levels; an agreed timeline
basins (natural values, for further progress may
uses, pressures etc.) follow
Issues of common concern, such as transboundary flood
management, also provide such opportunities
20/23

19. Donor countries (Germany, Sweden, Switzerland etc.), EU,
United Nations agencies, Initiatives (e.g. Petersberg Phase
II/Athens Declaration Process) may play an important role in
Facilitating
cooperation GEF: financially supported enhancement of cooperation (Ohrid
and Skadar/Shkoder, Prespa Lakes and Neretva River, Dinaric
Arc Aquifer System) which in cases resulted in the conclusion
of official bilateral cooperation arrangements
21/23

20. Planning of new infrastructure and operation of the
available should take into account the upstream-
Dams: downstream needs and considerations, including possible
negative impacts on the ecosystem services and economic
activities as well as the evolving climatic conditions
Floods: Use of better operation techniques and rules
regarding the available dam infrastructure
Joint development and establishment of integrated information
systems such as flood forecasting/early warning systems
The effects of related development plans that
involve alternative uses for waters and water
Tourism: bodies on lakes-rivers-wetlands-groundwater
systems need to be clearly understood
before any decision is taken
23/23

21. Coordination of international actors, to create Actions to Upgrading the
synergies and avoid duplication or secure country role of the
unnecessary effort, should be a goal ownership joint bodies
Translating scientific data into Minimization or Collaboration,
information – assisting with elimination of compromise and
decision-making and upstream - consensus-building
increasing public awareness downstream process necessary
pressures for coordinative /
Development plans at the national level should cooperative depends
balance the need for development with the on open dialogue,
need for sustainable natural resources use and good will and trust
environmental protection among the key
stakeholders
22/23

22. UNECE
www.unece.org/env/water/
www.gwpmed.org