UNECE Convention on the

Protection and Use of

Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes

A unique framework for improved

management of shared waters

Sonja Koeppel, UNECE

 Outline

• Introduction to the UNECE Water

Convention: objectives, provisions
• Some activities of the Convention:
assessment, case studies etc.
• EU legislation
• Public participation: principles and
mechanisms
• Case study: Dniester river
• The Protocol on Water and Health
• Payment for ecosystem services
An estimated 140 million people, i.e. one person in seven, do
not have access to safe drinking water and adequate
sanitation making them vulnerable to water-related diseases
13,500 deaths a year of children under 14 years of age in
UNECE are due to poor water conditions
Transboundary nature of European water
resources

• 150 major transboundary rivers, 25

major international lakes and more
than 100 transboundary aquifers
• Many European countries heavily
depend on other countries. Croatia
receives 40 percent of its surface water
resources from upstream countries
 This led to the adoption of:

• Convention on the Protection and Use of

Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes (1992)
• Protocol on Water and Health to the
1992 Water Convention (1999)
• Protocol on Civil Liability and
Compensation for Damage Caused by
the Transboundary Effects of Industrial
Accidents on Transboundary Waters
(2003)
The Water Convention

• Signed on 17 March
1992
• Entered into force on 6
October 1996
• 35 countries and the
European Community
have ratified the
Convention
 • Amended in 2003 to allow
accession by non-ECE
countries

.
Aims of the Convention

• Protection of transboundary
waters by preventing,
controlling and reducing
transboundary impacts
• Ecologically sound and
rational management of
transboundary waters
• Reasonable and equitable
use of transboundary waters
⇒ Conflict prevention
• Conservation and restoration
of ecosystems
Basic provisions to prevent, control and
reduce transboundary impacts

•Licensing and monitoring of waste-water discharges

•Emission limits of hazardous substances based on
best available technologies
•At least biological treatment applied to municipal
water waters
•Best environmental practice for non-point pollution
sources
Basic provisions to prevent, control
and reduce transboundary impacts

• Use of environmental impact

assessment
• Promotion of the ecosystem approach
• Development of contingency planning
• Definition of water-quality objectives
and adopt water-quality criteria
• Minimization of the risk of accidental
water pollution
 Provisions relating to Riparian
Parties

• Parties bordering the same transboundary

waters are obliged to conclude specific
bilateral or multilateral agreements
providing for the establishment of joint
bodies
• Examples: 1994 Danube River Protection
Convention, the 2000 EU Water Framework
Directive, Framework Agreement on the Sava
River Basin.
 Institutional arrangements

•Joint bodies (river commissions, . . .,

meeting of Plenipotentiaries)

•Tasks of joint bodies: identification of pollution sources,

concerted action plans, monitoring and assessment,
warning and alarm procedures, cooperation with other
joint bodies in the same basin, cooperation with coastal
States
What does the Convention do for countries?

• Good water governance

•Support to Parties

•Implementation
 Good water governance

• Legally binding tools

• Policy guidelines
(monitoring and
assessment, flood
management, public
participation,
interstate water
distribution,
ecosystem approach,
climate change
adaptation, etc.)
 Support to Parties

• Workshops,
seminars
• Capacity building
programme
 Implementation and assessment

• Pilot projects on
transboundary rivers,
lakes and groundwaters
• Advisory service
(establishment of new
agreements, of joint
bodies, safety of dam in
Central Asia, etc)
• Assessment of
transboundary waters
140 rivers
30 lakes
70 aquifers

>150 experts
40 countries
Objectives of the assessment
• Highlight achievements in IWRM at
transboundary level
• Shed light on effectiveness of measures
• Develop knowledge and understanding for
further action
• Identify situations of water crisis
• Provide guidance for strategic investments
• Serve as point of reference for Governments,
IGOs, NGOs to improve management and
status of waters
 Major findings

• Water pollution from point sources is of

primary importance in basins in EECCA and
SEE
• Pollution from diffuse sources is of high
importance for action in basins in Western and
Central Europe
• The effects of climate change became visible
in almost all of the analysed river basins
• Water sharing among countries in the same
basin is often a major water-quantity issue,
and continues to cause upstream-downstream
conflicts
 Major findings

• Plans for integrated water resources

management still need to be developed
for almost all basins
• Proper attention should be devoted to
land-use planning and the joint
management of surface waters and
groundwaters
 EU legislation: Water Framework
directive
• Adopted in 2000
• Based on integrated water management
• Therefore elaboration of river basin management plans
by 2009
– Identification and characterization of river basins by 2004
– Establishment of monitoring network by 2006
– 2015 meet environmental objectives
• Objective: good water quality status (ecological and
chemical) by set date
• Combination of prevention and control
• Requirement for public participation
• Transboundary cooperation
 WATER
WATERBODIES
BODIESAND
ANDMONITORING
MONITORING

Data
Data bases
bases and
and processing
processing
Info
Info on
on the
the actual
actual status
status of
of
water
water bodies
bodies
Info
Info on
on the
the human
human activities
activities

Collection
Collection of
of Identification
Identification of
of water
water References
References
information
information bodies
bodies for
for ecological
ecological status
status
Survey
Survey and
and first
first Designation
Designation of
of water
water Typology
Typology of
of water
water
surveillance
surveillance bodies
bodies bodies
bodies

Investigative
Investigative
monitoring
monitoring
Characterisation,
Characterisation, Reference
Reference areas,
areas,
Additional
Additional data
data on
on indicator
Assessment
Assessment indicator parameters
parameters
human
human activity
activity of
of actual
actual status,
status,

Preliminary
Preliminary setting
setting Source: BALÁ
BALÁSHÁ
SHÁZY and Havas-
Havas-Szilagyi
of
of env.
env. objectives
objectives
Principles of Public Participation
in IWRM
• ensure adequate possibility of active
involvement of all the stakeholders and
more wide public groups
• open and transparent process, executed
honestly and impartially
• mechanisms should be adapted for the local
circumstances
• participants should accept a long-term vision
of acceptable state of the considered water
body,
• participation should not lie only in problem
solving, it is required to combine that econo-
mic welfare and protection of the
environment are compatible with wider
acceptable aims of development.
 Specifics of Transboundary
IWRM and Public
Participation
• transboundary territories often have special (more
stringent) water use regime and respective restrictions
on freedom of movement
• information on the state of waters is often rated as
classified, i.e. access to it is often impeded
• decisions on water sector in these territories are often
made reasoning from foreign policy interests of the
countries, but not from requirements of rational nature
management or local requirements·
• frontier represents a “delimiter” of both language and
social-cultural and economic nature
• different legislation in the neighboring countries,
different management systems and public participation
systems, different priorities
• state of bilateral /multilateral relations in the basin,
presence of explicit conflict
 Legislation Framework:
European Water Framework
Directive
• member countries should manage
their basins as a whole
• member countries should promote
active involvement of all
stakeholders in the IWRM
• public participation is defined as
direct participation in decision-
making process
 Example of public
involvement methods
• Target group surveying/analysis/chart-making
in order to identify major stakeholding
individuals/organizations
• Compilation of stakeholders data base for
network interaction strengthening
• Analysis of their needs and possible forms of
involvement/information of one or another
group.
• Elaboration of Plan of public involvement in
discussion and fulfillment of water protection
arrangements, improvement of its awareness
• Plan implementation and monitoring of its
efficiency.
GEF Projects, Chu and Talas rivers, Lake
Peipsi/Chudskoe..
Lessons learned from 15 years
of Convention’s
implementation:
the case of UNECE/OSCE
Dniester project
Dniester River
 Law for good water
governance
• Sound legal framework is essential
for stable and reliable cooperation
=> existing Dniester agreement
provides good framework for
transboundary flood management
but not adequate for conservation of
resources and biodiversity and very
general in specifying the competences
and mandate of the Plenipotentiaries
 Institutional arrangements
• Suitable institutional arrangements at the
national and transboundary levels with
strong enforcement capacity are a
precondition for management of
transboundary waters
Main challenges:
• Undefined, shared responsibilities within
national authorities and lack of coordination
• Capacity of staff
Exchange of information and joint
monitoring and assessment
• To assess status of water resources
• To prepare proper policy actions, evaluate their
effectiveness
• Need for a common basis for decision-making
Main challenges:
• Inadequate coordination between various monitoring systems of
different agencies
• Inadequacy of the systems
• Ineffective data quality control/assurance
• Inadequate information management and data exchange
 Integration: a major challenge
requiring to act in partnership
• Need to integrate environmental aspects in sectoral
policies
• Need to create a shared vision and defined goals
• Need for cooperative processes
In the Dniester project:
• Involvement of all competent authorities
• Involvement of major environmental NGOs
• Involvement of Transdniestrean Region
• Role of international organizations
 The Protocol on Water and Health under the
Convention

• Adopted in 1999 by 36
countries
• Entered into force in 2005
• Ratified by 21 countries
 Status of ratification

Signatories
Parties

.
Objective of the Protocol

Protect human health

and well being by better
water management

⇒ Sustainable development
and MDGs
⇒ Poverty reduction
⇒ Policies integration
⇒ Cooperation between
sectors and countries
 Core provisions

• Prevention, • Effective
control and protection of
reduction of water resources
water-related • Provision of
diseases adequate supplies
• Outbreak of safe drinking
detection, water and
contingency adequate
planning and sanitation
response
 Pillars of the Protocol’s implementation

Targets and Surveillance and

target dates response
International
support: AHPFM

Support to Programme of
implementation measures

Compliance
Committee Assessment of
progress – Public
review of information
compliance
 Targets and target dates

Within 2 years, each Party shall set targets on:

• Water supply and sanitation
• Water management
• Health protection

=> tailored to country needs and capacity

=> intersectoral cooperation, national dialogue,
=> guidelines by 2009 by the Task Force on
Indicators and Reporting
Examples of indicators and targets

• For water quality: Percentage of

samples that fail to meet the standard
for E. coli and Enterococci and that fail
to meet the standard for chemical
water quality
• Percentage of untreated wastewater
• Percentage of sludge disposed of in an
acceptable way
• Percentage of bathing waters under
control monitoring
 More information

including guidelines, publications and

information on activities under the Convention
can be found at
http://unece.org/env/water
koeppels@ceu.hu
 Be realistic!
Good transboundary water
management does not come
overnight

• Step-by step approach

• Assessment of the effectiveness
of implemented programmes
 Ecosystem approach in water
management
• Progressive shift of focus: from aquatic to
terrestrial ecosystems
• Ecosystem services for water management
– flood prevention, control and mitigation
– regulating runoff and water supply
– improving water quality
– withholding sediments and reducing erosion,
– supporting water storage in the soil; and facilitating
groundwater recharge
– cultural services
Payment for ecosystem services
PES have the potential to be an environ-
mentally effective, economically efficient and
socially equitable tool for IWRM
• Internalize environmental costs or benefits into
production and/or consumption decisions
• Improve the quality and facilitate integration of
relevant policies at all levels
• Generate/broaden source of finance
• Create incentives for investments and
environmental friendly behaviour
• Create watershed solidarity
Water management issues and
ecosystem services
Are there any significant water management problems in the Identify problems and risks (e.g. by using
No diagnostic analysis of environmental
Yes river basin? problems, including analysis of rights
and responsibilities of stakeholder
groups).
Yes

- Analyse past experiences and the

Can ecosystem services help to at least partly address these effectiveness of measures (e.g. policy
No water management problems? Can these problems be solved measures, laws/regulations,
or mitigated by means of a project such as a change in land economic/financial instruments) and
use or management practice? infrastructure solutions.
- Check available information, including
results of scientific research.
Yes - Make use of local knowledge and
habits.
- Quantify ecosystem services (based on
biophysical analysis; hydrological
Do the costs and benefits of the PES scheme compare models, etc.).
No
favourably with those of feasible alternative projects (e.g. an - Carry out a valuation of ecosystem
infrastructure solution)? services (based on cost-benefit analysis,
multi-criteria analysis, cost-
effectiveness analysis, cost-utility
Yes analysis).
Water management issues and
ecosystem services
Organize dialogue about the
Is a PES scheme politically acceptable, or can political main features of the PES
support be mobilized? mechanism and related
opportunities and risks.

Conduct stakeholder analysis to

Are there any potential buyers and sellers of ecosystem identify the main beneficiaries
No services? and service providers.

Can negotiations between potential buyers and sellers be Consider an awareness-raising

campaign (e.g. to change willingness
successfully concluded? to pay and/or willingness to accept).

Yes

Proceed with the establishment of PES

- Create an effective and efficient
PES schemes are not an legal and organizational framework
for the operation of the PES scheme.
option, at least for the
- Ensure effective monitoring of
time being. contract compliance and flexible
adaptation of the PES scheme to
changing economic and
environmental conditions.
 Core principles for PES

• Adaptive learning process

• Environmental effectiveness, economic
efficiency and social equity
• Transparency to support negotiation,
trust and compliance
• Conditionality of payment
• Need for monitoring of the service and
revisions of scheme