By Bernardas Paukstys, GWP Central and Eastern Europe

1. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Benefits of
Transboundary
Cooperation in Neman
and Pregolya River
Basins
Towards a water secure world Bernardas Paukštys, GWPCEE

2. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Basic information
Two transboundary rivers:
• the Neman and the Pregolya
with their basins in Belarus,
Lithuania, Poland and
Kaliningrad Oblast
bring their waters into the Baltic
Sea and do not stop at the
administrative or political
borders.

3. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Therefore the only way to protect and manage transboundary rivers is a
cross-border cooperation between 2 EU and 2 non-EU countries.
EU
EU

4. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Such cooperation is critical as the Neman and Pregolya rivers transport
pollutants from agriculture, fisheries and industries to the Baltic Sea. Baltic
Sea is one of the mostly polluted seas in the world.

5. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Total area of the
Neman basin is
98,200 km2 of which
34,610 km2 are within
Belarus the Lithuanian
portion of this basin is
46,695 km2
The Pregolya basin has
an area of 15,500 km²
which is shared mainly
by Poland and
Kaliningrad Oblast. The
average flow is 90 m³/s.

6. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Aims of the transboundary project
GWP financially supported the project in 2014.
The main goal of the project was to:
• Compile GIS maps of the shared river basin systems between RF Kaliningrad
Oblast, Poland, Lithuania and Belarus.
• Strengthen professional links between water managers and GIS experts in
neighboring countries.
• To build an informal professional partnership which may facilitate official
dialogue, cooperation and investments in the shared river basin systems.

7. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
The team of experts from GWP- Lithuania and
Poland, Central Research Institute for Complex
Use of Water Resources (Belarus) and Baltic
Institute for Ecology of Hydrosphere (Kaliningrad)
have compiled joint GIS maps on hydrology,
human pressures, chemical status and — where
possible — ecological status of water bodies
GWP-Lithuania
GWP-Poland
Belarus Kaliningrad

8. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
The outputs of the project
• GIS database consisting of 12 transboundary GIS layers and
more than 100 attribute fields have been developed;
• 30 GIS maps of surface and groundwater, human pressures
and impacts, maps of climate change, chemical and
ecological status of water bodies were created;
• Interactive map and GIS database were developed;
• Video film on transboundary cooperation produced in EN and
RU languages and uploaded on Youtube
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jFx3jhhLTQ).

9. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Few examples of GIS maps

10. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org

11. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Interactive map http://levis-gdb.sggw.pl/neman_pregolya/

12. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Benefits of cooperation (1)
• GIS maps were shared among the water stakeholders in the project countries.
• All maps were included into the 2nd round of the Nemunas and Pregolya river basin
management plans prepared by Lithuania under the EU Water Framework Directive.
NEMUNAS RIVER BASIN DISTRICT MANAGEMENT
PLAN

13. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Benefits of cooperation (2)
• data gaps and methodical differences in the
countries were identified;
• information and methodologies were
harmonised;
• point sources and diffused pollution in all
countries were mapped in a harmonised
way;
• hydropower plants and fish passes were
mapped;
• This information will be useful for the joint
river basin planning in future.

14. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Maps of human pressures

15. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Benefits of cooperation (3)
• It was practical result-oriented
transboundary water management
project between the 2 EU and 2 non-EU
countries.
• It demonstrated the willingness for
cooperation not only between the
experts but also some institutions.
• If continued, such cooperation may
generate economic benefits, increased
human well-being, environmental
sustainability and political stability.

16. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Future Benefits
Next logical cooperation step is joint river basin management planning.
The planning process includes:
• characterisation of the river basin districts;
• assessment of pressures and impacts;
• setting clear environmental objectives;
• economic analysis;
• establishment and implementation of appropriate measures for improvement water body
status;
• evaluation effectiveness of the measures and investment costs.
Programme of measures helps to respond to the identified pressures, thus allowing the river
basin and/or water body to reach good status.

17. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Good status
means that all
rivers and lakes
are swimmable,
groundwater is
fresh and
drinkable, and
all water bodies
are abundant in
natural
organisms.

18. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Future benefits – health and ecology:
• Proper management of water resources through water supply and sanitation reduces
health care costs and rids society of water-borne diseases.
• Water supports several industrial activities that are dependent on reliable and secure
water supplies.
• Water management through investment in sustainable organic agriculture, recreational
opportunities and biodiversity will contribute to the improvement of ecological
situation in the river basins.

19. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Future Benefits – development of tourism
Improved status of rivers,
lakes and lagoons would
increase the attractiveness
of the region for tourism
and recreation.
Location of the Kaliningrad
Oblast on the shores of the
Baltic Sea will be attractive
for both domestic and
foreign tourists.

20. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Benefits to the Baltic Sea Region
Joint management of
transboundary waters around the
Baltic Sea will provide regional
benefits to the whole Baltic region
with more than 160 million citizens.

21. Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, Budapest HungaryNovember 201517-19 www.gwpcee.org
Thanks to:
• GWP for financial support
• Project participants for their GIS contribution
and thank you for attention