1. May 2007
IWRM National dialogue in Poland Calendar of Events
THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE WAS HELD ON NO- ter management to overcome potential con- National IWRM Dialogue in Slovenia
VEMBER 14, 2006 IN WARSAW BASED MI- flicts of interest among them. April 22, 2007
NISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT. Ljubljana, Slovenia
During the discussion with participation of
Mr. Gajda who was answering several ques- National IWRM Dialogue in Romania
tions, the principal issue was how to over-
April 25, 2007
come potential conflicts of interest between
Bucharest, Romania
different agencies and authorities involved in
The seminar was opened by the chair of GWP water management. It’s clear that not all of
Poland, Prof. Janusz Kindler who welcomed them will greet with enthusiasm the changes National IWRM Dialogue in Estonia
Mr. Mariusz Gajda, the new Chairman of the considered in the proposal presented. The se- May 9, 2007
National Water Management Administration. cond presentation was “Droughts in Poland” Tallinn, Estonia
The new administrative body, working under concentrating on severe drought that occur-
Ministry of Environment, was established ac- red in the summer of 2006. The final presen- National IWRM Dialogue in Moldova
cording to updated Polish Water Law on July 1, tation was under the title “Implementation May 14-16, 2007
2006. In Poland, the Ministry of Environment of EU Water Framework Directive in Poland Chisinau, Moldova
deals with water management policy and the - conditions for success”. The dialogue, hos-
strategy. ted by GWP Poland, provided an opportunity National IWRM Dialogue in Czech Republic
to discuss openly all difficult issues and dif- May 15-16, 2007
Mr. Gajda presented his paper “New gover- ferent opinions.
Medlov, Czech Republic
nance arrangements for water management
in Poland” which describes new proposal on More than 80 practitioners from all around
National IWRM Dialogue in Hungary, phase II
how to overcome the institutional fragmen- the country attended the dialogue. In addition
tation of water management in the country to regular GWP Poland partners, the venue at- May 31, 2007
between state government and the self-go- tracted several newcomers as the topic of wa- Szabadkigyos, Hungary
vernment authorities at the local, county and ter management planning is currently on the
provincial levels. The keynote presentation top agenda in Poland. Based on demands of National IWRM Dialogue in Slovakia
was followed by a lively discussion. It came the participants, two more national dialogues June 18, 2007
up that the success of water management are slated for early 2007. For more information, Bratislava, Slovakia
planning largely depends on the will of diffe- please contact Dr. Janusz Kindler, GWP Poland
rent agencies and authorities involved in wa- Chair, e-mail: janusz.kindler@is.pw.edu.pl. International Tool Box seminar
August 30-31, 2007
CREDIT: EWA SKUPISNKA
Nyiregyháza, Hungary
First GWP CACENA, CEE and MED
Inter-regional Partners Meeting
Addressing EU Neighbourhood Policy from
a water resources management perspec-
tive
October 6-7, 2007
Varna, Bulgaria
GWP CEE Regional Council Meeting
October 8-9, 2007
Varna, Bulgaria
6th IWA Conference on Wastewater Recla-
mation and Reuse for Sustainability
October 9-12, 2007
2nd phase of the national dialogue in Poland
Antwerp, Belgium
2. Interview with Lucia Ana Varga, State Secretary, Romanian
Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development
IN CONTINUATION OF OUR SERIES OF INTER-
VIEWS WITH THE MINISTERS OF THE ENVIRON-
MENT FROM THE 11 CENTRAL AND EASTERN EU-
ROPEAN COUNTRIES, WHICH ARE PART OF GWP
CEE REGION, WE BRING YOU THE INTERVIEW
WITH STATE SECRETARY OF ROMANIAN MINIS-
TRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT, LUCIA ANA VARGA.
State Secretary Lucia Ana Varga studied me-
chanics at the Technical University of Timi-
soara from 1986 to 1991. In 2001 she became
a mechanical engineering candidate for a doc-
tor’s degree at the Faculty of Mechanics at the
same university. From 1991 to 1998, Ms. Var-
ga was a school teacher in Oradea. Afterwards
she worked for the Bihor County Commissari-
at of the National Environmental Guard as an
inspector and chief commissioner until 2005,
when she was appointed State Secretary at the
Ministry of the Environment and Water Man-
agement. During her ministerial career to date,
Ms. Varga was elected President of the Bureau the resource - water demand equation and the nating the unitary implementation of actions
of the Meeting of the Parties on the Protocol on fact that water resource protection requires use and measures for the prevention and manage-
Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on analysis at the river basin level; ment of specific emergency situations on the
the Protection and Use of Transboundary Wa- ● the integration of flood defense issues with national level;
tercourses and International Lakes (2007). In aspects regarding conservation and the devel- ● Directorate for Water Resource Manage-
January 2007, she took over the Presidency of opment of aquatic biodiversity; ment, with responsibilities concerning quanti-
the International Commission for the Protec- ● the integration of water resources in planning tative and qualitative water management and
tion of the Danube River (ICPDR) for one year. policies, taking into account the fact that water is especially concerning European Union aspects,
Between 1998 and 2006, she graduated from one of the basic elements of life and at the same the implementation of bilateral and multilateral
various training courses and seminars on the time a factor which determines socio-economic agreements in the water field and coordination
environment, law, communications and public development, is often a limiting factor. of the activities of the transboundary river basin
relations, security and national defense – secu- In the water field, Romania has successfully districts;
rity and good governance and internal auditors. managed to cope with nearly all of these IWRM ● Directorate for Dam Safety and Water Ca-
She speaks English fluently. Ms. Varga is mem- requirements through both the management dastre, with responsibilities for regulating the
ber of the Liberal National Party. system and the undertaken and foreseen activi- operational regime of water resources and res-
ties aiming to obtain sustainable water devel- ervoirs and regulations on dam safety exploita-
1. Water Talk: GWP defines Integrated Water opment. tion, organization, recording and management
Resources Management (IWRM) as a proc- In this sense, at the national level, the Minis- of the Water Cadastre of Romania;
ess which promotes the coordinated devel- try of the Environment and Water Management ● State Water Inspection with the main re-
opment and management of water, land and carries out the policy in the environment and sponsibility for the supervision of the legisla-
related resources, in order to maximize the water management fields, the strategy and spe- tion implementation in water field, harmonized
resultant economic and social welfare in an cific regulations for the development and har- with the provisions of the EU water directives.
equitable manner without compromising the monization of those activities within the gener- The implementation of the national policy and
sustainability of vital ecosystems. How do al government policy, ensures and coordinates strategy in water management, developed by
you see the challenges of IWRM implemen- the application of the Governmental strate- the Ministry is carried out by the “Apele Ro-
tation in practice in Romania? gy within the respective fields of activity, thus mane” National Administration, which is or-
As it was mentioned, the concept of Integrated achieving the role of state authority, synthesis, ganized on the basin level (11 river basins).
Water Resources Management implies: coordination and control. The Water Depart- Its responsibilities are related to quantitative,
● the integration of all water categories: sur- ment covers the full area of activities related to qualitative water monitoring, regulation of wa-
face water, groundwater, transitional water and water including the following Directorates: ter resources use as well as the implementation
coastal water as well as quantitative, qualitative ● Directorate for the Prevention and Manage- of water management legislation, harmonized
and biological issues of water; ment of Emergency Situations, with responsi- with the EU water directives.
● the integration of water use at the river ba- bilities concerning flood protection and control But sustainable water development is not only
sin level, which reveals the need for solving of and hydro-meteorological emergencies, coordi- carried out through activities and technical, in-
2
3. stitutional and legislative measures but also The estimated costs for the implementation of The main potential beneficiaries of the Struc-
through the promotion of the participation of all Drinking Water Directive 98/83/EC are 5.6 mil- tural and Cohesion Funds within the frame-
involved actors, as consultative partners in the lion euros, which are needed up to 2015 for: work of SOP are the local public authorities
decision making process. In order to create the ● country-wide monitoring of drinking water that at present are beneficiaries of Phare, ISPA
mechanisms of consultation on all levels, such quality – new analytical equipment; and other international funds. The preparato-
as local collectivities, water users within the river ● investment in equipment for control moni- ry activities for Structural and Cohesion Funds,
basins and water management services benefi- toring performed by the producers; which are time consuming for major projects,
ciaries; the Basin Committees were established ● improvement of technologies and extension started at the beginning of 2004. Pre-accession
through Water Law No. 107/1996 with amend- of water treatment; funds, external grants and bilateral agreements
ments. These Basin Committees are organized on ● rehabilitation and extension of the water have been largely used to develop feasibility
the territorial level within the Water Directorates supply networks; studies and other back-up documents and also
of “Apele Romane”, as consultative organisms, ● replacement of the domestic distribution to support the activities aimed at improving in-
underlining the concern of the Ministry of the systems. stitutional governing with a view to increasing
Environment and Water Management for sus- The fact that the investments in the water infra- the role of local authorities in project imple-
taining the public participation process. The cre- structure are costly is a reality, but it is also true mentation, tendering and contracting.
ation of these structures lay at the heart of the that they are absolutely necessary. Within the The providing of grants to the water sector is
following main objectives: involvement within strategic approach of the water infrastructure conditioned on the creation of Regional Water
the decision-making activities of the local ben- projects, Romania has foreseen a long term per- Companies (regional operators). The regionali-
eficiaries and efficient cooperation between local spective of the development of the work, taking zation process is essential because in order to
water management bodies and local public ad- into consideration both the size of the human implement the environmental aquis require-
ministration authorities in order to maintain the agglomerations which generate a huge volume ments, experienced water companies that can
balance of water resource conservation and their of waste water and the financial efforts involved make proper investments and guarantee the
sustainable development. in arranging investments in this field. The de- functioning quality of the facilities built are
velopment, in time, of the financial efforts al- needed. Without grants, most of the small opera-
2. Water talk: Implementation of EU legis- lows for sustainable development of the projects, tors will not be able to comply with the aquis.
lation for the new members, which entered which takes into consideration acceptance, both Therefore, there is a strong motivation for dif-
the EU at the beginning of 2007, means an of the population and involved institutions. ferent operators to associate in regional water
opportunity for improving the environmen- Therefore Romania has developed a strategic companies with a view to overcoming poten-
tal infrastructure with co-financing from EU document titled the Sectoral Operational Pro- tial administrative problems. By promoting in-
funds. To which measures in the area of wa- gram for the Environment (SOP) that covers the tegrated water and waste water systems within
ter protection, management and use is the period from 2007 to 2013 and supports the ful- a regional approach, Romania aims to maximize
support from Structural Funds and the Co- fillment of Romania’s obligations in the envi- cost efficiency. Thus, communities from clearly
hesion Fund for the programming period ronmental field, while offering investment op- defined areas (for example from a river basin)
2007 – 2013 directed and who might bene- portunities across the country. The SOP strategy are encouraged to join together and develop
fit from that support? How much funding focuses on collective investments and services a common long term investment program for
is needed for improving and developing the necessary to raise long term competitiveness, water sector development (Master Plan for wa-
environmental water infrastructure in the create new jobs and obtain sustainable devel- ter/waste water).
near future? opment. During the mentioned period, for all Due to the significant investment needed in the
Due to the investment needs in water and of the investments in the environmental sec- water infrastructure, within the process of our
waste water infrastructure – which are eval- tor, Romania is counting on a contribution of EU/IWRM implementation, additional financing
uated at almost 15 billion euros – in order to 4.5 billion euros from Structural and Cohesion sources have been foreseen. They include:
comply with European legislation, Romania has Funds, an amount that is far below the needs ● The National Program for Rural Develop-
requested a longer period of transition (during estimated for the same period. ment, co-financed by the EU for 2007-2013 co-
the negotiations with the European Commis- One of the main objectives of the SOP is the im- ordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests
sion) than other recent member states, which provement of water quality and access to wa- and Rural Development that includes water in-
can allow for the achievement of the invest- ter and the waste water infrastructure based on frastructure investments within the rural areas;
ment efforts needed. providing water and water sewerage systems in ● The Governmental Program for Infrastructure
The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive 91/ urban areas up to 2015. The SOP continues the Development in Rural Zones for 2006 – 2008;
271/EEC: implementation requires necessary in- environmental infrastructure development pro- ● The National Environmental Fund, for co-fi-
vestments of 9.5 billion euros (5.7 billion euros grams at the national level that have been initi- nancing;
for the water treatment plants and 3.8 billion eu- ated within the framework of the pre-accession ● External funds and different forms of Public
ros for water sewerage systems) up to 2018 for: assistance, specifically Phare and ISPA. Private Partnerships.
● construction of new urban waste water treat- SOP’s priority regarding the extension and mod-
ment plants; ernization of the water supply and sewerage 3. Water talk: WFD is the most complex set
● up-grading of existing urban waste water systems will be financed through the Cohesion of goals, tools and commitments in the EU
treatment plants; Fund; the financial planning is presented below: water-sector to date. Two of the main WFD
● up-grading of existing waste water treat-
ment plants in the agro-food industry; EC financing (Euro) National financing (Euro) Total (Euro) Co-financing rate
● rehabilitation of existing urban sewage col-
Improvement of the
lecting systems;
water supply 2,776,532,160 489,976,263 3,266,508,423 85%
● construction and/or extension of urban sew-
and sewerage systems
age collecting systems.
3
4. goals are the protection and improvement of monized Körös/Crisuri river basin management gen and 66% of the total phosphorous flow-
the quality of water ecosystems and sustain- plan in a participative process (French technical ing in dissolved form into the Black Sea come
able, balanced and equitable water use. This and financial support under the coordination of from the Danube river basin. More than half of
directive provides broad opportunities for ICPDR) with the following expected results: all nutrient loads in the Danube River originate
public participation in river basin manage- ● Strengthening Hungarian and Romanian co- from agriculture; about one fourth from private
ment and is transposed into Romanian legi- operation between transboundary organiza- households and about 10 - 13% from industry.
slation. How can the participation of water tions in charge of water management including Romania is the largest contributor of nutrients
stakeholders, the public and NGO’s, be en- public participation; to the Black Sea as its entire territory drains into
sured during the implementation of this di- ● Enhancing stakeholder consultation and pre- the Black Sea.
rective and especially in preparation of the paring a pilot joint public consultation project Taking into account the above mentioned facts
river basin management plans which must be based on a timetable and a WFD work pro- and also the necessity to comply with EU re-
completed by 2009? What do you think? gramme and the main issue in the Körös/Crisuri quirements regarding the mitigation of nitrate
The implementation of WFD requires the co-or- basin (as a pilot project for the Tisa basin/region pollution, the Ministry of the Environment and
dination of the all involved parties at the na- consultation) – on going. Water Management has developed the Imple-
tional and river basin levels. One of the main 3.“Clean Crisuri” pilot basin project (based on mentation Plan of Nitrates Directive and Action
components of the development of the river ba- two education strategies developed by MoEWM Programs for vulnerable areas. Furthermore, the
sin management plans is the public information for children and adults) – on going - that aims Ministry with the support of the World Bank,
and consultation process. In order to facilitate at informing people and raising their involve- has carried out the Agricultural Pollution Con-
this process and to comply with the provisions ment in elaborating the water protection and trol Project which is aimed at significantly in-
of the Water Framework Directive, the Minis- management strategies through: creasing the use of environment friendly agri-
try of the Environment and Water Management ● questionnaires; cultural and household practices in rural areas
has promoted two ministerial orders for the ap- ● printed information/education booklets/leaf- in order to ultimately reduce the discharge of
proval of: lets; nutrients and other agricultural pollutants
● Procedures for public consultation in the de- ● web site (www.crisuricurate.go.ro) into the Danube River and Black Sea through
cision making process related to water man- ● public meetings; integrated land and water management. The
agement (Ministerial Order no. 1044/27 October ● education/awareness campaigns. achievements of the project include:
2005); Other achievements aimed at public involve- ● Development and implementation of manure
● Procedures for public information access re- ment and awareness performed by the Minis- management plans;
lated to water management (Ministerial Order try of Environment and Water Management ● Development, revision and dissemination of
no. 1012/19 October 2005). (MoEWM) are: the Code for Good Agricultural Practice;
Also the River Basin Committees provide the ● two communication strategy (for kids and ● Development of standard action programs
framework for public consultation and partici- adults ) which have been disseminated at the for vulnerable plain areas;
pation, including the management plans for all national level, as a framework for local activi- ● Realization of local, regional and national
11 river basins elaborated according to the WFD. ties (depending on the local situation); public awareness campaigns;
Each committee includes 15 members: water ● 2007 Communication Plan of the MoEWM; ● Testing and proving of ecological agriculture
management bodies, representatives of central ● MoEWM website – an important and cost ef- practice within the vulnerable areas.
and local authorities, representatives of prefec- ficient tool/“Kids Corner” – ecological education In 2006, implementation at the national level
tures and county councils, users (industry, agri- for children (based on the idea that children are was approved. The extended project amounts to
culture, localities) and NGO’s. All of these mem- excellent conveyors of the message); 50 millions euros and has a view to realize the
bers are involved in the decision making process ● national TV spots (2 weeks before the events programs and plans established for the vulner-
in order to advise the national government, pro- - on 3 channels of Romanian National Televi- able areas identified on the Romania’s territory.
mote public participation concerning the river sion) for celebrating: Danube Day (every year,
basin management process and to inform the starting from 2004) and International Black Sea 5. Water talk: Global climate changes in the
other key stakeholders about public participa- Day (starting from 2006 for public awareness form of flash floods and heavy storms are
tion possibilities and structures. on the necessity of the protection and the con- affecting all the countries in the region of
The following projects have been developed: servation of the marine environment); Central and Eastern Europe. Which arrange-
1. Enhancing Access to Information and Pub- ● two national campaigns in 2007 on raising ments and measures, in your opinion, should
lic Participation in Environmental Decision-ma- public awareness and informing people (1) and be adopted in order to reduce the results of
king UNDP-GEF Danube Regional Project- Com- (2) authorities/industries about the WFD provi- this threat?
ponent 3.4 included as activities: sions. The painful experience from 2005 and the
● Public Access to water management In- spring of 2006 has shown that the old patterns
formation/Public Participation in the decision 4. Water talk: the implementation of EU Di- are no longer valid under the new climate con-
making process in water management – a ma- rectives will be an important factor in miti- ditions and that the existing protection work as
nual for authorities which has been written es- gating the agricultural impact on the envi- designed is not effective because the environ-
pecially for those authorities not involved in ronment; however, it is necessary to involve mental conditions have changed dramatically.
water management issues; it was printed under farmers in the practical realization of envi- Also, developments undertaken in the last 50
the coordination of the Regional Environment ronmental legislation. What kind of measu- years have had a major influence on these dis-
Center and with the support of the Ministry of res for mitigating impacts and enhancing astrous floods and call for necessary solutions
the Environment and Water Management. environmental benefits are applied in Ro- for the rehabilitation of this situation. There-
● Elaboration of a brochure on the same topic mania? fore, Romania is in the process of reshaping and
for the public and NGO’s as target groups. The Black Sea Environmental Program (BSEP) updating existing water management plans and
2. Support for the future preparation of a har- Studies revealed that 58% of the total nitro- thus starting to develop a long term strategy for
4
5. flood control. Romania has also initiated specif- on the Danube will be done through a combina- ● the development of research on the impact
ic activities in order to enhance its capacity to tion of hydro-technical works and wetlands. of the climate change on water quality.
tackle the problem of floods in particular and The results of the research carried out on the As a result, the project “Forward Integration of Flood
the dangerous meteorological phenomena in impact of climate change on water resources Warning in Areas Prone to Flash Floods” funded by
general. As a result, the national meteorological involve the consideration of the following as- the WMO and implemented by the GWP – Romania
system has been modernized and the hydrolog- pects that should be adopted in order to reduce in partnership with the National Institute for Hy-
ical system is in the process of modernization. the consequences of these threats: drology and Water Management, and which was of
In order to improve the intervention capacity, ● development of new criteria and techniques a great help to us through its educational materials
a large project concerning the improving of in- for the designing of hydraulic structures to in showing the ways of protecting of the population,
tervention capacity in the event of floods and make water management systems more sensi- goods and cultural values and the mitigation of the
accidental pollution is in the implementation tive to the modifications of the hydrological re- losses was carried out. As shown in the project re-
stage. This project has a total value of about 135 gime, due to the impact of climate variability port, this was made possible through an ensemble
million euros and also deals with the improve- and climate change; of activities consisting of awareness, warning, pre-
ment of reservoir management, particularly in ● elaboration of new procedures for the opera- alarming and alarming, sheltering, evacuation and
flood and drought situations. Romania is also tion of water management systems to take into other technical and organizational measures which
developing a study concerning the “Ecological consideration the uncertainty of the hydrologi- the inhabitants are prepared how to use.
and economic re-sizing of the Romanian Dan- cal regime evaluation, due especially to climate
ube Floodplain” based on which flood control change; Water Talk: Thank you for the interview!
IWRM National Dialogue in Bulgaria
THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “ECOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVES FOR INTE- In addition to the plenary sessions, there was also a poster session, group
GRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT” WAS HELD IN ARBANASSI ON discussions and field visits to the villages of Varbitza and Draganovo (Gor-
NOVEMBER 23-25, 2006. na Oryahovitsa Municipality).
Conclusions
At the end of the conference, organizers summarized the results of the
group work discussions and field visits and made the following proposals
to the central and local authorities:
● development and implementation of a pilot project for IWRM for small
settlements. The Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipality and District Government
In Bulgaria, national programs and strategies refer to the construction of a col- would support such a project in the villages of Varbitza and Draganovo.
lecting system and WWTPs for agglomerations over 2000 people. All available ● extension of the network of ecosan toilets in rural regions; schools
financial resources for the environment are expected to be directed precisely should be given priority
towards these agglomerations. However, 4,765 settlements are currently not ● development of cooperation and sponsorship for implementing IWRM
covered by these programs. They include approximately 1.8 million inhabitants, and ecosanitation technologies
which makes up approximately 24 % of the population. At present, there is no ● organization of regular forums with decision-makers and other stake-
single working sustainable sanitation system in the country. holders for supporting the implementation of IWRM and EcoSan
● development of training materials for IWRM concepts and ecosan technolo-
To cover this gap, Bulgaria Water Partnership in cooperation with EcoSan- gies for water engineers, vets, foresters, agronomists, etc. and for conducting
Res, Earth Forever, Women in Europe for a Common Future, the Institute of training programs for university students, practitioners and other experts.
Water Problems-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Regional Inspectorate ● conducting research on the application of ecosan under different natu-
of the Environment, Water Veliko Tarnovo and the Yovkovtsi Water Supply ral and socio-economic conditions in Bulgaria
& Sewerage Company organized this international conference in Arbanassi M. Mochurova
on November 23-25, 2006. Bulgaria Water Partnership
CREDIT: GWP BULGARIA
The aim of this conference was to raise public awareness of water supply
and sanitation problems in small and dispersed communities. It also provided
guidance and coordination of actions for optimal ecological solutions for
wastewater collection and treatment according to IWRM principles.
In total, 44 participants from ministries, municipalities, river basin direc-
torates, science and research institutions and universities, NGOs took part.
Key note presentations were made by Peter Ridderstolpe (Sweden) – “Na-
tural System for Wastewater and Sludge Management with Focus on Small
Settlements in Cold Climates”; Nataliya Gudkova (Ukraine) – “MAMA-86’s
Experience in the Introduction of Dry Urine-Diverting Toilets in Ukraine”;
Diana Iskreva-Idigo (Bulgaria) “Pilot Ecosan in Rural Bulgaria” and Margriet
Samwel&Bistra Mihailova (Germany) “Women in Europe for Common Fu-
ture (WECF) Programme in region of Eastern Europe and Caucasus”. IWRM National Dialogue in Bulgaria
5
6. IWRM National dialogue in Hungary ing local people and the community is need-
ed. This will involve new institutional arrange-
ments. There must be a high level of autonomy,
THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE TOOK PART ON NO- Cities are dominant features in the catchments but this must at the same time be associated
VEMBER 13, 2006 IN BUDAPEST WITH A FOCUS where they occur, and success in IUWM will with transparency and accountability for all de-
ON THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND IWRM. make important contributions to the theory and cisions.
practice of integrated catchment management ● At many levels in the process – even at the
and IWRM in the broader basin context. governmental level – stakeholders lack the
necessary knowledge and skills for full appli-
Taking this into account the Ministry for the En- cation of IWRM. Community stakeholders may
vironment and Water together with GWP Hun- not be familiar with the concept of water re-
gary decided to organize a national meeting on source management, catchment management,
Urban space and IWRM urban environment with special regard to Inte- corporate governance and their role in these.
Urban areas play an important role in delivering grated Water Resource Management. ● Where specific areas of responsibility fall
the objectives of the EU Sustainable Develop- outside the mandate of a single government
ment Strategy. In urban areas the environmen- The national dialogue was held on November department, appropriate institutional arrange-
tal, economic and social dimensions meet most 13, 2006 with the participation of more than ments are required to ensure effective inter-
strongly. Cities are where many environmental 80 stakeholders from different fields such as departmental collaboration. Effective IWRM is
problems are concentrated, but they are also local authorities, ministries, NGOs, universities, a top-down-meets- bottom-up process.
the economic drivers, the places where business regional institutions. The opening speech has ● The political will to achieve effective imple-
is done and investments are made. Four out of been given by Miklós Persányi - Minister for mentation is indispensable on the part of those
five European citizens live in urban areas, and the Environment and Water, followed by Gyula taking part - both in the public and private sec-
their quality of life is directly influenced by the Hegyi - EP member. From GWP Hungary, Gyula tors.
state of the urban environment. Reich gave a presentation on IWRM and urban ● Policies must be meaningful – especially
environment. those regarding the poor and marginalized in
Most cities are confronted with a common core developing countries.
set of environmental problems such as poor Conclusions ● Water management must be prepared with
air quality, high levels of traffic and conges- Lively discussions followed and among others, the full involvement of the stakeholders con-
tion, high levels of ambient noise, poor-quality the following conclusions were drawn: cerned.
building environment, derelict land, greenhouse ● IWRM should be applied at the catchment ● Monitoring of implementation and results is
gas emissions, urban sprawl and a generation of level. The catchment is the smallest complete essential - with all stakeholders involved.
waste and waste-water. hydrological unit of analysis and management. ● Successful communication includes report-
● It is critical to integrate water and environ- ing to the public on results, as well as listening
Local authorities have a decisive role in improv- mental management. This principle is widely to feedback.
ing the urban environment. The diversity in terms and strongly supported. IWRM can be strength- The main “lesson learned” from this dialogue is
of history, geography, climate, administrative and ened through the integration of Environmen- that more meetings and training sessions at the
legal conditions calls for locally developed, tailor- tal Impact Assessments (EIA’s), water resource local level are needed to keep all stakeholders
made solutions for the urban environment. Ap- modeling and land use planning. better informed.
plication of the subsidiary principle, where action ● Full participation by all stakeholders, includ- GWP Hungary
should be taken at the most effective level also
CREDIT: MIKLOS KERESZTES
implies acting at the local level.
Many local authorities have expressed the need
for specific skills to adopt an integrated ap-
proach to management involving cross-sector
cooperation and training on specific environ-
mental legislation, effective public participation
and encouraging changes in citizens’ behavior.
‘Face to face’ training with the involvement of
national, regional and local authorities is re-
garded by stakeholders as the most valuable
learning method.
The fundamental premise is generally accept-
ed that IWRM should be applied at catchments
level, recognizing catchments or watersheds as
the basic hydrological unit of analysis and mana-
gement. At the implementation level, there is
a growing conviction that integrated urban wa-
ter management (IUWM) could be pursued as
a vital component of IWRM within the specific
problematic context of urban areas. Miklos Persanyi, the Minister of Environment, opened IWRM National Dialogue
6
7. IWRM National dialogue in Ukraine countries, such as France were expressed. The
opinion that river basin authorities should be
legislative bodies responsible for all aspects of
THE UKRAINE WATER PARTNERSHIP (UWP) society, i.e. the ministries of water resources water management and the state of the river
AND THE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING (State Committee), finance, economy, forestry, was expressed by some RBOs and NGOs.
GROUP FOR DEVELOPMENT OF WATER RE- communal services, justice, the parliamentary
SOURCES ORGANIZED THE NATIONAL IWRM committee on the environment, the nine key Representatives from the Ministries of Econo-
DIALOGUE IN KIEV ON MARCH 16, 2007. river basins (of which eight are transbound- my and Finance together with parliamentary
ary) and the key NGOs (of rivers, environment representatives gave valuable and construc-
and social sectors). tive comments on the way forward in imple-
menting river basin management.
In Ukraine, amendments to the water code
are in preparation, and transition to the ba- The meeting was concluded with the adoption
Since 2002 the Ukrainian water sector has sin management was proclaimed in 2002. To- of a final resolution which will be presented
been in the process of transition to the mana- day the Dniestr river basin serves as a pilot to the Deputy Prime Minister. Participants also
gement within hydrographic (basin) bound- basin for integrated river basin management. adopted Joint Statement regarding their views
aries. There are, however, different points of The Dnepr, Donets, Western Bugh, Tisza and on ways and means of IWRM implementation
view regarding mandates, tasks, functions and other river basins are also involved in this de- in Ukraine. It was proposed that IWRM Imple-
the organizational structure of the established velopment. mentation Strategy should become a part of
River Basin Organizations (RBO). the recently announced plans to develop new
The dialogue was distinguished by its in- National Environmental Strategy and should
The river basin management theme brought volvement of river basin managers from re- be included in the new program of coopera-
together approximately 50 participants from mote parts of Ukraine. Demands for capaci- tion between EU and Ukraine.
almost all relevant sectors and levels of the ty building and learning from more advanced
World Wetlands Day – Danube wetland work ahead but not enough
DANUBE NGOS (NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS) ARE DOING be most important about wetlands. The result was that most found
GOOD PROJECTS THAT HELP PROTECT AND RESTORE VALUABLE WET- wetlands beneficial for habitat protection, flood control and recrea-
LANDS IN THE DANUBE RIVER BASIN. tional purposes (68%), but only 9% found them useful for nutrient
pollution control.
“The results prove that the case for using wetlands for nutrient pol-
lution needs to be better promoted on Wetlands Day and every day,”
says Whalley. To better encourage the importance of Danube wet-
lands, the DRP is developing a guidance document for wetland mana-
gers that includes case studies where wetlands have improved wa-
But more wetland projects are needed to make better use of wet- ter quality.
lands as pollution removers, says Peter Whalley of the UNDP/GEF
Danube Regional Project (DRP). The DRP has also funded numerous wetland pollution-reduction
projects implemented by Danube NGOs. Examples include a project
‘Wetlands’ are places where water and land naturally cooperate to in Veresegyház, Hungary where local NGO Tavirozsa restocked a lake
protect water, animals, plants and humans. Besides absorbing pol- with original wetland plants and removed alien fish species that eat
lution, wetlands provide numerous other valuable services such as wetland plants -- to reduce the lake’s nutrient pollution problem.
reducing the impacts from floods and providing homes for fish and
plant species. In Slovakia, the NGO BROZ cooperated with Slovak State Forests to
introduce nature-oriented forestry in the 1,500 ha Rusovce flood-
Unfortunately, some 80% of the Danube Basin’s wetlands and flood- plain near Bratislava. The new management will remove alien trees
plains have been lost due to past human activities over the last 150 and plant native tree species such as elm, oak and wild pear. In ad-
years, from river channelling to making room for more farmland. dition, BROZ together with the State Nature Conservancy submitted
proposals for three new protected wetland sites of nearly 1,400 ha
“Danube countries are missing an excellent opportunity to use wet- along the Danube.
lands to reduce water pollution, especially from nutrients,” says Whal-
ley. Nutrient pollution is a serious problem in the Danube Basin and In south Moravia, Czech Republic, local NGO Sagittaria prepared and
one that countries need to address before they can meet EU water leg- helped implement a new local management plan to increase the ca-
islation, the ‘Water Framework Directive’, by 2015. “More attention to pacity of a damaged fish pond. The goal was to naturally reduce ex-
wetlands should make meeting this law easier for Danube countries.” cessive nutrient pollution from agriculture and communal sewage. A
green buffer strip was set up, fish stocks improved, valuable wetland
A recent survey, funded through the DRP, asked wetland and wa- plants were grown in a special lake enclosure and a public campaign
ter managers throughout the basin about what they perceived to helped build local support.
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8. Water training for international students in Bulgaria
FROM APRIL 11TH TO APRIL 24TH 2007 ENGREF-MONTPELLIER ORGANIZED a reasonable price for wastewater treatment, taking into account depreci-
A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS IN BULGARIA. ation costs. The study also gives short-term recommendations for operat-
ing the plant until a sufficient amount of pollution is reached.
ENGREF-Montpellier organized the training in association with the Bul-
garian Academy of Science, the Bulgaria Water Partnership, the Regional The second case study took place in rural Bulgaria in the Saedinenie Mu-
Inspectorate of the Environment and Water in Veliko Tarnovo and UBI- nicipality near Plovdiv. The first aspect was to carry out a technical and fi-
FRANCE-Bulgaria nancial analysis of the water supply network, especially to propose some
improvements in the supply capacity and energetic yield when necessary
CREDIT: ENGREF
and to draw up a long term financial sustainability analysis including de-
preciation costs. The study also proposed several scenarios to clarify the
role of the stakeholders. Furthermore, it presented their views on water
prices and opportunities to obtain state funding in the future.
The second aspects dealt with sanitation solutions for a village. The pur-
pose of the study was to give a methodological framework of different
solutions available to reduce the effect of domestic pollution in rural ar-
eas and to apply it to Dragomir, a village in the Saedinenie Municipality.
The proposed solution could be either individual such as dry toilets that
are rather cheap and can be implemented in the short-term, or collective,
such as a network and treatment plant with macrophyte reed bed filters,
a much more expensive solution but more convenient if tourist develop-
ment is being considered.
ENGREF team with GWP Consulting Partners in Veliko Tarnovo
The case studies were presented at the end of the two-week program in
In France, ENGREF-Montpellier is part of AgroParisTech (Institute of Tech- Sofia during the World Water Day celebrations. The students called for
nology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences) and deals with post- a follow up of the training program in the future that could possibly in-
graduation training programs focused on technical and non-technical as- clude young Bulgarian professionals and GWP partners.
pects of water management.
Guillem Canneva
The students came from France, Moldova, Tunisia, China and Ireland. The canneva@Engref.Fr
program provided a unique opportunity to work on a real case study while
interacting with Bulgarian professionals, including GWP Bulgaria and their
partners. 6th IWA Conference on Wastewater
The case studies Reclamation and Reuse
The first case study was the Gorna Oriahovitsa wastewater treatment plant.
The treatment plant, financed by an EU grant (75%) and the Bulgarian gov-
for Sustainability
ernment (25%), was built to treat wastewater from 102, 000 people. It was THE 6TH INTERNATIONAL IWA SPECIALIST CONFERENCE ON WASTEWA-
put into operation in August 2006. Unfortunately, the incoming wastewa- TER RECLAMATION AND REUSE FOR SUSTAINABILITY (WRRS 2007) WILL
ter is far below what was expected and therefore the treatment plant is BE HELD IN ANTWERP (BELGIUM) ON 9TH-12TH OF OCTOBER, 2007.
not working properly. The students were asked to investigate the sources
of pollution, the operation of the treatment plant and the economic sus- Over the years, this biennial IWA water reuse conference has become
tainability of the project. a major global platform to share best practice and discuss the latest de-
velopments in the field of sustainable reuse of municipal and industrial
The main results of this study was to recommend that the Gorna Oriaho- wastewater. An appointment not to miss by research institutions, com-
vitsa Sugar Factory be connected to the sewage network after installing panies and organisations active in this sector, both in developed and
a balancing tank, in order to increase the volume of incoming wastewa- developing countries.
ter to bring the treatment plant back to normal operation in the mid-term.
More information about the conference is available at www.wrrs2007.org.
Furthermore, waste water from the Sugar Factory could help maintain
Volume 7, Issue No. 1/2007, May 2007
Water Talk is the official newsletter of Global Water Partnership Central and Easter Europe (GWP CEE)
published twice a year. Water Talk assists GWP CEE to promote principles of Integrated Water Resourc-
es Management (IWRM) in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The views and opinions expressed
in Water Talk do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of GWP CEE.
Publisher: GWP CEE - Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe, gwpcee@shmu.sk,
Editor: Richard Müller, Language Proofreading: Euro VKM, Ltd, Layout and Printing: TYPOCON, Ltd.
Registration No: 3244/2004
ISSN: 1336-5525
GWP CEE – Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe, c/o Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, Jeseniova 17, 833 15 Bratislava, Slovakia,
phone: +421 2 5941 5294, fax: +421 2 5941 5273, e-mail: gwpcee@shmu.sk, http://www.gwpceeforum.org
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