Water resources management

World Water Day & UN conference

The Eastern Partner Countries celebrated World Water Day on March 22nd 2023, through a number of articles and videos highlighting local initiatives in accelerating change for water throughout the region. Azerbaijan focused on nature-based solutions to clean its lakes, Armenia organized a month-long water and air public monitoring campaign, and international cooperation was at the heart of the Moldovan, Romanian and Ukrainian initiative. Ukraine also organized the Fisher Marathon, an awareness-raising campaign that let young Ukrainian students and children participate in local water-related challenges and activities.

The UN 2023 Water Conference also took place in March, and was attended by several representatives from the Eastern Partner Countries. Iordanca-Rodica Iordanov, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Moldova, and Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine discussed about further cooperation to launch a working group on the management of the Prut, Siret and Danube delta river basins within the ICPDR.

Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, exchanged with UNECE Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova on cooperation under the National Policy Dialogue under the Water Convention and SDG indicator 6.5.2.

National Policy dialogues and approximation towards the EU water acquis

Both Azerbaijan, where an updated Water Strategy document was presented for adoption by the government, and Moldova held their national policy dialogue meeting to assess their progress in the water sector and discuss the next steps in the actualisation of their water governance policies to better put the European Union water framework directive in practice.

In several Eastern Partner Countries, measures were taken to ensure that the legislations on water and water governance is better aligned with the European Union acquis. In Armenia, a draft of the national water sector data management framework and a proposal to initiate discussions on further elaboration of the framework document were sent to the Ministry of Environment. In Ukraine, a working group was also implemented in Ukraine under the Ministry of Environment in order to assess the Ukrainian legislation of environmental protection for compliance with EU law. The result of this work will be the Draft of the National Programme for the implementation of EU legislation.

Series of national and regional workshops

Several workshops also took place during the months of March and April, such as a series of workshops and webinars in Ukraine on the implementation of the Dnipro River Basin Management plan, and two workshops on transboundary monitoring of groundwater bodies between Georgia and Armenia, and Georgia and Azerbaijan. 

A training on COVID-19 monitoring in wastewater took place in Moldova from 28 April to 1st March.

Environmental data

Water accounting

Several workshops took place in the Eastern Partner Countries, in order to present the European approaches to water accounting to decision-makers, as well as possible ways to improve knowledge on water use in Azerbaijan at a national level and at a cross-border level for the countries of Moldova and Ukraine. A regional webinar on water accounts gathered participants from Ukraine and Moldova during three sessions on March 1st, 7th and 9th.

Land and groundwater bodies monitoring

Both Georgia and Ukraine held a workshop on land monitoring, which focused on the national implementation of the Corine Land Cover pilot project, on the joint assessment of available global and national land monitoring data as well as on the preparation and decision on the use of High Resolution Land Cover data for national assessments in a pilot area, following the example of Moldova and Armenia.

Another workshop on the remote sensing for land monitoring also took place in Azerbaijan on April 19-20.

Environmental data collection

In Armenia and Georgia, progress has been made in implementing environmental information online portals. They will collect data submitted by various stakeholders and analyze it, in order to present it to a large audience on their websites.

On 22 March, the globe celebrates World Water Day. Water is a crosscutting issue that features in numerous Sustainable Development Goals through its close links with food, health, climate, energy, biodiversity, poverty and gender equality. The UN water conference that takes place in New York on 22-24 March 2024 spotlights countries’ commitments to face these challenges and set a clear agenda for the second half of the Decade for Water Action (2018-2028) and beyond.

Video series to highlight water actions in Eastern Partner countries

In Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, people from different backgrounds are taking action for water. They represent important drivers of change for their countries.  A series of videos and articles produced with the support of the EU4Environment Water and Data programme tells stories of how important it is in these countries to protect rivers, lakes, and all water ecosystems.

The Ukrainian population suffering from the impacts of war has made all of us realise that safe access to drinking water is a basic human right. The example of Armenian farmers switching to more ecological practices shows that it is possible to grow food by respecting soils and rivers. The Khojasan Lake in Azerbaijan reminds us that there is only one health system that jointly affects humans, animals and ecosystems. The inhabitants of river basins in Georgia highlight the need to bring local stakeholders into the discussion and make them part of water policy development and its successful implementation. The cooperation between the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine on the Prut river basin is necessary to tackle severe water quality problems, declining biodiversity, and the impacts of climate change, such as increasingly frequent floods and droughts.

Building a common water culture between the European Union and the Eastern partners

The Water Framework Directive is an important pillar of the European Union’s proposal to improve water policies and practices in the Eastern Partnership countries, in addition to the Protocol on Water and Health and the Water Convention on Transboundary Basins promoted by the United Nations.

Concepts must be assimilated locally by stakeholders and regulations, such as: the importance of ecosystem services and the need for biological monitoring, decentralisation at river basin scale, and the participation of water users and local stakeholders in water resources management to better balance all water uses (environment, agriculture, domestic, energy, industry). In countries under water stress, specific approaches are proposed: water quantitative management plans, water accounts and targeted economic tools as important levers for changing non-sustainable or even harmful practices.

The local geopolitical context may make it difficult to implement smooth cross-border cooperation. However, visions and concrete tools are being put in place in each country to facilitate joint management of water resources: river basin management plans on both sides of the border, joint field surveys on transboundary rivers, studies of transboundary aquifers, support to establish transboundary commissions, etc. 

The European Union together with Eastern Partner countries can build an economy that is based on the well-being of people and water ecosystems. Together, we can make a stronger contribution to a much more ecologically harmonious society, where we can ensure our well-being in ways that do not deteriorate our environment.

The UN 2023 Water Conference taking place on 22, 23 and 24 March 2023 dedicates its 4^th interactive dialogue to the theme “Water for Cooperation”. Let's reflect on the cooperation between the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine on the Prut river basin.

The Prut River, a transboundary river with high stakes for three countries

The Prut River is one of the three longest tributaries of the Danube (Prut, Sava and Tisza are all between 950 and 1000 km long). The Prut river basin covers an area of 27.540 km²; its sub-basins are shared between Moldova (7.701 km2 or 28%), Romania (10.990 km² or 40 %) and Ukraine (8.849 km² or 32%).

Its history and transboundary character is highly marked by the fact that its main river course has always marked important country borders. Nowadays, for a length of 31 km, it forms the border between Romania and Ukraine, and for 711 km, it forms the border between Romania and Moldova.

The mountainous origin of the Prut River  is the reason for its sufficiently large water content. But the Prut River faces severe water quality problems, such as a decline in biodiversity and a deterioration of its ecosystems. The impacts of climate change, such as increasingly frequent floods and droughts, are already felt in the basin and represent a concrete risk for both Moldova and Romania.

Cooperation between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine on the Prut river

A cooperation framework between the three countries sharing the Prut river basin is provided under the umbrella of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). The cooperation also follows country-specific bilateral agreements, such as the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of Ukraine on Cooperation in the Field of Transboundary Water Management (Galati, 30 October 1997); the Moldova-Romania Intergovernmental Agreement on the cooperation in the field of water management of the Prut and of the Danube (Chisinau, 28 June, 2010); and the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of Moldova on joint boundary waters management and protection. (Chisinau, 23 November 1994).

The countries of the Prut Basin (Moldova, Romania and Ukraine) are in the process of convergence towards the EU acquis. By reinforcing their transboundary co-operation, they can better address the needs of all countries and  

As of today, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine are developing management plans for the part of the Prut river basin that is included within their national boundaries. The situation is as follow:  

• Moldova has elaborated a RBMP for the Danube-Prut and Black Sea hydrological district, with support of the EU Water Initiative Plus. The RBMP has been adopted. https://www.legis.md/cautare/getResults?doc_id=132734&lang=ro
• Romania has elaborated and adopted a River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) for its share of both the Siret and the Prut river sub-basins. http://www.mmediu.ro/app/webroot/uploads/files/PMBH_Actualizat_Text_ABAPB.pdf
• Ukraine has also elaborated a draft RBMP for the Siret and the Prut sub-basins. https://www.davr.gov.ua/fls18/PrutSiret_1-11.pdf

 The cost of non-cooperation

The UN concept paper reminds that there is a cost of non-cooperation. Unilateral action by communities, sectors and countries can lead to unsustainable and often more costly development choices, and if left unaddressed can even spiral into threats of regional stability and peace, especially within the context of weak governance systems and situations of fragility, conflict and violence.

Population growth, migration and increasing water demand, coupled with climate change impacts and ecosystem degradation, make water cooperation an imperative.

Progress on water cooperation must be accelerated. Currently, the world is not on track to implement integrated water resources management at all levels by 2030 (SDG target 6.5). An estimated 107 countries are not on track to have sustainably managed water resources by 2030;3 and out of 153 countries sharing transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers, only 32 countries have at least 90% of their transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements for transboundary water cooperation.

European Union support

Since 2010, Moldova and Romania have agreed to cooperate on the protection and sustainable use of the Prut and Danube rivers. In this way, the EU Water Initiative Plus project helped for the establishment of a bilateral Moldovan-Ukrainian Dniester joint Commission and provided guidance for the creation of a Moldovan-Romanian-Ukrainian working group under the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River.

The EU4Environment Water and Data programme is now working with these three countries to foster international cooperation on this shared river basin by fostering exchanges of good practices at the scale of both the Danube River and the European Union. Coordinating the national RBMPs among the three neighbors is a prerequisite for a more sustainable and long-term development of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.   

Water resources management

Another milestone for water resources in Armenia

Since 27 January 2023, Armenia has an EU-inspired outline from which to develop all its future River Basin Management Plans, including the second planning cycles for existing plans. The outline was officially approved by a decree of the Minister of Environment of Armenia on 27 January 2023. This outline features the different chapters that make up a river basin management plan. It takes into consideration the requirements of the Water Code of Armenia, as well as the country’s obligations under the European Union-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and particularly its gradual approximation towards the EU Water Framework Directive.

Kick off of the river basin management plans in Armenia and Georgia and continuation of the work for the Dnipro in Ukraine

Armenia officially kicked off the work to develop the Qasakh water quantity management plan (17 January) and the Northern River Basin management plan (16 February). The Qasakh water quantity management plan aims to ensure sufficient water for agriculture, industry, drinking water and aquatic ecosystems at the scale of this sub-basin of the Hrazdan. It will help determine how much water can be taken from nature without endangering the water ecosystems and set collective management rules and monitoring processes. The management plan for the Northern River Basin is the 6th to be developed with EU support. Once adopted, Armenia will be the first Caucasus countries whose territory is fully covered by River Basin Management plans.  On 2 February a groundwater workshop took place in Yerevan on the assessment of the chemical and quantitative status of groundwater. To support the development of the Northern River Basin Management Plan, Armenian and Austrian experts also discussed the delineation of groundwater bodies and the possibility of a joint Armenian-Georgian field survey.

Georgia kicked off the work to develop the future management plans for Enguri and Rioni river basins on 14 February in Kutaisi. More than 40 participants took part in the discussions. Enguri and Rioni are the 4th & 5th river basin management plans to be developed with EU support.

In Ukraine, national experts have started working on the final stage of the Dnipro River Basin Management Plan. A consultation was held with representatives of the Dnipro River basin management bodies regarding the preparation of the Programme of measures in November 2022. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources created a working group with the participation of all responsible management bodies for the development of the 9 River Basin Management Plans. The Dnipro river basin management plan will be a model for the other basins in Ukraine.

Environmental data

Land monitoring

The Republic of Moldova held a workshop on land monitoring on 1-2 February. Participants focused on the national implementation of the Corine Land Cover pilot project, on the joint assessment of available global and national land monitoring data as well as on the preparation and decision on the use of High Resolution Land Cover data for national assessments in a pilot area. This work will provide an opportunity to develop new products on biodiversity and climate change monitoring.

Read more (in Romanian)

Similar workshops already took place (in Armenia in December 2022), other are under preparation for Georgia and Ukraine (March 2023) and for Azerbaijan (April 2023).

European waste management reporting

On 21 February, the EU4Environment Water and Data programme organised an online regional workshop on European waste management reporting in which UkrStat presented Ukrainian progress towards the requirements of the European Waste Statistics regulation. The program supports the development of a waste reporting regulation under the New Waste Management Act which enters into force in July 2023. As in all European countries, good co-operation between Waste Management authorities and Statistical Institutes is essential for effective policy-relevant waste management reporting.

Read the workshop’s presentations

Water accounting

Following up on bilateral experts meetings, EU4Environment Water and Data international experts on water accounting are preparing a webinar for specialists from Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in March. Topic will be the European approaches to water accounting and possible ways to improve knowledge on water use.

Timely and reliable data underpins the development and maintenance of effective waste management legislation, licensing, policy, programs, and Waste Avoidance and Resource efficiency.

Two different EU legislations require waste data reporting: Waste Statistic regulation and Waste management legislation including the Directive on waste and Directives on specific waste streams. Waste statistics at EU level have had a legal basis since 2002 as a response to the need for comparable and harmonized data.

Regular statistics on the production and management of waste from business and private households are collected from Member States to monitor the implementation of European Union waste policy, which is based on the principles of waste prevention, maximisation of recovery and safe disposal.

Data on specific waste streams are collected to monitor compliance of EU Member States with quantitative targets, like recycling and recovery rates, set out in EU waste legislation.

In order to ensure harmonized calculation, verification and reporting, specific rules including methodology and formats for reporting are established with regard to a number of parameters relating to the target’s calculation.

Waste-related indicators form a substantial part of the circular economy monitoring framework and are important tools to measure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Workshop presentations

EU framework presented by Brigitte Karigl (Eng)

EU waste data and statistics reporting by Barbara Stoifl (Eng)

Waste management in Armenia by Naira Mandalyan (Eng)

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) electronic registry in Georgia by Irma Gurguliani (Eng)

Waste statistics in Ukraine by Nataliya Guseva (Ukr)