New GWP CEE report Calendar of Events GWP CEE Council Meeting on public participation 9-10 April 2005 Krakow, Poland A NEW REPORT ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN terested parties in the implementation of the WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE EASTERN BAL- directive. This and other EU environmental pol- River Basin Management – progress towards im- TIC SEA REGION WAS PREPARED AS PART OF icy documents call for the wide partnership plementation of the Water Framework Directive GWP CEE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION TASK FORCE and participation of the society represented 19-20 May 2005 ACTIVITIES. by diverse stakeholder groups in environmen- Budapest, Hungary tal management. Public participation is rec- The conference focuses on the fresh water com- ognized as a tool that helps create awareness ponents of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), and ownership of decisions, which in turn is to review progress to date, share experience and necessary for their successful implementa- to identify possible future issues which may arise tion. Today a great number of examples (e.g. as the WFD is progressively implemented. CREDIT: P. UNT/PEIPSI CTC P. CREDIT: GWP Tool Box) prove that public participation strengthens democracy by showing stakehold- GWP Network meeting of the Consulting Partners ers that they can exert influence over the deci- 24-25 May 2005 sions that are made. The report gives an over- Antigua, Guatemala view on the progress of public involvement in The Consulting Partners meeting will focus on Lake Peipsi on the border between Estonia and Russia water management in Estonia, Latvia, Lithua- progress in preparing national Integrated Water nia and Poland. In addition, it analyzes public Resources Management (IWRM) and water effi- Recent years have seen the rapid growth of in- participation case studies and pilot projects ciency strategies by 2005. terest in public participation in a wide range and draws conclusions and recommendations of sectors and contexts, including environmen- for the future. The authors of the report are: Third International Symposium on Flood Defence tal management, agriculture and conservation. Janusz Topilko; Regional Water Management 25-27 May 2005 Public participation has gained wide recogni- Board, Gdansk, Poland; Dmitrij Zharkov, Cent- Nijmegen, The Netherlands tion on different levels of governance as a key er for Environmental Policy, Lithuania; Erika Scientists, engineers and administrators involved principle for water management. In 2000 the Lagzdina, The Regional Environmental Cent- in flood management are invited to participate. EU Water Framework Directive was adopted, er for CEE (REC) Latvia and Margit Säre, Peip- thus establishing a framework for community si Center for Transboundary Cooperation; International Conference on Hydrology, Ecology action in the field of water policy and stress- Estonia. You can find the full report on http:// and Water ing the importance of consultation with all in- www.riverdialogue.org/participation/ „ 20-23 June 2005 Bergen, Norway The conference will address a wide range of wa- ter related topics, linking together several themes GWP CEE celebrated World Water Day in rural development, and soil and water conser- IN THE OCCASION OF 22 MARCH WORLD WATER DAY, GWP CEE COUNTRY WATER PARTNERSHIPS vation. (CWPS) IN BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, ESTONIA, HUNGARY, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, POLAND, RO- MANIA, SLOVAKIA AND SLOVENIA ACTIVELY PROMOTED PRINCIPLES OF INTEGRATED WATER RE- Symposium for European freshwater sciences SOURCES MANAGEMENT (IWRM) THROUGH A SERIES OF NATIONAL AND LOCAL EVENTS. CWPs 22-16 August 2005 also participated in broader frame of celebrations together with other water stakeholders, e.g. Krakow, Poland GWP Lithuania organised drawing and photo competitions in close cooperation with local mu- The symposium will be devoted to basic questions nicipalities. GWP Bulgaria and their partners also contributed to 12th National Celebration of in freshwater biology and various aspects of ap- World Water Day in the capital city of Sofia, with presentations about IWRM, flash floods and plied freshwater science. economic aspects of EU Water Framework Directive. GWP Bulgaria also published an article about flash floods for “Water Affairs” magazine devoted specially to World Water Day. In Esto- SIWI Water Week nia, Estonian Water Association, Estonian Union of Waterworks and Ministry of the Environment 21-27 August 2005 organised a traditional Water Day conference. Main topics of the conference were floods and Stockholm, Sweden storms, in order to remind heavy storms which hit Baltic countries in the beginning of Janu- Water Symposium, a part of Stockholm Water ary 2005. Presentations covered a broach range of topics about marine environment, pollution, Week 2005, will explore the complementarities of floods and forecasting systems. In addition, Water Saving Prize was awarded for an outstanding soft and hard approaches in water management. success and model behaviour in water management. „ The relations between the water sector and other sectors of society will be of special relevance. efit from that support? How much money Interview with Raimonds Vejonis, is needed for improving and developing the environmental water infrastructure in the the Latvian Minister of Environment near future?

IN CONTINUATION OF OUR SERIES OF INTER- year old Riga, the Riga Port is well known from The highest priority for acquiring EU Structur- VIEWS WITH THE MINISTERS OF THE ENVIRON- the Hansatic Union and the shipping channel al Funds and Cohesion Fund assistance is as- MENT FROM THE 10 CENTRAL AND EASTERN or ‘’fare water’’ which is artificially maintained signed to the development of municipal water EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, WHICH ARE PART OF by many hydro technical structures, all located supply and waste water collection and treat- GWP CEE REGION, WE BRING YOU THE INTER- roughly 20 kilometers from the sea. The build- ment systems in order to provide safe drinking VIEW WITH LATVIAN MINISTER OF THE ENVI- ings are stable and continue to work well; very water and ensure proper collection and treat- RONMENT, RAIMONDS VEJONIS. few accidents have been recorded over many ment of wastewater. With the assistance of the centuries. Only environmentally sustainable ISPA pre-accession financial instrument, water RAIMONDS VEJONIS studied Water and Envi- structures can survive under the pressure of services development projects are being imple- ronmental Management at the University of natural elements, therefore we can thank the mented in 23 towns and cities, but through the Tampere, Finland and graduated from the Uni- brilliant engineers from former generations. use of Cohesion Fund and ERDF co-financing - versity of Latvia. He has a strong background in During the last century we have built three water services will be developed in 67 agglom- biology, ecology and environmental engineer- ing. During his professional career he has held various senior level positions in governmental organizations in Latvia. Vejonis also has vast experience in implementing environmental in- frastructure projects such as wastewater treat- ment and waste disposal. He is currently a vice- chairman of the Green Party of Latvia.

Water Talk: GWP defines Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as a proc- ess which promotes the coordinated devel- opment and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. How do you see the challenges of IWRM implemen- tation in the practice in Latvia?

If we are talking about water resources per large hydro power plants on the River Dau- erations with populations above 2000, and in capita, Latvia, along with Canada, Sweden and gava. On the one hand we have reduced our more than 120 agglomerations with popula- Russia, is one of the very rich countries. How- dependence on energy imports. On the other, tions below 2000. In order to fully implement ever, half of our surface waters have their ori- the Daugava was the biggest salmon river in legal requirements related to water infrastruc- gin in neighboring countries and trans-bound- the Baltic Sae area and one of the biggest in ture, estimates show that investments of over ary waters are strongly influenced by activities the world. Therefore nowadays we are trying 900 million euro will be required. outside Latvia and even the EU. Therefore we to integrate carefully not only fish resources are active not only in implementation of the but all the wealth of hydro biological resourc- Water Talk: WFD is the most complex set EU WFD but in supporting UN/ECE Water Con- es into water management. Latvia is located of goals, tools and commitments in the EU vention and other tools like the EU Water Initi- at the edge of inland waters and the sea and water sector to date. Two of the main WFD ative and the GWP. One could say that Latvia is we should bear in mind that not only the Gulf goals are the protection and improvement on the lucky side with a rather low population of Riga but the entire Baltic Sea is vulnerable. of water ecosystems quality and sustainable, density and an abundance of forests, including Therefore we must feel more responsible for balanced and equitable water use. This direc- swampy forests, and wetlands, marches and water resources management and introduce tive provides broad opportunities for public bogs, which are good preconditions for the IWRM as the best tool we can apply. participation in river basin management and successful development of IWRM. Neverthe- is probably transposed into Latvian legis- less, part of the country consists of lowlands, Water Talk: Implementation of EU legisla- lation. How could the participation of the similar to those in Holland, where settlements tion for the new members, which entered the public and NGO’s be ensured during imple- can be located and agriculture developed only EU in May 2004, means an opportunity for mentation of this directive and especially in after water regulation activities have been improving the environmental infrastructure preparation of river basin management plans successfully implemented. Our capital city of with co-financing from EU funds. To which which must be completed by 2009? Riga is located on a territory formed by the in- measures in the area of water protection and teractions of rivers and the sea on sediment use is the support from Structural Funds and The transposition of WFD in Latvia was not accumulation and wind activities less than a Cohesion Fund for the programming period ‘’probably’’ but definitely a very responsible step thousand years ago. Just like eight hundred of 2004-2006 directed and who might ben- made by the adoption of the Law on Water Man- 2 agement in the Parliament just some days after The farmers might be the easiest and latest step. JRC really shows changes in temperature and Slovenia, which was the first of the EU acceding The latest experience with WFD and the devel- precipitation and identifies stronger winds and countries to do so. Our delay was caused by long opment of the European Marine Strategy clear- corresponding higher water levels on the sea- and deep discussion on the law with the scien- ly points out that the EU Common Agricultural shores. Heavy storms and rainfall are becom- tific community and NGO’s. Stakeholder involve- Policy and common Fisheries Policy should be ing more frequent and even regular. Neverthe- ment and open and transparent discussion on completely revised to decrease eutrophycation less, most floods in central Europe really show all levels is a common approach in policy elab- by revising subsidies and limiting cattle and ag- that even discharges much lower than histori- oration and implementation in Latvia; we rati- ricultural production per hectare. Latvia came cally recognized maximum results are becom- fied the Aarhus Convention in 2002 much earlier to these conclusions during our HELCOM Presi- ing more visible and costly. Many rivers are than most EU nations. The water sector munici- dency from 2002 –2004 when discussions with canalized and huge territories in catchments palities and the Municipal Water Works togeth- other Baltic Sea Environmental Ministers and are provided by storm water canalization sys- er with the scientific and academic communities with the OSPAR Ministers from the North Sea tems which allow the draining of heavy rain- and representatives from the Technical Asso- resulted in the common understanding that ag- fall volumes to the nearest river in less than ciation and the NGO’s are playing a great role. riculture, fisheries and transport are the main one hour. The majority of flood plains have Nevertheless successful implementation of WFD sources of the pollution of inland waters in- been changed to built-up territories and natu- requires much more than a good and open proc- cluding groundwater and the marine environ- ral lakes and wetlands have been reduced dra- ess and discussions with the strongest interest ment. But these are really future challenges matically, thus reducing storage capacities in groups. Many small municipalities and parishes which belong to the responsibilities of the Min- some links or even for all catchments. Several located on the outskirts of river basin districts isters of Environment and should be raised at central European EU member countries see the far from the main streams have never consid- the high EU level. On one hand Latvia has de- new EU Directive as a protective measure that ered themselves responsible for water manage- creased its agriculture more than twice since will probably protect riverbeds and flood plains ment of the big river. Up to now they have rec- 1990 and uses much less manure, artificial fer- from further canalization and even restore ognized only their local rivers and lakes, which tilizers and pesticides per hectare than the aver- some lost wetlands through strict legislation. in many cases are not even considered as sepa- age EU member country. On the other hand, our Many northern European countries, where riv- rate ‘’Water Bodies’’ under WFD. All these small farmers have recently been able to approach the ers are still natural and wetlands are main- stakeholders should be informed and involved in EU for funds for manure storage and the pur- tained and serve as reservoirs, do not see any the common actions towards implementation chase of modern technology. The farmers have reason for legislative measures. On the other and management plans. Just now we are estab- already improved their knowledge under the hand it’s quite difficult to prepare one useful lishing an advisory board for each of the river Nitrates Directive and Good Agricultural Prac- tool for countries located in mountains and for basin district administrations as a forum to dis- tice and are actively involved in many training those located below sea level, for Mediterrane- cuss draft management plans in 2005 and 2006, activities. We are doing a lot to support green an countries which suffer from a lack of pre- well before 2009. Already plenty of small river and biological agriculture. Direct payments cipitation and for regions with regular storms basins have voluntarily established stakehold- for NATURA 2000 site management have also and rainfall. These conditions are rather dif- ers’ cooperation. The River Salaca and Lake Burt- helped to lighten the load from agriculture by ferent. But one thing is clear – the best flood nieku commissions and the River Barta and River supporting alternative land use. protection is the natural capacity of the river Slocene organizations are examples. We do hope and everyone should do their best to physically that these activities will be smoothly integrated Water Talk: Global climate changes in the protect old river beds and wetlands, or to re- into plans for larger River Basin Districts later. form of flash floods and heavy storms are store them, as it costs less than high barrages affecting all countries in the region of Cen- along river banks. Water Talk: The implementation of EU Di- tral and Eastern Europe. Which arrange- Latvia lost some wetlands in the middle of rectives will be an important factor in miti- ments and measures should be adopted in last century and many rivers have become gating the agricultural impact on the envi- order to reduce the results of this threat? drained. But we still have many old river beds, ronment; however, it is necessary to involve flood plains, lakes and wetlands. And we are farmers in the practical realization of envi- Many European countries have suffered from protecting this wealth because well-integrat- ronmental legislation. What kind of measures heavy flooding at the end of nineties and even ed water management gives you integrated for mitigating impacts and enhancing envi- in recent years. Climate changes are becoming benefits like clean water, flood protection and ronmental benefits are applied in Latvia? more visible and the last Report from the EU bio-diversity. „

Network meeting of the New GWP Handbook and Policy Consulting Partners Brief supports governments‘ THIS YEAR‘S 10TH NETWORK MEETING OF THE CONSULTING PARTNERS (CP) OF THE efforts to tackle water and GLOBAL WATER PARTNERSHIP WILL TAKE PLACE IN ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA ON 24- economic development 25 MAY 2005. The CP will focus on the A HANDBOOK AND A POLICY BRIEF for governments, on the prac- progress in preparing national Integrated tical steps for making national water management strategies, Water Resources Management (IWRM) and which support their efforts towards reaching the 2015 Millenni- water efficiency strategies by end of 2005. um Development Goals (MDGs), can be download on www.gwp- For more information on how to register, forum.org. Norway‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded the pro- please click on www.gwpforum.org. „ duction of the handbook. „ 3 Bourgas Lakes. Gradimir Gradev (Green Balkans) highlighted the years of wetlands experience in the Maritza River Basin, the Danube River Basin Wetlands Seminar and other basins in Bulgaria. Ivan Hristov presented the past and present activities of the Balkan Wildlife Society in the Dragoman Marsh. Milkana on the Danube River Basin Mochurova (GWP-Bulgaria) informed the participants about the cur- rent public participation project financed by the Phare Civil Society De- THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION AND EDUCATION – velopment Programme. The lecture was followed by a trip to Dragoman CEIE (A GWP PARTNER) AND THE “GREEN BALKANS” FEDERATION OF NA- Marsh, where Ivan Hristov introduced the participants to the natural TURE CONSERVATION organized a national seminar entitled “Strength- beauty and incredible variety of wildlife there. ening the Capacity for Wetlands Restoration and Management and Nutrient Reduction in the Danube River Basin” on January 27-28, 2005 As a result of the seminar, local Danube NGO’s used their enhanced in Sofia, Bulgaria. knowledge of the forms of nature conservation to initiate various lo- This initiative was carried out within the framework of the Danube Re- gional Project (DRP) “Strengthening the Implementation Capacities for Nutrient Reduction and Transboundary Cooperation in the Danube River Basin”, and financed by the UNDP/GEF. The target groups of the seminar were local non-governmental organizations in the Danube River Basin which have implemented or are interested in wetland concepts, nutri- ent reduction and ecological health in the Danube River Basin. The aim MILENA DIMITROVA/CEIE CREDIT: of this educational event was to mobilize the potential of local NGO’s in attracting the participation of local citizens and to raise the awareness of the EU WFD and its transposition into Bulgarian legislation.

The first seminar day was dedicated to the EU WFD. CEIE representa- tives presented the activities of the Danube Environmental Forum (DEF) and public participation in decision-making to support the process of integrated water resource management. Milena Dimitrova (CEIE) gave a detailed presentation on the principles and mechanisms of the pub- lic participation process. In the afternoon, Danka Marinova presented the structure and function of the Danube River Basin Directorate and Dragoman Marsh near Sofia city the main problems of the administrative working process. She also ad- dressed an appeal for more active involvement from all interested par- cal level activities. However, there are still opportunities to increase our ties in this process in order to achieve better results. Stanislava Boshnak- knowledge of procedures and mechanisms for accessing information. ova (REC) presented a new project “Improving the Access to Information These issues were addressed by Danube Basin Directorate representa- and Public Participation in the Environmental Decision-making Process”, tives, who pointed out that the best way for ensuring public participa- which was followed by discussion. tion is by establishing sub-basin councils. The most important outcome of this meeting was the opportunity given to local organizations to ex- The second day of the event was devoted to wetlands and the national change information and experience on recent and forthcoming activities experience in wetland research and conservation. This subject has been a in the Danube River Basin and to build new partnerships. „ main DEF activity since the World Wetlands Day celebrations in February 2002. Lubomir Profirov (Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation) introduced Milena Dimitrova the wetland conception and its progress in recent decades; he also pre- CEIE (GWP partner) sented his wetland conservation and management work relating to the [email protected] ; www.ceie.org Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) training in Bulgaria GWP BULGARIA TOGETHER WITH THE CENTRE posed of managers of medium and large-sized establishment of a map of compliance and pro- FOR COMPARATIVE STUDIES - SOFIA, THE BUL- enterprises in food, textile, machine-building posals for legislative amendments. The project GARIAN INDUSTRIAL CAPITAL ASSOCIATION and metal-processing industries in the south- mainly focuses on issues concerning the regula- AND SOLIDARITY WATER EUROPE - STRAS- west, south-central and northeast regions. Oth- tion of integrated water resource management, BOURG are implementing the Phare project en- er beneficiaries are environmental NGO’s, repre- coordination among different institutions and titled “Awareness Raising and Improving the sentatives of local and central authorities, the organizations, coordination of rights and obli- Implementation of Acquis Communitaire in local media and the general public in the tar- gations among sectors (government, business, Water Protection”. get regions. Public relations policy, targeted to NGO’s), effective public participation in deci- potential users‘ needs, will be developed in or- sion-making and private sector participation The main objective of the project is to raise der to ensure adequate dissemination of results. in water resource management. The project is awareness of the Acquis Communitaire in water The following main activities are planned from supported by the Phare Civil Society Develop- protection and to support the implementation November 2004 to November 2005: dissemina- ment 2002 Program. „ and improvement of existing Bulgarian legisla- tion of EU WFD and IWRM principles, training Milkana Mochurova tion in this field. The main target group is com- sessions, development of comparative studies, [email protected] 4 GWP Slovenia focuses Lithuanian Water Partnership Runs on water and education Local IWRM Educa- The Association of the Geographic Societies of ter resources“. The most important outcome of Slovenia and the Ministry of Environment and the conference was the establishment of net- tion Campaign Spatial Planning organized on 6 December 2004 works among education practitioners. School interdisciplinary conference “Slovenia - Water teachers expressed a strong need for cooper- THE LITHUANIAN WATER PARTNERSHIP Education Path of the Europe”. Presentations ation with universities and experts to improve (LWP) HAS RECEIVED FUNDING FROM THE were given by university professors, teachers their knowledge about environment and nature EU STRUCTURAL FUND FOR THE PROJECT from different levels, coordinators of option- trough optional school activities. A close coop- “SAVING WATER RESOURCES FOR FUTURE al school activities, networks of schools on en- eration has been agreed between network of GENERATIONS”. vironmental activities, geologists, biologists, Ecoschools and GWP Slovenia in the framework The awarded project is a result of fund landscape architects and others. The chairman of GWP CEE Water and Education project. „ raising activities carried out by the LWP of GWP Slovenia, Martina Zupan, gave a lecture Martina Zupan in 2004. The overall goal of the project is „Slovenian and global public takes care on wa- GWP Slovenia to educate local citizens on the sustaina- ble use and protection of water resourc- es and to encourage them to participate in local decision making processes. Timely and comprehensive information about the status of water resources is an essential

CREDIT: B. MACAROL/LIMNOS B. CREDIT: precondition for the involvement of the society in decision and policy making. The primary target group of the project is com- prised of school children. After close con- sultation with the Ministry of Education, eight socially and territorially separated rural schools were selected for the project. The following activities will be organized in schools: seminars for pupils, parents and teachers on important water topics, draw- ing and photo competitions, publishing and dissemination of brochures highlight- ing the need for water resource conserva- tion and integrated water resource man- agement, the creation and dissemination Short stretching exercises after lunch break of educational video materials on water resources and the publication of articles methods and tools could be applied in their about the project and water resources in GWP Slovenia takes daily work. Reliable information, trust, educa- local newspapers. Winners of the drawing tion, and understanding of the problem have and photo competitions will be present- part in the Sava been identified as the most important chal- ed with awards during a seminar organ- River participatory ized on the occasion of World Water Day 2005. In addition, clean-up campaigns on processes riverbanks and lakes involving local com- munities will be organized in four Lithua- GWP SLOVENIA HAS ACTIVELY PARTICIPAT- nian districts. The second target group of

ED AT THE WORKSHOP “THE PURPOSE OF MACAROL/LIMNOS B. CREDIT: the project is formed by members of the THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE PROC- Water Club. A series of seminars on the im- ESS OF SAVA AGREEMENT”. The venue was plementation of EU water legislation and organized by Regional Environmental Cen- opportunities for the funding of water tre in Educational Centre Ig near Ljubljana The head of Slovenian delegation in Sava commission, projects will be organized. The duration of on 29-30 November 2004. Aim of the work- Mr M. Bricelj, presented the Sava the project is 18 months, however the LWP shop was capacity building for efficient par- lenges of modern water planning. The partici- will continue to organize similar activities ticipation of stakeholders in water manage- pants agreed that public participation process for at least 5 years after the termination of ment and planning. Participants came from in the Sava River basin helps to build prac- the project. „ various sectors including ministries, munici- tical experience and capacity of involved ex- palities, NGOs, private sector and Slovenian perts from different sectors of the society. „ Bernardas Paukštys Chamber of Commerce. The participants dis- Martina Zupan Chairman of the Lithuanian cussed how presented public participation GWP Slovenia Water Partnership 5 Contact our Country Water Partnerships! IN THIS ISSUE OF WATER TALK WE WILL PRESENT reservoirs, the Danube River – and ground- non-governmental organizations, as well as WATER PARTNERSHIPS IN ANOTHER FOUR water are relatively poor and unequally dis- individuals. COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE tributed in time and space. The Danube Del- – POLAND, ROMANIA, SLOVAKIA AND SLOVENIA. ta, where the river flows into the Black Sea, is an ecological system unique in Europe. Its ecological value is inestimable. It covers an GWP Poland area of about 550,000 hectares of Romani- an territory, with a hydrological network in- Established: Water Partnership cluding main branches, secondary branches, November 2001 Located in the Baltic Sea Basin, Poland has a channels and lakes. It contains a wide vari- DR. MICHAL MAKEL mean annual water resources per capita of ap- ety of species of plants, fish and birds, most c/o Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute proximately 1,600 m3, almost three times less of which are migratory. Because of this bio- Jeséniova 17 than the mean value for Europe. In addition, diversity the whole zone has been declared 833 15 Bratislava, Slovakia the available resources are subject to great a protected area and a World Natural Herit- Tel: +421 2 5477 5730 year-to-year variability. Devastating floods and age Site. The Global Water Partnership was Fax: +421 2 5941 5393 local water scarcities are frequent. Water qual- first introduced into Romania in 1998 when E-mail: [email protected] ity management is one of the key problems, the country became a member of GWP Cen- creating problems for people’s livelihoods and tral and Eastern Europe. The Romania Water the environment. Several river basin authori- Partnership is registered in the Special Reg- GWP Slovenia ties were established in 1991. The main objec- ister of the Court of Bucharest as an Associa- Water Partnership tives of the Poland Water Partnership are to tion and is located in Bucharest. promote the principles of IWRM and provide a Slovenia is a diverse country with a multi- forum for bringing water stakeholders togeth- tude of cultures and people, enriched by its er for knowledge exchange and implementa- vast water resources. There is really no space tion of action programs. It comprises about for large water bodies, being a small country, 100 members representing government, wa- Established: but there is 7400 km of water courses, thou- ter authorities, academia, non-governmental August 2002 sands of springs, waterfalls, gorges and lakes. ecological organizations and various sectors of MR. LIVIU NICOLAE POPESCU GWP Slovenia Water Partnership was estab- economy. The current programs deal especial- Asociatia Parteneriatul Global al Apei din lished in 2002. It is working as an independent ly with water, environment and sustainable de- Romania “GWP-Romania” platform for discussion, offering stakeholders velopment of rural regions, water governance Alea Fizicienilor No 4, Bloc 3C, Ap 16, Sector 3 a neutral ground in their dialogue. The stake- improvements, and promotion of economic in- Cod 032113, Bucharest, Romania holders include governmental institutions struments in the area water and environmen- Tel: +40 21 3480 947 (Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and tal management. Application of the EU Water Fax: +40 21 2215 684 Economics), local governments, professional Framework Directive is the focus of all activ- E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] associations, research institutions, students, ities. Actions include stakeholder meetings, private sector, NGOs and so on. The Partner- baseline studies, local pilot actions, guidelines ship is involved in the implementation of the and publications, all contributing to achieving GWP Slovakia Water Act requirements and EU Water Frame- the Partnership’s objectives. Water Partnership work Directive. GWP Slovenia Water Partner- ship was recognized as potential partner in The Slovak Republic is divided between the the process of establishing public participa- Danube River basin (96%) and the Vistula tion in water management. The main activity River basin (4%). Surface water and ground- is to promote IWRM at the local level, in the water resources are plentiful. As in most elementary and secondary schools through Established: other Central European countries, available local authorities, the Biology Teachers Asso- February 2001 water resources are subject to great varia- ciation and local communities. „ PROF. JANUSZ KINDLER bility and the country experiences both dev- c/o Warsaw University of Technology astating floods and droughts. Groundwater Faculty of Environmental Engineering is used as drinking water for approximately ul. Nowowiejska 20, 00-653 Warsaw, Poland 80% of the 5.4 million inhabitants. The Glo- Tel: +48 22 6607 290, Fax: +48 22 6605 362 bal Water Partnership was first introduced Established: E-mail: [email protected] into the Slovak Republic in 1998 when the July 2002 country became a member of GWP Central MS. MARTINA ZUPAN and Eastern Europe. Since then, a number of c/o LIMNOS Company for Applied Ecology GWP Romania activities have been carried out in promot- Podlimbarskega 31 ing IWRM principles and building bridges be- 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Water Partnership tween different stakeholders and sectors us- Tel.: +386 1 4273 245 Romania‘s water resources, being formed ing water resources. The Partnership consists Fax: +386 1 5057 386 of surface waters – inland rivers, lakes and of members representing governmental and E-mail: [email protected] 6 modalities: policy, programmes and strategies both countries. The outcome of the project will formulation and advocacy; and support to pi- be the formulation of two regional development Capacity 2015 lot projects. The Capacity 2015 in the ECIS has strategies for Giurgiu - Russe area (aimed on Europe and the Commonwealth three main thematic areas: tourism) and for Zimnicea - Svishtov area (aimed „ Creation of enabling political and legal na- on ferryboat transportation). The two Strategies of Independent States tional frameworks for sustainable local de- that will address the shared development priori- CAPACITY 2015 AS A NEW CAPACITY DEVELOP- velopment; ties of the partner municipalities are expected MENT PLATFORM WAS LAUNCHED BY UNITED „ Practical support to sustainable development to provide the framework that will facilitate the NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP) and good governance at the local level; mobilization of resources for cross-border coop- DURING THE WORLD SUMMIT FOR SUSTAIN- „ Transfer of knowledge and networking. eration initiatives from EU funds. ABLE DEVELOPMENT. It is based on the results, successes, achievements and lessons derived from a decade of successful innovations in ca- pacity development for sustainable develop- CREDIT: GWP CEE CREDIT: ment by Capacity 21 and other partners. Capac- ity 21 was launched at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment & Development (UNCED), and worked with developing countries and countries in transition to find the best ways to achieve sustainable development and meet the goals of Agenda 21. For more information please visit www.undp.org/capacity21. Capac- ity 2015 is a global program that is aiming at enhancing local capacities to develop and im- plement policies and practices that will advance the achievement of the Millennium Develop- ment Goals (MDGs) and sustainable develop- ment at the local level. For more information on MDG please visit www.un.org/millenniumgoals. Capacity 2015’s regional office for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (ECIS) is based at UNDP Regional Centre in Bratislava, Slovakia Capacity 2015 provides a platform for partner- ing and sharing experience in tackling the key By beginning of 2005 Capacity 2015 in Eu- Giurgiu - Russe project designs a joint tourism de- cross-cutting aspects of capacity development rope and the CIS region supported projects velopment strategy and a common website con- and sustainability. Regional Capacity 2015 strat- in seven countries that focus on partnerships taining information on existing tourist sites and egies were recently prepared and embedded un- and meaningful alliances for the fulfilment of facilities. The objective of the initiative is to pro- der the Global Capacity 2015 program. They aim the MDGs. The C2015 projects were support- pose an integrated tourist product to Danube lei- at addressing region-specific challenges and op- ed in Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ka- sure cruise tourists. Zimnicea - Svishtov project portunities to sustainable development through zakhstan, Ukraine, and Romania. For short de- supports the preparation of an economic and tech- tailor-made and strategic national and sub-re- scription of the supported projects please visit nical feasibility study for a ferryboat service with gional capacity development, knowledge man- www.undp.org/capacity2015/europe. the objective of attracting private investors. „ agement and networking initiatives. Prepared by: Dafina Gercheva Capacity 2015 – Danube Cross border and Milan Chrenko, UNDP /Capacity 2015 Capacity 2015 Europe and the Common- project in Romania and Bulgaria For additional information on Capacity 2015 wealth of Independent States (ECIS) program and activities please contact: The overall objective of the project “Capacity De- DAFINA GERCHEVA, PhD - Capacity Development The main objective of the Capacity 2015 ECIS velopment for Reaching the Millennium Devel- Advisor/ Capacity 2015 Regional Coordinator Regional Program is creating enabling environ- opment Goals through Fostering Cross-Border MILAN CHRENKO, MSc. - Capacity 2015 Programme ment for sustainable integrated local develop- Cooperation between Bulgaria and Romania” is Specialist ment and thus, contributing to the achievement to strengthen and enhance operational capaci- United Nations Development Programme, of the MDGs. Actions oriented programmes on ties on both sides of the Danube river border in Bratislava Regional Centre capacity community development, supported joint participatory strategic planning. In addi- Grosslingova 35, 811 09 Bratislava, Slovak Republic E-mail: dafi[email protected] or by Capacity 2015, in a way emphasize the im- tion, it aims at promoting cross-border coopera- [email protected] plementation aspect of MDGs. Capacity 2015 tion between Romania and Bulgaria based on the Tel: +421-2-59337 192 interventions are implemented at three lev- successful experience and lessons derived from Web: http://www.undp.org/capacity2015/europe els: regional, national and local; and in two the Local Agenda 21 implementation process in www.undp.sk 7 Biannual Conference – Drinking Water 2004 THE CZECH WATER CLUB GWP WAS CO-OR- conference was attended by 231 participants. A cussions on the following four hot topics of wa- GANIZER OF THE SEVENTH CONFERENCE EN- total of 75 papers were presented by speakers ter supply: TITLED DRINKING WATER 2004, WHICH WAS primarily from the Czech Republic and Slova- „ cyanobacterial toxins (convener Assoc. Prof. HELD IN TABOR, THE CZECH REPUBLIC ON JUNE kia; one speaker was from the U.S. and one was B. Maršálek) from the UK. The sessions were devoted to con- „ new trends in drinking water filtration (con- ceptual questions of drinking water supply, wa- vener Assoc. Prof. P. Dolejš) tershed protection and protection zones, reser- „ use of chlorine dioxide and disinfection by- voir limnology and water quality, ground water product formation (convener Dr. V. Mergl) quality, drinking water treatment and technolo- „ education in the drinking water sector (con-

CREDIT: PETR DOLEJS/GWP CZ CREDIT: gy, drinking water quality and changes in drink- veners Prof. J. Wanner and Assoc. Prof. ing water quality in the distribution system. The J. Hlavác) proceedings contained 430 pages. The confer- ence program also included five lectures given All of the panel discussions were open and lively by invited speakers, who were highly qualified and the topics were discussed in depth. They were experts in the field. The Invited speakers gave highly appreciated by the participants and high- the following papers: lighted what the water field clearly requires – in- „ Developments in Aquatic Chemistry and teraction between the research, consulting, prac- Analysis (Prof. P. Pitter) tice, regulatory and managerial spheres. For the „ Disinfection of Drinking Water Disinfection first time, the Czech Water Club GWP awarded a Professor Pavel Pitter is giving his excellent invited lecture on By-products (Prof. V. Janda) prize for the best young speaker’s presentation. recent developments in aquatic chemistry „ Sludge Treatment and the Use of Wa- The jury included the entire scientific committee 7-10, 2004. The main aim of this conference se- ter Treatment Sludge in Agriculture (Dr. of the conference and the winner was Dr. Petra ries is to search for interaction between the wa- L. Benešová) Nováková, who gave an excellent presentation of tershed, water sources (e.g. reservoirs), water „ New Trends in Drinking Water Hygiene (Dr. her paper on water quality and protection zones treatment and the water distribution system. F. Kožíšek) of the Vranov nad Dyjí Reservoir, which is used as This means that the conference covers the en- „ Drinking Water Reservoirs – Their Assess- a raw water source for the drinking water sup- tire system from the watershed to the consum- ment and Management (Dr. J. Duras) ply of the Trebíc region of South Moravia. One of ers’ tap. This is a reflection and implementation the prizes consisted of free admission to the next of IWRM principles being put into practice. The The conference program offered also panel dis- conference, which will be organized in 2006. „ CREDIT: PETR DOLEJS/GWP CZ CREDIT: PETR DOLEJS/GWP CZ CREDIT:

Lively discussions occurred during conference sessions (Dr. Pavel Hucko of the Water Research Winner of the GWP Young Speakers Competition giving her paper - Dr. Petra Nováková of the Mendel Institute in Bratislava chairing the session, and from the left Dr. Frantisek Kožíšek, Ing. Zuzana University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno Bratská and Dr. Jaroslav Mega)

Volume 5, Issue No. 1/2005, April 2005 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 of au- thors expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of GWP CEE. Publisher: GWP CEE - Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe, [email protected], Editor: Richard Müller, Language Proofreading: VKM, s.r.o., Layout and Printing: TYPOCON, s.r.o. Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic 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, Tel./fax: +421 2 5941 5294, e-mail: [email protected], http://www.gwpcee.com 8