In Ukraine, reforms in the sector of water supply and sanitation have focused on centralising water supply and sanitation. Efforts have been made to decentralise water management, delegate to local authorities as well as increase supply in rural areas. This has been done through awareness campaigns, capacity building and innovative techniques of wastewater reuse. The key lesson learnt from this case is that IWRM principles need to be considered when planning for water infrastructure.
Climate Change is expected to have severe impacts on river discharges and water quality and quantity. In an effort to proactively find solutions to the current and future challenges of water, the project Environmental state and sustainable management of Hungarian-Slovakian transboundary groundwater bodies was initiated. The key lesson is the importance of evaluating all resources, including the links between groundwater and surface water.
The Bodrog River Basin is exposed to severe flooding caused by jumbled urbanisation and low connectivity between land (agriculture and forestry), urban and water planning. Management is made more complex by the transboundary nature of the basin. A project was, however initiated to strengthen cooperative management and to mitigate consequences of floods through achieving consistent and holistic management of flood risk in three basin countries. This case illustrates the importance of transboundary flood management.
The Tisza River is faced with deteriorating water quality as well as floods with increasing frequency and levels. These issues are exacerbated by climate change. Action has been taken, both by national authorities, international actors and NGOs to develop more adaptive management schemes. The key lesson is that in water management, the biggest problem is the weak coordination among different fields and interests – such as agriculture, nature, navigation, flood defence.
The Ruzinov Strkovec Lake has been subjected to severe pollution due to contaminated by illegal sewage pipes. The Association of Industry and Nature Protection took action and initiated and organised a project to both revitalise the lake and draw the attention of local people to its flora and fauna. The key lesson learnt is how the partnership between an NGO and municipality can result in a successful revitalisation of local water resources.
Large scale projects in Slovakia caused negative effects in terms of biodiversity losses and reduced floodplain ecosystem functions. To combat this, a project “Integration of Ecosystem Management Principles and Practices into Land and water Management” of Laborec-Uh region was initiated. This case illustrates the importance of accounting for both biodiversity and economic returns when developing projects.
To improve monitoring and management of river basins in Slovakia, a project was initiated among secondary school students with the objective to attract the attention of young generation to the protection of the river basin and to mobilise the interest of local communities in public campaigns to improve the quality of river basin. The key lesson drawn from this case study is that linking education activities and local communities campaigns are effective tool for public participation.
Following a decision to decentralise water and wastewater services, many questions regarding the sustainable financing of water and waste services was raised. Recognising that economic and financial conditions are critical to the effectiveness of various tariff and effluent charge reforms, a financial model (ASTEC) was devised. This case demonstrates the value of using economic instruments to support the implementation of IWRM management objectives.
The national reserve Sur is deteriorating. Action has been taken by NGOs to initiate a project to restore water conditions in the reserve, including the interplay between water and soil. Despite the projects importance, it failed to be implemented due to conflicts with national authorities. This case illustrates the danger of EU initiatives being implemented without an active public involvement since this creates risks of low acceptance of local communities and land owners.
A one day sensitization workshop took place on 30 July 2013 in Banjul, Gambia. The meeting brought together about twenty (20) journalists from various media houses and freelance journalists from The Gambia with the aim to inform participants on the ratification process of the UN 97 Law on the use of international watercourses for purposes other than navigational in the country.