The EU Water Framework Directive requires all EU member states to achieve satisfactory water quality of all waters by 2015. Although each country is individually responsible, cooperation over transnational water resources is required. In the Körös/Crisuri river basin, a project was initiated using the expertise and experience of Hungary and Romania, involving all key stakeholders. The key lesson is the importance of public participation.
Körös/Crisuri transboundary River Basin is in need of more transboundary cooperation and coordination to ensure sustainable management of the resource. To address this, Romania and Hungary jointly developed a strategy for integrated water resources management, aiming to strengthen cooperation. The key lesson is that access to, and management of data is at the core of decision-making in the case of transboundary water management.
Oil-shale mining and oil-shale based electricity production has caused serious damage to ground and surface water in the Viru-Peipsi catchment area in Estonia. Action was taken to enhance the protection of the water resources through a project that set out a management plan. The project included data collection, monitoring and capacity building. Due to the success of this project, it can be used as an example for future developments.
To identify the best approach to increase public participation in the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, the EU funded research project River Dialogue was initiated, testing two specific participatory methods of citizens’ involvement. This case illustrates the means by which local people, who are not specialists, can take part in discussions and decision-making process of complex environmental issues.
In preparation for the new Water Law in Bulgaria, as well as the EU Water Framework Directive, the watershed council was set up as a pilot to test on-site effective and participatory approaches to river resource management in the Varbitsa River. The key lesson drawn is that participatory, open, citizen-friendly and bottom-up approaches are more efficient than top-down administrative approaches.
The Tsurumi River Basin, located in the suburbs of Tokyo, extends over an area of 235 km2 and a river length of 42.5km. The Tsurumi River Basin is regarded as one of the most important and representative river basins in Japan. The basin was largely developed by the rapid urbanization since the 1960s.
The Murray-Darling Basin was subjected to widespread environmental degradation. In response to this problem, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission was established in January 1988 under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, focusing on protecting and improving water quality. The key lesson is that the participatory approach used with its Community Advisory Committee has helped the Commission to be successful in winning and maintaining community interest, involvement and support.
Activities such as horticulture and tourism around the Great Barrier Reef create sediment, nutrient and pesticide runoff, placing increased pressure on the ecosystem. The World Wildlife Fund has taken action, predominantly by raising awareness. The key lesson is how a carefully orchestrated campaign can convince decision-makers of the importance of integrated river basin management as a means of reducing land-based marine pollution.
After some devastating floods in the Yangtze, the Chinese government took action and issued a policy to counter floods, including wetland restoration. WWF further assisted and developed four pilot sites to demonstrate the benefits of wetland restoration for biodiversity, and to seek alternative income options for farmers, based on the sustainable use of wetlands. This case illustrates the value of a participatory approach.
China is faced with significant costs regarding floods and degradation of ecological conditions in the Yangtze River basin. As a response, the application of Ecosystem Function Conservation Areas approach has been initiated not only to increase water retention capacity and reduce sediment loads, but also to provide benefits in biodiversity, carbon sequestration and sustainable land management. The key lesson is that success is easier to achieve with positive natural and political conditions.