25
FRom one conTinenT To anoTHeR
EASTERN EUROPE - CAUCASUS - CENTRAL ASIA
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The News N° 24
EECCA
Administration of transboundary water data
Integrated water management requires
having a comprehensive assessment of
resources and uses, based on homogeneous
and consistent information.
In the case of transboundary basins, the
sharing of information is building trust
and facilitates dialogue between the
riparian countries.
Developed since 2011 in collaboration
with the secretariat at UNECE of the
”Convention on the Protection and Use
of Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes”, the FFEM project
”Capacity building in data management
for assessing and monitoring trans-
boundary water resources in Eastern
Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia-
EECCA” has been successfully comple-
ted in October 2013.
With the support of
SHMI (Slovak Hydro-
Meteorological Institute),
this project,
coordinated by
the International Office for
Water,
has achieved its objectives both at the
regional level and in the two pilot basins:
l
The Dniester River Basin
in direct colla-
boration with the Authorities in Ukraine
and Moldova;
l
The Aral Sea Basin
(Amudarya and Syr-
darya River Basins involving six countries
of Central Asia in collaboration with the
EC-IFAS
(Executive Committee of the
International Fund for Saving the Aral
Sea).
After an assessment carried out in 2011 in six
of the concerned countries, the project has
entered in early 2012 a phase for supporting
the development of pilot actions proposed
by the Steering Committee, including:
In the Dniester River Basin
n
Creation of
a database on sur face
water quality in Moldova,
with the
production of quality indexes and online
interactive maps of surface water quality,
updated by the data producers;
n
”Web Processing Services”
allowing
the production of useful geographic data.
In the Aral Sea Basin
◆
A first hydrological bulletin on the
Syrdarya,
within an action initiated by
UNRCCA with EC-IFAS;
◆
Creation of
a Web portal
integrating an
interactive diagram for online viewing of
data on the Syrdarya, data daily updated
by their producers;
◆
Conceptual study of
the organization of
the National Water Information Sys-
tem of Tajikistan;
◆
Improvement of the Turkmen legisla-
tion
to promote the sharing of water
data.
Finally, a document of recommendations
highlighting the project feedbacks was pre-
sented during various international meetings,
including:
l
The 6
th
Meeting of the Parties of the Water
Convention, in Rome on 28/29 November
2012;
l
The High-Level Conference on Internatio-
nal Water Cooperation, held in Tajikistan
in August 2013;
l
The last Dniester River Basin Committee
on 18 September in the Ukraine.
4
6
th
Meeting of the Parties
of the International Water Convention
Rome - November 2012
© IOWater - C.Runel
Presentation to the Dniestr Basin
Committee - Ukraine - September 2013
Central Asia
The Swiss Cooperation
Agency is supporting
water management
in Central Asia
Switzerland is committed in a new coopera-
tion program (2014-2020) for regional water
resources management in Central Asia, inclu-
ding
the development of a Water Infor-
mation System (WIS)
in particular.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding bet-
ween
IOWater
and the
IMoMo consor-
tium, the Swiss Cooperation Agency
(SDC)
supported a joint mission, in Novem-
ber 2013,to specify
an Action Plan for
2014 to develop monitoring and auto-
mated data exchange between the part-
ners involved in Kyrgyzstan.
In a transboundary pilot basin, this Action
Plan includes the definition of a first hydrolo-
gical frame of references (with codification of
basins, rivers, lakes and canals) to develop
interoperability and facilitate the exchange of
water data between riparian countries.
4
Mr. Paul Haener, IOWater Expert,
with the partners from Kirghizstan
