Confidence building in transboundary river basin management context Michal Nekvasil EU Delegation to Georgia Water seminar Dead Sea, Jordan March 2011

Context in Georgia Ultra liberal policy of GoG Our policy is to have no policy, our strategy is to have no strategy As little legislation and regulation as possible Poor country + consequences of the conflict with Russia of 2008 = EU has a big leverage Very different history as compared to ENPI South countries SPSP used since 2007 (PFM, Criminal justice, vocational education and training, regional development…) Institutional instability Environment not a priority

Environmental sector in Georgia till 2007 No data, no environmental policy/strategy, no action plan, no co-ordination, mutually contradicting legislation, etc. Donors assistance to the environmental sector (incl. EU) – surface water and drinking water only The support disproportionate to real needs (hardly any support to waste water treatment, solid waste management, air protection, biodiversity...) Overlapping projects No co-ordination Mostly regional projects (S. Caucasus or even broader, not always matching interests of individual countries)

Environmental sector in Georgia now State of the Environment report National Environmental Action Plan Draft Environmental code EU assistance in all env. sub-sectors Government-donors co-ordination in the env. sector functions well (driven by the government) Co-ordintation as for drinking water & waste water treatment – a breakthough in the beginning of March, the first meeting next week

Water sector in Georgia No policy/strategy as for water Competences regarding water spread among several ministries (environment, regional development and infrastructure, agricultue...) – very unclear Water management companies constantly changing Unclear situation as for the ownership of water pipelines No universal tariff system – most people still get water for (almost) free Enormous wasting of water (constantly running in many households) No single functioning WWTP with secondary or tertiary treatment in Georgia

EU support to water sector in Georgia / Southern Caucasus Recent water projects: Transboundary Kura river basin management - phase I Enabling environment fo integrated management of the Kura-Aras Transboundary river basin Transboundary Kura river basin management - phase II Supply of water monitoring equipment Water governance Improving of water infrastructure in 27 Georgian municipalities (NIF) Waste water treatment in Adjaria (NIF) i.e. almost all regional projects, very limited bilateral support All together very limited amount of money

Other donors involved in the water sector ADB EIB EBRD KfW USAID UNDP

Kura – Aras rivers basin

Two case studies Creation of Enabling environment for integrated management of the Kura- Aras Transboundary river basin Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River basin – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan

Creation of Enabling environment for integrated management of the Kura-Aras Transboundary river basin Regional Project Beneficiary Countries: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan Managed by the REC Caucasus Start date: July 2007 Duration: extended till end 2010 Budget: EUR

Creation of Enabling environment for integrated management of the Kura-Aras Transboundary river basin Specific objectives as per the original proposal Specific objectives as per amended proposal Gain a consensus-based agreement between the three South Caucasus countries, donor organisations and other concerned parties on further steps towards improved and sustainable cooperation and coordination for integrated management of the Kura-Aras trans-boundary rivers basin, including a need for establishment of a Regional Coordination Body and development of the Convention and further establishment of the Regional Governmental Commission on Integrated Management of the Kura-Aras Trans-boundary Rivers Basin Gain a consensus-based agreement between the three South Caucasus countries, donor organisations and other concerned parties on further steps towards a creation of a basis for sustainable cooperation and coordination through establishment of regional institutional mechanisms for major participating countries of the Caucasus, including governments, supporting control and coordination of projects (including donor ones) for integrated management of the Kura-Aras trans-boundary rivers basin Facilitate drafting of the Convention, its ratification by the countries concerned, and establishment of the Regional Governmental Commission Adoption of Road Maps for assessment of progress in sustainable management of the Kura-Aras trans-boundary rivers basin with view to introduction of the EU Water Framework Directive

Creation of Enabling environment for integrated management of the Kura-Aras Transboundary river basin Background The necessity to improve the existing situation with protection and use of trans-boundary river basins is recognised by all three governments Challenges For the project time period development and ratification of the Convention on the protection of the Kura-Aras river basin and establishment of a regional governmental commission was impossible due to the political situation. Assumptions The projects coordination should not be led by donor organisations / NGOs but by the governments of the Caucasus countries The project focus should be redirected towards creating realistic mechanisms for cooperation tkaing into consideration the specific context of the Caucasian region

Creation of Enabling environment for integrated management of the Kura-Aras Transboundary river basin Final outcome Progress achieved and objectives to a large extent met not only on the level of individual countries but also regional co-ordination mechanisms established (on technical level)

EU Project: Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River basin – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan Regional Project Beneficiary Countries: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan Consultant: EPTISA & Grontmij-CarlBro Consortium Start: June 2008 Duration: extended until Dec 2011 Budget: EUR 3,175,000

EU Project: Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River basin – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan Project purpose: To help Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan improve river water quality in the Kura river basin through transboundary cooperation and adoption of the river basin management approach To improve capabilities of environmental authorities and monitoring establishments in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan

EU Project: Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River basin – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan Project Partners: Georgia: Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources National Environment Agency Armenia: Ministry of Nature Protection Water Resources Management Agency Environmental Impact Monitoring Centre Azerbaijan Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources National Hydrometeorology Department Environmental Monitoring Department

EU Project: Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River basin – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan Key Activities: Pilot projects: Draft river basin management plans (RBMP) for 5 pilot river basins using EU Water Framework Directive methodology Joint Transboundary River Monitoring Programme to harmonise sampling and analysis procedures between the countries Improvements in the data structures and information flows to facilitate decision making (Water Cadastre MoE AZ, Water Database MoE GE, Canals Database MoE AM) Training and technical guidelines including EU Study Tour for the beneficiaries staff from the project countries Public awareness activities of the priority transboundary water issues in the Kura-Aras River basin (video film, booklets, TV coverage, website)

EU Project: Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River basin – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan The following key documents translated to Georgian, Armenian and Azeri, printed, distributed amongst the beneficiaries and explained to them in detail at the project workshops: EU Water Framework Directive EU Floods Directive WFD Technical Guidance: Identification of Water Bodies WFD Technical Guidance: Analysis of Pressures and Impacts Introduction to Biological Monitoring of Water Quality (available at: )

Joint Monitoring Programme in Kura River basin Selected parameters Temperature C Transparency Dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation pH Conductivity Total suspended/Total dissolved solids BOD5 COD-Cr Ammonia Nitrates Phosphates Copper Zink Iron Manganese Cadmium Nickel Lead Arsenic Molybdenum Petroleum products Phenols River flow discharges in m3/s (Alazani- Shakriani (GE), Alazani-Agrichai (AZ) and Debed-Ayrum HS (AM))

Joint Monitoring Programme in Kura River basin Independent verification Inter-laboratory testing Standard test samples prepared by the EU National Reference Laboratory in Slovakia, for selected parameters: Nutrients (PO4, NH4, NO3), and six heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn).

EU Project: Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River basin – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan

Conclusions / lessons learnt Government driven co-ordination as a precondition for avoiding overlapping projects, for creating synergic effects, and for enhancing the ownership of the government Establishment of a common ground (EU directives and common sampling methods) is a necessary basis for building trust In politically difficult environment: establishment of a co-operation on technical level first; it can be later institutionalised and extended to the political level « Intergovernmental NGOs » may help facilitate the transition of technical co-operation to a political dialogue… EU level – regional and bilateral projects – Eastern Partnership helped Commission + EU Member states = more leverage

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