The Kura River, ArmeniaThe project,
financed by the European Union Tacis programme, addressed the water
quality management and related polluting impacts in four
transboundary river basins: the Kura (Armenia, Georgia and
Azerbaijan), Seversky-Donets (Russia and Ukraine), Tobol
(Kazakhstan and Russia) and Pripyat (Belarus, Ukraine). Three of
these were selected for a pilot programme directed by the UN/ECE
Task Force on Monitoring and Assessment. The fourth – the Pripyat
River – was included to introduce the application of river basin
management principles, focusing on conservation of the significant
wetlands environment.
We implemented the project through four separate ‘basin’ teams,
which included EU experts of Mott MacDonald and ARCADIS
Euroconsult, and a pool of national experts, working alongside the
beneficiary agencies. Selected EU and NIS specialists operated more
centrally as part of the inter-basin co-ordination and related
dissemination activities.
The project team produced a comprehensive review of current
transboundary activities and associated legislation, capabilities
for monitoring and assessment, water management practices and
existing data and information sources in the region. The review was
supported by water monitoring and assessment strategies for each
river basin, including a review of existing emergency warning
systems for river systems and recommendations for appropriate early
warning systems. The findings were widely discussed and
disseminated during workshops, conferences and public awareness
events, including working with local schools and
universities.
Water sampling on the Pripyat River,
UkraineThe project also included working with laboratories
in the seven countries, reviewing their practices of field sampling
and analysis, and associated data management/ exchange. Additional
monitoring equipment was selected and procured for each laboratory
as part of the project, with training and introduction of QA/QC
procedures provided by our specialists. Together with Euroconsult
we are currently implementing two separate follow-on assignments in
the Seversky Donets basin (Russia and Ukraine) and the Pripyat
basin (Ukraine and Belarus).
