EN
GR
1.4. Transboundary water management issues and actions
Daphne Mantziou
Society for the Protection of Prespa
Transboundary water management: a multilevel progression in the Prespa basin
Main concepts - an overview
Over the second half of the 20th century,
the concept of transboundary water management evolved to varying degrees globally.
The main principles of international water law, including transboundary co-operation
on certain aspects, were introduced in the early 1990s. The EU Water legislation,
adopted ten years later, provided a robust policy framework for Europe, as it
applies to both EU states and EU candidate countries, which are gradually revising
their legal and institutional frameworks towards accession.
This lecture will deal with the topic of transboundary water co-operation in Europe presenting the case of the Prespa basin as a paradigm. The presentation will answer the following questions:
- Why should countries sharing freshwater resources pursue co-operation?
- What are the EU water legislation requirements for international river basins?
- Which governance schemes are encountered in the shared river basins in Europe?
- How has transboundary water co-operation evolved in the countries of the Prespa basin and what are the lessons that have been learned?
Transboundary co-operation in shared river basins in Europe
More than half of the available freshwater on earth is located in
transboundary river basins, in which half of the world’s population lives and
depends on these waters. When two or more countries share water resources, such
as a lake, river or groundwater, each is very susceptible to the practices of the
other/s, as water use in one country inevitably affects the condition of the
resources in a neighbouring country. It is only through co-operation that
countries sharing a river basin may exchange information, get the bigger picture
of the state of their common water resources and the challenges that exist, and
work out solutions for their optimum management to their mutual benefit.
In 2000, the EU Water Framework Directive introduced a holistic approach,
adopting the river basin management concept, which calls for the management of
water resources within their natural hydrological units. For aquatic ecosystems
which cross national borders this necessitates the co-operation of states, and
planning and management at a transboundary level.
Prespa is one of 105 international river basins identified in Europe, which vary in terms of size, conditions, challenges and the degree of international co-ordination. The most advanced European examples include basins with a formal agreement, international co-ordinating mechanisms in operation and joint river basin management plans in place. This is the case for the most complex shared basins, such as the basin of the Danube River, which lies across 19 countries, and the Rhine, which includes nine countries.
The Prespa basin at a glance
The Prespa basin is comprised of two interconnected
lakes and their surrounding mountain ranges, which extend across the borders of
three countries - Albania, Greece and North Macedonia. It is an inhabited basin
and a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot, because of its exceptional wildlife
and ecological significance. For this very reason, in all three countries parts
of the basin have been designated wetlands of international importance under
the Ramsar Convention and protected areas at a national level.
Amongst the oldest lakes in Europe, Lesser and Great
Prespa, together with Lake Ohrid (North Macedonia/Albania), and the now drained
Lake Maliq (Albania),
once formed the ancient European sister lakes, the Dessaretes lake group. Prespa has no surface outflow and the waters of its basin drain into
Lake Ohrid through underground channels, before flowing into the Black Drin
River, which joins the Drin river basin that eventually discharges into the Adriatic
Sea.
The vast majority of
the remarkable habitats and species in Prespa are dependent on the two lakes
and the several watercourses flowing in the region. However, Prespa freshwater
resources are being degraded, due to unsustainable human practices across the
basin. Intensive agriculture and inadequately treated domestic and industrial
effluents are the main drivers of water quality deterioration. Obsolete
irrigation networks and the unsustainable abstraction of water impact water
quantity, which further intensifies the water quality challenges. The above, in
combination with
anticipated climate change effects in the region, may have detrimental effects on
the vulnerable ecosystems and therefore it is critical to address them. Unlike the three states Prespa stretches across, the
water of the two lakes has no borders and keeping it well maintained is a
shared necessity and responsibility.
The evolution of water collaboration in Prespa
Further reading
River basin management
Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2010. River basin management: Integrating wetland conservation and wise use into river basin management. Ramsar handbooks for the wise use of wetlands, 4th edition, vol. 9. Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Gland, Switzerland https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/lib/hbk4-09.pdf
Transboundary water co-operation
UNECE, 2015. Policy Guidance Note on the Benefits of Transboundary Water Cooperation: Identification, Assessment and Communication
Comparative Study of Pressures and Measures in the Major River Basin
Management Plans, report prepared for DG Environment of the European
Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/water/implrep2007/pdf/Governance-Pressures%20and%20measures.pdf
Legal framework
Water governance in the transboundary Prespa basin
Mantziou, D. (2014, May). Case Study: The Prespa Park Basin. Paper presented at the Counting our gains: Sharing experiences on identifying, assessing and communicating the benefits of transboundary water cooperation Workshop, Geneva, Switzerland
Parisopoulos et al (2008, October). Advances towards transboundary water management in the Prespa Park. Paper presented at the IV International Symposium on Transboundary Waters Management, Τhessaloniki, Greece http://www.inweb.gr/twm4/presentations/Day_2/Session_3_I/10_Parisopoulos.pdf
