Results of the International Conference “European Integration and Dniester Basin Management”

The GEF Dniester project supported the international conference “Eurointegration and Dniester Basin Management”, traditionally organized in the Republic of Moldova. The 11th conference was held on October 8-9, 2020 online, bringing together Ukrainian, Moldovan and international experts via a virtual platform.

Among the key topics of the conference was the discussion of transboundary diagnostic analysis, which contains a description of the basin, the results of the study of surface and groundwater bodies, as well as the main transboundary problems associated with the river. Based on this analysis, a strategic action program for the Dniester river basin for 2021-2035 was developed, which was also presented at the conference. Both documents were developed by experts from Moldova and Ukraine within the framework of national legislation and in accordance with the structure established by the EU Water Framework Directive.

Vladimir Mamaev, Head of the UNDP-GEF Regional Team and Regional Technical Adviser at the Istanbul UNDP Regional Center for Europe and the CIS, and Saule Ospanova, Senior Adviser on Environmental Issues at the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, noted the importance of these documents for the implementation of integrated management of the Dniester river basin.

The platform also brought together high-level representatives of the relevant ministries of both countries, who are also co-chairing the Dniester Commission – Dorin Andros, State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment of the Republic of Moldova, and Mykhailo Khoriev, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine. Both co-chairs of the Dniester Commission focused on the importance of holding the third meeting of the Dniester Commission in the near future.

The conference participants got acquainted with research on the following topics:

– optimization of the regime of the spring ecological and reproductive release from the Dniester reservoir;

– drought control and flood prevention;

– current problems of tailings storage facilities in the transboundary zone of the river basin;

– efforts against pollution of the river with organic substances;

– possible actions to restore the ichthyofauna;

– impact of recreational fishing on the state of biodiversity in the basin;

– potential educational activities for children and youth, and other important issues.

It is worth noting that owing to the online format, the conference was for the first time attended by employees of the basin administrations from Odesa, Khmelnytsky and Ivano-Frankivsk, who deal with the issues of water use, conservation and renewal of water resources of the Dniester basin on a daily basis.

The conference was organized by the International Association of River Keepers Eco-TIRAS, with financial support from the GEF / UNDP / OSCE / UNECE project “Promoting Transboundary Cooperation and Integrated Water Resources Management in the Dniester River Basin”.

The materials of the conference can be found here and on the website eco-tiras.org.