transboundary aquifers in eastern europe, the caucasus and ......transboundary aquifers inventoried...
TRANSCRIPT
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The status of transboundary
aquifers in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and
a summary of pressures and
management issues
Dr. Annukka Lipponen Water Convention secretariat
UNECE
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Earlier assessments of transboundary aquifers in the pan-European region • Inventory by UNECE Task Force on Monitoring and
Assessment 1999 (Europe) • UNECE’s First Assessment of Transboundary Rivers,
Lakes and Groundwaters 2007 (South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia)
• UNESCO-IGRAC 2009 inventory (the Caucasus and Central Asia only)
• UNECE’s Second Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters 2011 (pan-European region)
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Second Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes
and Groundwaters
• Prepared for the 7th Ministerial Conference (Astana, Kazakhstan; September 2011)
• Collective effort by Parties and non-Parties to the Water Convention, and countries outside the UNECE region
• Covers more than 140 rivers, 25 lakes, about 200 groundwaters and 25 Ramsar Sites/wetlands of transboundary importance
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Groundwater information collected & approach
• Information collected using a questionnaire on physical characteristics of the transboundary aquifers (extent, thickness, lithology etc), delineations, main uses and functions, main pressures on groundwater quantity and quality, and predicted impacts of climate change
• Based on official information provided through national experts nominated by environment and water authorities
• Country experts compare information and agree on the assessment in subregional workshops
• IGRAC assisted in compiling the inventory and prepares the TBA maps
• Groundwater looked at in an integrated way in the context of transbounday basins
• Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment under the Convention advised, reviewed and endorsed the assessments
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General conceptual models of
transboundary aquifer types
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Eastern and Northern Europe
Transboundary waters
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Transboundary aquifers inventoried in Eastern
Europe
• XX transboundary aquifers • EU border — a divide of approaches,
concepts and regulatory obligations; Joint characterization of groundwater bodies in the EU remains limited
• “aquifer” as hydrogeological unit vs. “groundwater body” as management unit
• Pressures: agriculture (quantity, fertilizer & pesticide pollution), wastewater handling, heavily polluted sites (e.g. by oil products, hazardous substances), locally mining & solid waste
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Caucasus Transboundary waters
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Transboundary aquifers inventoried in the
Caucasus
• 13 transboundary aquifers • Groundwater used mainly for drinking
water but also for irrigation and some for industry
• Main pressures sewage and waste disposal and agriculture, mining only locally
• Spatial information sketchy at best – for 5 aquifers not even the approximate delineations known
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Central Asia Transboundary waters
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Transboundary aquifers inventoried in Central
Asia
• 35 transboundary aquifers (I.R. Iran new) • Groundwater used mainly for drinking and
agriculture, animal watering, small amounts for industry and spas, mineral water
• Pressure from agriculture, industry, elevated salinity from inefficient irrigation & drainage, depletion due to heavy abstraction, waste disposal, locally mining
• No data to assess pollution even though occurrence of pollution indicated (salinization, nitrogen, pesticides, heavy metals, pathogens, organic compounds & hydrocarbons)
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General observations – monitoring & assessment
• Groundwater monitoring commonly not part of the responsibilities of environmental authorities; little coordination and integration between the agencies managing surface waters and groundwaters
• Recent monitoring data on the aquifers is scarce or in some cases monitoring is currently not performed > difficult to assess the pressure factors on transboundary aquifers
• Spatial information very limited; for many aquifers the delineations not provided – only roughly approximated
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General observations – legal basis and
institutions • Many bilateral and multilateral agreements
on transboundary waters between or with participation of countries in the EECCA subregion: often no explicit reference to groundwater, or when in the scope application to groundwater still remains very low
• principle of integrated management of surface and groundwater missing in water laws in a number of countries of the EECCA
• Joint bodies in most cases do not deal with groundwaters; among the few exceptions: groundwater bodies of basin-wide importance identified in the Danube Basin, groundwater monitoring cooperation of the Russian Federation and Estonia
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Management challenges
• Groundwater resources important – extensive use for drinking water requires protecting and improving groundwater quantity and quality
• Even though in most cases some level of monitoring introduced, monitoring inadequate & needs to be improved
• In many countries, a proper assessment and planning lacking
• Groundwater protection zones and vulnerability mapping occasionally used, but in many cases need to be improved
• Licensing of abstraction mostly used, but insufficiently, abstractions needs to be better monitored
• Better protection needed: e.g. introduction or improvement of wastewater treatment, more effective application of good agricultural practices
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Look forward: Cooperative/joint elements in
managing transboundary groundwaters – can be
explored through projects • Joint mechanisms for identification of
transboundary issues
• A joint development strategy
• A joint legal and institutional cooperative framework
• Joint studies and research
• Data exchange
• Joint programmes for awareness, participation and inter-governmental communication