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UNDP/GEF Integrated River Basin Management in the Tisza

Final Report

UNDP/GEF Tisza Medium Sized Project:

Integrating multiple benefits of wetlands and floodplains into improved transboundary management for the Tisza River Basin

June 2011


Contents

Contents.................................................................................................................................... i

Acknowledgements................................................................................................................... i

Abbreviations........................................................................................................................... ii

1 Introduction......................................................................................................................1

2 Component 1: Development and endorsement of an Integrated River Basin Management Plan....................................................................................................................3

2.1 Introduction...............................................................................................................3

2.2 Activity 1(i): – Development of a strategy for nutrient pollution reduction..............3

2.3 Activity 1(ii) – Development of a flood and drought mitigation strategy...................4

2.4 Activity 1(iii) – Combination of Tisza River Basin strategies into an Integrated River Basin Management Plan.......................................................................................................5

2.5 Activity 1(iv) Dissemination and replication...............................................................5

3 Component 2: Community-based Demonstration Projects..............................................6

3.1 Introductions.............................................................................................................6

3.2 Activity 2(i): Identification of potential demonstration projects................................6

3.3 Activity 2(ii): Agreement on priority projects to be implemented.............................6

3.4 Activity 2(iii): Implementation of demonstration projects.........................................6

3.5 Activity 2(iv): Feedback and presentation of results..................................................8

3.6 Activity 2(v): Development of replication strategy for demonstration projects........8

4 Project Management........................................................................................................9

5 Monitoring and Evaluation..............................................................................................10

5.1 Internal.................................................................................................................... 10

5.2 External....................................................................................................................10

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5.3 Lessons Learnt highlighted by the Terminal Evaluation...........................................11

Annex 1 Outputs and Deliverables.....................................................................................12

Annex 2: Meetings and Workshops.....................................................................................15

Annex 3: Consultants.......................................................................................................... 17

Annex 4 – Demonstration Project Call....................................................................................21

Annex 5: Project Achievement against Logframe................................................................27

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Acknowledgements

The UNDP/GEF Tisza Project Management Unit (Diana Heilmann and Peter Whalley) acknowledge the significant assistance and co-operation provided by a wide range of national experts, consultants and partner organisations. Without this support the key deliverables of this project would not have been achieved. In particular we would like to thank:

UNDP/GEF Tisza Project Steering Group

ICPDR – Philip Weller - Chair

Hungary – Gyula Holló (HoD 2008-2010), István Kling (HoD -2010), Péter Kovács, Mária Galambos

Romania – Dan Carlan (HoD), Gheorghe Constantin,

Slovakia – Robert Halmo (HoD), Boris Minarik

Serbia – MrAleksandar Prodanovic (HoD), Miodrag Milovanovich, Dragana Milovanovich

Ukraine – Melenevskyi Mykola (HoD), Alxei Iarochevitch, Antonina Karnaukova

The ICPDR Tisza Group:

Peter Kovac /Marike van Nood – Co-chairs of the Tisza Group

Valerii Kassianchuk · Alexei Iarochevitch · Svitlana Rebryk · Graziella Jula · Elisabeta Oprişan · Emilia Kunikova · Boris Minarik · Mária Galambos · Miodrag Milovanović · Marina Babić – Mladenović · Mladen Vučinić · Magdolna Tóth Nagy · Péter Bakonyi · Georg Rast · Klara Tothova

Consultants and Institutes

Alexander Zinke, Alexei Iarochevitch, Alliance for Living Tisza (ALT - SZÖVET), Béla Borsos, Boris Minarik, CESEP, Global Water Partnership -Slovakia, Janos Feher, János Szabó, Jaroslav Cerni Institut, Kirstie Shepherd, Marcus Venhor, Natali Cristl, Oana Islam, Sonja Seizova, Thomas Hein, VITUKI, Zakarpattya Oblast organization of All-Ukrainian Ecological League

Partner Organisations

UNDP – Klara Tothova ICPDR – Philip Weller, Anna Koch, Mihaela Popovici

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European Union – Marieke van Nood UNEP – Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention – Harald Egerer

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Abbreviations

EC DG ENV European Commission, Directorate General EnvironmentEU European UnionFAP Flood Action PlanGEF Global Environment FacilityICPDR International Commission for the Protection of the Danube RiverILD Integrated Land DevelopmentIRBM Integrated River Basin ManagementITRBMP Integrated Tisza River Basin Management PlanIW International WatersIW:LEARN GEF’s International Waters Learning Exchange Resources NetworkIWRM Integrated Water Resources ManagementMoU Memorandum of UnderstandingMSP Medium Sized ProjectMTE Mid-Term EvaluationPMU Programme Management UnitPSC Project Steering CommitteeSAP Strategic Action ProgrammeTDA Transboundary Diagnostic AnalysisTE Terminal EvaluationTRB Tisza River BasinUNDP United Nations Development ProgrammeUNECE United Nations Economic Commission for EuropeUNEP United Nations Environment ProgrammeUNOPS United Nations Office for Project ServicesWFD Water Framework DirectiveWWF Worldwide Fund for Nature

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1 Introduction

This is the Final Report of the UNDP/GEF Medium Sized Project ‘ Integrating multiple benefits of wetlands and floodplains into improved transboundary management of the Tisza River Basin’ (The UNDP/GEF Tisza Project).

The Tisza River is the largest tributary of the Danube River Basin. The basin has been subjected to many anthropogenic influences over the last 150 years that has resulted in a significantly degraded system. These include engineering works on the river for navigation and flood protection leading to the loss of wetlands and floodplains, and accentuating problems of floods downstream, excessive use of agro-chemicals (leading to nutrient and toxic substance pollution) lack of waste water treatments and mining activities releasing toxic substance pollution. In addition, predictions indicate that future growth of agriculture, coupled with climatic changes that already produce record flooding, will increase pressures on the available water resources. These problems require a concerted action by all the Tisza River Basin countries to develop and implement a more ecosystem-based approach to integrated river basin management and to address, as a priority, wetlands and floodplain restoration and management.

The UNDP/GEF Tisza Project was designed to assist the countries of the Tisza River Basin, through the ICPDR’s Tisza Group, to develop an integrated river basin management plan, combining issues of water quantity / quantity and land/ water management. The development of the plan was complemented by three sub-regional demonstration projects conceived to provide practical experiences on floodplain and wetlands for inclusion in the integrated plan.

The overall project goal: was to contribute to the environmental management of the Tisza River Basin by introducing and testing new approaches to minimize the impact of floods and to reduce nutrient pollution through enhanced use of wetlands and floodplains

Outcome 1: Adoption of policies and legislation within Tisza countries that promote the use of wetlands/floodplains for flood mitigation, nutrient retention, biodiversity enhancement and social amenity value improvement consistent with the EU WFD and IWRM

Outcome 2: Demonstration of effective floodplain management strategies at the local level through demonstration projects.

The objectives of this UNDP/GEF Tisza Project identified in the Project Document are:

1. To integrate water quality, water quantity, land use, and biodiversity objectives within integrated water resources/river basin management (IWRM/IRBM) under the legal umbrella of the EU and ICPDR and;

2. To begin implementation of IWRM principles through the testing of new approaches on wetland and floodplain management through community-based demonstration. The community-level pilot activities will link to the development and implementation of an agreed river basin management plan following the principles of IWRM and tested at the regional/local level under the governance arrangements established for management of the Tisza River Basin. The integration of water quality and quantity management is considered to be a significantly innovative approach in the basin and the results of this will be utilised elsewhere in the Danube River Basin through catalytic policies and actions of the ICPDR.

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The overall Project was executed through two main components reflecting the above objectives:

Component 1: Development of an Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan (ITRBMP), Component 2: Implementing three demonstration projects at the sub-regional level to test

the principles of integration and to provide practical information for the ITRBMP.

The Project was implemented through UNDP and executed by UNOPS. The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) was contracted as an inter-governmental body to manage the Project and provide a Project Management Unit (PMU). The Project worked closely with the ICPDR’s Tisza Group on all activities and was heavily supported by National Experts drawn from the Tisza Group and other national institutes.

The Project was under the supervision of a Project Steering Committee (PSC) that included ICPDR Heads of Delegation from the Tisza River Basin countries, national representatives and experts, UNDP, UNEP (Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention), EU (EC DG Env) and was chaired by the Executive Secretary of the ICPDR. The PCU acted as the secretariat for the PSC.

The overall project budget and finances is indicated in the following table showing planned and final budgets.

Budget at ProDock USD

Final Budgetk USD

GEF 1,000 1,000UNDP 200 200Governments of Tisza Basin 400 404ICPDR 100 100EU 180 220UNEP (Carpathian Convention) 50 53Demonstration projects co-financing:

Upper TiszaBodrog

ILD

000

907525

Other (Coca Cola) 0 55Total 1,930 2,222

During execution of the project additional co-financing/parallel financing was attracted to the following activities:

Additional funding was provided to support the Integration Workshop by the Government of Hungary, the EU and UNEP Carpathian Convention Secretariat.

The three demonstration projects attracted significant additional co-financing that was not planned in the Project Document. Co-financing was introduced as a requirement of the project grant to the demonstration projects.

In support of activities in the Upper Tisza Demonstration project on solid waste, Coca Cola provided additional resources through a parallel but linked activity in Ukraine to further

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support plastic waste reduction. This was supported by WWF (Germany) and executed through the ICPDR.

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2 Component 1: Development and endorsement of an Integrated River Basin Management Plan

2.1 Introduction

Component 1 focused on: Integration of water quality, water quantity, land-use and biodiversity objectives within integrated water resources/river basin management under the legal umbrella of the EU and the ICPDR.

As preparation for this project, agreed co-financing provided by the EU was used to undertake a Tisza River Basin Analysis1 that was the basis for the preparation of the Integrated River Basin Management Plan2. The Tisza River Basin Analysis was endorsed by the Tisza country Heads of Delegation in December 2008.

The preparation of the Plan was supervised by the ICPDR Tisza Group under the co-ordination of the PCU with the assistance of five National Experts supported by the project. The National Experts prepared national strategies for pollution reduction, flood and drought mitigation and, a national approach to integrating issues of water quantity / quality and land / water management. These national reports were synthesised by the PCU into the basin wide Integrated River Basin Management Plan for discussion by the ICPDR’s Tisza Group. Over the course of this Project, six routine Tisza Group meetings and two ‘drafting’ group meetings were held to finalise the basin wide Plan.

The Integrated River Basin Management Plan was approved by the Tisza Heads of Delegation in December 2010 and formally endorsed by the Ministers from all five countries at a meeting in April 2011. In addition the Project supported the preparation of an overview summary (Journey to a balanced Tisza Basin – An introduction to the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan ) in English and the five Tisza River Basin languages.

Component 1 comprised of four key activities:

Activity 1(i): – Development of a strategy for nutrient pollution reduction. Activity 1(ii) – Development of a flood and drought mitigation strategy Activity 1(iii) – Combination of Tisza River Basin strategies into an Integrated River Basin

Management Plan Activity 1(iv) Dissemination and replication

2.2 Activity 1(i): – Development of a strategy for nutrient pollution reduction.

Pollution Reduction Strategy (Strategy) for Tisza River Basin (TRB) has been developed in the frame of Activity 1(i) of the project. The Strategy represents one the main outcomes of the UNDP-GEF Medium-Size Project (MSP) and supported Tisza Group of the ICPDR in the development of the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan (ITRBMP).

1 Equivalent to the GEF IW Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA)2 Equivalent to the GEF IW Strategic Action Programme (SAP)

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It was developed through a collaborative process involving experts in the TRB in a recent finalized assessment of pollution and related program of measures. The process used to generate this Strategy places importance on the agreed Significant Water Management Issues and on the relevance of integration of water quality and water quantity issues in the TRB.

The Strategy itself addresses several areas for pollution reductions from point sources and diffuse sources, including accidental pollution, and it is designed to reduce pollution from organic, nutrients and hazardous substances loads from current and future developments.

The pressures assessment is based on the country specific emissions regarding organic, nutrient and hazardous substances pollution, and should be seen in relation to the respective countries’ share of the TRB.

The strategy provides the basis for the Joint Programme of Measures that responds to all pollution related pressures in response to organic, nutrients and hazardous substances pollution, in order to achieve the agreed management objectives and vision on the basin-wide

2.3 Activity 1(ii) – Development of a flood and drought mitigation strategy

Under Activity 1 (ii) of the project national flood and drought mitigation strategies have been developed, giving an overview on the ongoing activities of flood and drought management in the Tisza countries. As a final output of this activity a basin wide strategy has been prepared.

To develop the overall sub basin strategy the countries in the Tisza Basin first set targets and then defined measures to achieve those targets.

The Sub-Basin Level FAPs (Flood action programs/strategies) show a clear shift from the sole structural measures to a combined use of structural and non-structural measures. The improvement of natural retention capacities of the basins and the hazard reduction approach calls for a substantial reconsideration of the relation between the land use and the

In relation to drought mitigation first it has to be stressed that the Tisza River Basin runoff is highly variable – there are alternate periods of drought and flooding that are difficult to forecast and manage effectively. The droughts of recent years, such as the drought of August 2003, had severe effects in the region, particularly on the Hungarian Plain where agriculture was extremely affected. The lack of water reduces not only agricultural activity, but also the development of industry and urbanisation. Cities and other communities demand more water than the quantity available from rainfall and it has always been difficult to get enough water for settlements far away from rivers.

In Ukraine drought, in contrast to floods, is not consider a major threat in the Zakarpattia region thus no targets and measures are set by the Ukrainian government. The other four countries followed the same procedure as with floods: they set targets and measures to achieve those targets. In spite of this it can be seen that drought management in the Tisza countries is not as advanced as the flood management.

The Tisza basin wide strategy created the basis of recommendations included in the final outcomes of Component I – in the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan.

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2.4 Activity 1(iii) – Combination of Tisza River Basin strategies into an Integrated River Basin Management Plan

In the frame of activity 1 (iii) the following sub activities have been fulfilled:

Development of national strategies on integration Outlining general concept towards integration issues to be further included in the overall

Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan – integration chapter Development of the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan – combination of the

strategies

The ITRBM Plan summarizes pressures, indicates the status of the rivers of the Tisza River Basin, outlines visions and management objectives and related Tisza Programme of Measures to reach good water status in the Tisza River Basin by 2015.

The Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan is more than just a document; it represents a commitment by all Tisza countries to implement the measures needed to achieve real integration and coordinated sustainable development in the basin. The continued involvement by the ICPDR and the Tisza Group will serve to monitor the progress of implementation and provide necessary support for the international efforts.

On 11 April 2011, in Uzhgorod, Ukraine the Tisza Ministers and High Representatives of the countries adopted the ITRBM Plan and updated the Memorandum of Understanding to express their commitment to the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan and pledge to continue the efforts needed to achieve its goals.

2.5 Activity 1(iv) Dissemination and replication

Summary document: (Journey to a balanced Tisza Basin – An introduction to the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan) has been developed in English and the five Tisza River Basin languages

Workshops and Tisza Group meetings: Experts met every year two times to discuss the ITRBM Plan and to reach common agreement on the content and final conclusions of strategies. Experts were represented all the Tisza countries and the European Commission. In the frame of the project six Tisza Group meetings, six UNDP/GEF Tisza project workshops, two stakeholder conference and several public hearings, integration workshops and consultations were held and organized.

Lessons/experiences from demonstration projects: The Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan includes outcomes of the demonstration project and considering lessons leant in its recommendations.

Website: During the project period websites have been developed for public users as well as for technical experts creating both public and internal sides.

Communication strategy: The main goal of this document is to develop a communication strategy to assist with the dissemination and replication of the achievements of the UNDP/GEF Tisza Project and the Tisza Group plus to be a guide to the on-going work of the Tisza Group. The material incorporates comments and suggestions from the UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP Final Stakeholder Workshop in April 2011.

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3 Component 2: Community-based Demonstration Projects

3.1 Introductions

Component 2 has been focusing on: Implementation of IWRM principles through the testing of new approaches on wetlands and floodplain management through community-based demonstration projects. An important objective of this component has been to provide ‘bottom-up’ practical experiences and lessons on IWRM approaches to compliment the ‘top-down’ integrated river basin management plan developed under Component 1. The lessons and practical experiences from the demonstration projects were include in the Integrated River Basin Management Plan to further spread the benefits of alternative land / water management approaches (especially with regards to floodplains/wetlands) and to encourage replication.

Component 2 comprised of five key activities:

Activity 2(i): Identification of potential demonstration projects Activity 2(ii): Agreement on priority projects to be implemented Activity 2(iii): Implementation of demonstration projects Activity 2(iv): Feedback and presentation of results Activity 2(v): Development of replication strategy for demonstration projects

3.2 Activity 2(i): Identification of potential demonstration projects

Following the Inception phase of the project, a public call for project ideas was launched and advertised on the UNDP and project website. Interested organisations were invited to submit a short outline of project ideas linked to the objectives of the project, the needs of the ICPDR Tisza Group, etc. using a template and guidance prepared by the PCU (Annex 4). 17 projects ideas were delivered by the deadline with a further three post deadline (but still accepted for consideration

3.3 Activity 2(ii): Agreement on priority projects to be implemented

A committee, drawn from the participating partners, assessed the relevance of the projects to the goals of the MSP using agreed criteria (also provided to the applicants in Annex XX) and deliver a short-list of three demonstration projects for approval by the ICPDR Tisza Group. Through UNDP co-financing an international consultant was recruited to work with the three demonstration project teams to assist with developing full proposals including identifying co-finance to further assist the projects. This assistance by UNDP was considered by all involved to have been highly beneficial. The finalised and detailed project proposals were endorsed by the Project Steering Committee in December 2008.

3.4 Activity 2(iii): Implementation of demonstration projects

In preparation for the contracting of the three demonstration projects, the PCU and UNDP provided guidance on the required technical and financial reporting requirements. This included the project managers’ participation at all the ICPDR Tisza Group events to ensure familiarity with the development of the Integrated River Basin Management Plan and a good two-way communication on the experiences and lessons from the demonstration projects to the Tisza Group.

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All three demonstration projects held an inception meeting in June/July 2009 and participated in the following shared and individual events:

ICPDR’s Tisza Group Meetings (November 2009, April 2010, September 2010 and April 2011) Participation in the UNDP/GEF Tisza Project Stakeholder Workshop (November 2009 – held

back-to-back with Tisza Group) Participation at the joint Tisza Group/Project workshop on Integration (April 2010) With UNDP co-finance support, organised three sub-regional workshops to bring the

conclusions of the Integration workshop to wider stakeholders (June/July 2010). Participation at final project workshop (April 2011 – linked to the Ministerial Meeting and

ICPDR Tisza Group meeting).

The Upper Tisza Project completed its technical work in September 2010 and the Bodrog and ILD projects in January 2011. The delay was due to poor weather conditions during the practical implementation of the work.

The following summaries of the three demonstration projects have been taken from the Terminal Evaluation Report for the Project.

Demonstration project: “Selected Measures Towards integrated Land and Water Management in Upper Tisza, Ukraine”. This project was particularly successful in demonstrating a variety of innovative and cost-effective solutions for typical environmental problems faced by communities in the Upper Tisza floodplains. This component was further subdivided into five additional sub-activities which varied both as to local stakeholders and geographic location. These included:

Communal waste management system for the villages of Velyky Bychkiv in Ukraine and Bocicoiu Mare in Romania.

A local Flood Risk Management Plan was developed and implemented for the village of Velyky Bychkiv in Ukraine.

Physical cleaning of mountain stream, riverbed restoration and revitalization of lake habitat, Ukraine and Romania.

Re-opening of water monitoring station in Kobyletska Polyana, Ukraine. New low cost waste water treatment facility designed and constructed for local

orphanage and boarding school, Velyky Bychkiv, Ukraine.

This demonstration project was particularly notable for its exemplary implementation success which the Evaluator believes can be directly attributed to several factors beginning with the exceptional local project management team, the many faceted levels of enthusiastic community support (private and public), together with the full backing of the local village mayor of Velyky Bychkiv.

Demonstration project: “Making Space for Water in the Bodrog River basin”. This project’s main objective was to mitigate the consequences of flooding through consistent and holistic management of flood risk in Bodrog river basin countries, Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. The project managed to achieve varying degrees of success by creating partnerships between national and local level stakeholders through the development of a strategy for flood mitigation and offering sustainable solutions for flood prevention. Some delivery setbacks were encountered when site venues needed to be changed and exceptionally

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inclement weather and flooding conditions occurred during project implementation. The project also highlighted the particular challenges faced by local communities where local environmental initiatives are in competition with over arcing economic policies which inhibit acceptance of sacrifice for the public good. Nonetheless the project was important for its successful demonstration of broad stakeholder involvement and the introduction, in some regions, of the concept of public hearings and mobilizing public participation. These latter attributes particularly favour the long term sustainability of project outcomes and concurrent expectations for replicability.

Demonstration project: “Integrated land development (ILD) program to improve land use and water management efficiency in the Tisza basin”. This project had a threefold objective consisting of the need to: (1) develop a comprehensive ILD manual, (2) select specific pilot sites to demonstrate the practical implementation of the ILD approach in Hungary and in the Republic of Serbia and Romania where similar partner organisations were active; and (3) disseminate the information gathered, the experiences gained and the results obtained to the benefit the Tisza basin as a whole and the wider Danube basin community. Viewed objectively, and in hindsight, the project was felt to be too ambitious in scope both for the time allotted and the limited resources available. Moreover the project suffered a major setback due to the untimely illness and death of the local project manager who had conceived the project and had provided the initial design. Remedial action taken by the MSP PIU team and the hiring of an outside consultant enabled the project to achieve its objectives in modified form. While the project has undeniably produced a very valuable ILD manual, it may be argued that the more valuable outcome was the project’s inadvertent success in identifying the full range of problems surrounding the state of ILD acceptance in the Tisza basin countries. The list of barriers and opportunities is a comprehensive one and includes social, ideological, legal and institutional issues, - all of which, taken together, create a very good baseline which lends itself for further government action and donor attention.

3.5 Activity 2(iv): Feedback and presentation of results

A final workshop (linked to the Ministerial Meeting that endorsed the Integrated River Basin Management Plan and the ICPDR’s Tisza Group Meeting) was organised to present both the final Plan and the lessons from the demonstration projects. The workshop (Uzghorod, April 2011) involved a wide range of local and regional stakeholders and also provided a forum for the presentation of the ‘Communication Strategy’ developed by the project.

3.6 Activity 2(v): Development of replication strategy for demonstration projects

A Communication Strategy was developed by the Project to cover both dissemination to stakeholders of the work of the Project and to facilitate the replication of project activities. The Strategy was presented and discussed at the Tisza Group Meeting (April 2011). This Strategy has been adopted by the Tisza Group and will be further refined to assist with their future communication activities proving a beneficial legacy from the UNDP/GEF Project.

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4 Project Management

A Project Management Unit (PCU) was established within the ICPDR’s Secretariat based in Vienna. The PCU comprised of a part-time Project Manager and a full-time project expert. The PCU was extensively supported by the ICPDR’s Financial Manager and the ICPDR’s Technical Expert for Pollution Management when required. All financial and contractual procedures were under the guidance of the ICPDR.

All required project reports (technical, reporting and financial) were either prepared by, or approved by the PCU.

The project maintained a website on the ICPDR’s site to ensure consistency with the on-going work of the Tisza Group. Whilst this did not utilise the GEF IW:LEARN templates the main objective was to ensure the ICPDR’s and Tisza Group’s stakeholders had regular access to the information

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5 Monitoring and Evaluation

5.1 Internal

Reports: As planned in the ProDoc, the project prepared:

Brief quarterly reports and risk matrix assessments for UNDP. Annual Progress Reports / Project Implementation Reviews (APR/PIR) for UNDP Detailed yearly reports for UNOPS on progress.

Project Steering Committee: The Project presented progress and future activities to an annual Project Steering Committee comprised of the Tisza Countries Heads of Delegation to the ICPDR, Tisza experts (as identified by the Heads of Delegation), UNDP, UNEP (Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention), European Commission and ICPDR experts. The PSC was chaired by the Executive Secretary of the ICPDR. Minutes of the meetings are available on the project website

5.2 External

Following guidance from UNDP and GEF the Project underwent a mid-term evaluation (November 2009) and a terminal evaluation (May 2011).

Mid-Term Evaluation

UNOPS and UNDP developed a ToR and recruited an expert (Alexander Zinke) to undertake a mid-term evaluation of the Project. In support of this activity UNDP also recruited an expert to provide a detailed assessment of the activities of the three demonstration projects which was mainly aimed at providing targeted advice to the demonstration projects but also provide valuable input to the MTE of the UNDP/GEF Tisza Project.

The reports prepared for the MTE and the assessment of the demonstration projects are available on the project website.

UNDP in collaboration with the PCU undertook a Management Review of the actions listed in the MTE and prepared a response for implementation by the project. All actions were implemented by the PCU.

Terminal Evaluation

UNOPS and UNDP developed a ToR and recruited an expert (Lubomyr Markevych) to undertake the Terminal Evaluation of the Project. The evaluator participated at the Ministerial Meeting (Uzghorod, Ukraine – April 2011) and visited the Upper Tisza demonstration project.

The Terminal Evaluation is available on the Project website in summary it quoted:

The Evaluation finds the overall Results rating for the project to be Satisfactory. The three main components of the Results rating -- Relevance, Effectiveness and Efficiency -- received “Highly Satisfactory,” “Satisfactory” and “Satisfactory” ratings respectively.

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The Evaluation considered Sustainability with respect to project Outcomes and the Four Main Dimensions of Sustainability (Financial, Socio-political, Institutional/Governance, and Environmental). The likelihood of sustainability for project Outcomes is rated Likely and the likelihood of sustainability with respect to the four dimensions is rated Moderately Likely. The project’s Monitoring and Evaluation work is rated Satisfactory.

Summary of the ratings of the project.

Project Aspect RatingOverall Result: Satisfactory

Results breakdown: - Relevance Highly Satisfactory- Effectiveness Highly Satisfactory- Efficiency Satisfactory

Sustainability- Sustainability of Outcomes Likely- Four dimensions of Sustainability Moderately Likely

M&E System Satisfactory

5.3 Lessons Learnt highlighted by the Terminal Evaluation

The projects offered alternative water steering opportunity taken into account the original morphological features of the disconnected, inactive (“protected”) floodplain

The interventions of the pilot demonstration projects serves as a good example of floodplain restoration and originates better flood control conditions by creating temporary “space” for water during flood events and in time these measures are improving habitat conditions (e.g. water regime) and creating new opportunities in connection to agricultural use.

The projects involved wide range of stakeholders (environmental scientist, flood experts, waste management expert as well as local citizens) initiating cooperation between the different fields of integrated river basin management and demonstrating in practice the often abstract `terms` of “transboundary river basin management”, “ecosystem rehabilitation (as well as “waste management” in case of the Upper Tisza project)

The stakeholder workshops and meetings enabled to strengthen understanding of linkages between the demonstration projects and the ITRBM Plan.

Experiences showed that early involvement of local stakeholders in the design process helped to find consensus among the partners and helped the designer to submit the plan for license in time.

Other experiences highlighted, however, that willingness of farmers to cooperate is highly depending on ownership situation and agro-environment subsidies which, in several cases are de-motivating farmers to change arable land to grass land or wetlands.

Any real progress can only be made when water management approaches are fully integrated with a complete paradigm shift in land use practices and patterns, mostly on agricultural land

Such “simple” solutions can be implemented in other sub-river basins as well

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Annex 1 Outputs and Deliverables

Component 1

Activity Title Location (www)1 (iii) Integration strategy:

A) NATIONAL SCALEIntegration of water quality and quantity issues in the TRB - Ukrainian national report

Published for internal uses only

Integration of water quality and quantity issues in the TRB - Romanian national report


Integration of water quality and quantity issues in the TRB - Slovakian national report


Integration of water quality and quantity issues in the TRB - Hungarian national report


Integration of water quality and quantity issues in the TRB - Serbian national report


B) TISZA BASIN WIDE SCALESummary document of the ITRBM Plan (developed in five languages)

http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/tisza_undp_gef.htm

Summary report of integration workshop - background documents - 6 (also relevant for component 2)

http://www.ecologic-events.eu/tisza/index.htm

Background Paper (BP1): Integrating multiple benefits of wetlands and floodplains into improved transboundary management for the Tisza River Basin


Background Paper (BP2):Sustainable agriculture and forestry for the Tisza River Basin minimizing impacts on water quality and quantity


Background Paper (BP3): Accidental Pollution in the Tisza River Basin


Background Paper (BP4): Hydromorphological impacts of flood protection measures for the Tisza River Basin


Background Paper (BP5): Water pricing policies in agriculture to limit demands


Background Paper (BP6): Proposal to Establish a Joint, Streamlined Multi-level Action Planning Procedure for Managing Drought in the Tisza River Basin


ITRBM Plan – Final adopted version (including maps and annexes)


Policy paper – Memorandum of Understanding Strengthening of Tisza River Basin cooperation Towards the implementation of the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan supporting the sustainable development of the region


1(ii) Flood and Drought mitigation strategyA) NATIONAL SCALE

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Activity Title Location (www)Sub-Basin Level Flood Action Program - Ukraine Published for internal uses onlyFlood & Drought Mitigation Strategy – Tisza River Basin - National Report Romania


Flood & Drought mitigation strategy – Tisza River Basin - Slovakian National Report


Flood & Drought mitigation strategy – Tisza River Basin - Hungarian National report


Draft National Flood and Drought mitigation strategy Report for the Tisza River Basin -Republic of Serbia -


B) TISZA BASIN WIDE SCALEFlood and Drought mitigation strategy for the TRB

http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/item20100621095910.htm

1(i) Pollution reduction strategyA) NATIONAL SCALEData collection into DANUBEGIS and MONERIS model (country by country)

http://www.danubegis.org/public/Default.faces

B) TISZA BASIN WIDE SCALE

Pollution reduction strategy for the TRBhttp://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/item20100621095910.htm

Component 2

Activity Title Location (www)2 (i)

List of project ideashttp://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/tisza_undp_gef.htm

Project proposal of three short listed projects

http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/integrated_land_development.htm

http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/ukraine_kick_off_meeting.htm

http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/bodrog_kick_off_meeting.htm

2 (ii) Minutes of the 1st Stakeholder workshop and 1st PSC meeting


2 (iii) Summary reports/minutes of kick-off meetings of the three short listed project


http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-

16














Activity Title Location (www)

pages/ukraine_kick_off_meeting.htm


Monitoring and evaluation report - Mid termhttp://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/tisza_undp_gef.htm

Final report of the demonstration projects

http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/integrated_land_development.htmhttp://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/ukraine_kick_off_meeting.htmhttp://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/bodrog_kick_off_meeting

2 (iv)Final Stakeholder workshop (minutes)


1(iv) – 2(v) Dissemination

Brochure/2011: Journey to a balanced Tisza basin (An introduction to the ITRBM Plan – Summary document) - published in five languages


Brochure/2009: Towards Integrated Water Management in the Tisza River Basin


Background - Danube Watch 2007/3 - Article - Tisza and Carpathian highlights at Europe`s Environment Conference

http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/dw0703_p_10.htm

Danube Watch 2008/1 - NEWS - GEF establishes new project in the Tisza River Basin


Danube Watch 2008/2 - ARTICLE - The Tisza River Basin gets a new focus on wetlands


Danube Watch 2009/3-4 - ARTICLE - The Tisza Group experts and stakeholders head towards the Plan


Danube Watch 2011 – ARTICLE - Tisza River Basin Management: successful cooperation from the ground up


Articles (2) in Ukrainian newspapers about the UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP

Published in printed newspapers and magazine

Upper Tisza project - movie Disseminated in DVD formatwebsite (1): http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/tisza_undp_gef.htm

N/A

website (2 - internal with password): http://danubis.icpdr.org/pls/danubis/DANUBIS_DB.DYN_NAVIGATOR.show

N/A

Posters of the demonstration projectsIntroduced and showed in relevant meetings, workshops

Tisza River Basin Communication Strategy (for the communication of the main conclusions, lessons learnt and measures based on the outcomes of the work of the Tisza


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http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/bodrog_kick_off_meeting

http://www.icpdr.org/icpdr-pages/bodrog_kick_off_meeting













Activity Title Location (www)Group and the UNDP/GEF Tisza project )Experiment notes - Development and Endorsement of an International River Basin Management Plan


Experiment notes - Plastic waste – a very visible indicator of pollution


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Annex 2: Meetings and Workshops

Date of the meeting Title of the meeting Place 200816-17 January 2008 Tisza Group / MSP workshop preparatory meeting Vienna, Austria 11 June 2008 Kick of meeting of the project Belgrade, Serbia21-22 April and 5 May 2008

Project management meetings Vienna, Bratislava, Austria/Slovakia

24 September 2008 Workshop (back to back with the 11th Tisza Group meeting)

Kosice, Slovakia

2nd PSC meeting of the project Vienna, Austria200926 January 2009 Preparatory meeting for the 12th Tisza Group meeting

and Integration workshop Vienna, Austria

16 February 2009 Task meeting on flood and drought related issues (VITUKI)

Budapest, Hungary

20 February 2009 Stakeholder meeting in Hungary – project dissemination - Kárpátok – Tisza International Development Association)

Tokaj, Hungary

25 March 2009 International conference on `Solid communal waste treatment and preventing transboundary water pollution`-

Nyíregyháza, Hungary

24-25 March 2009 Meeting with UNDP/GEF La Plata project to brief visitors on UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP and UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project co-ordinated by IWLEARN

Vienna/Budapest, Austria/Hungary

09 April 2009 2nd Workshop of the UNDP/GEF Tisza project back to back with the 12th Tisza Group meeting

Budapest, Hungary

10-12 June 2009 Kick of meeting of Bodrog and Upper Tisza projects Uzhgorod, Velyky Bychkyv, Ukraine

15-16 June 2009 Kick of meeting of ILD project Senta, Serbia 1-2 July 2009 TICAD Kick of meeting – dissemination of UNDP/GEF

project activitiesTiszafüred, Hungary

17-18 September 2009

Editing Group meeting (Integration strategy) Vienna, Austria

26-30 October 2009 UNDP/GEF meeting Cairn, Australia 12-13 November 2009

13th Tisza Group meeting and UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP workshop

Kosice, Slovakia

27 November 2009 TICAD meeting in VÁTI Budapest, Hungary9 December 2009 3rd PSC meeting Vienna, Austria201020 January 2010 1st Preparatory meeting related to the Integration

workshop (meeting with Marieke van Nood - EU DG Environment)

Brussels, Belgium

28 January 2010 STIRD Kick off meeting – Discussion on Tisza related issues

Budapest, Hungary

29 January 2010 Meeting with Hungarian Tisza experts (Ministry of Environment)

Budapest, Hungary

16 February 2010 Ministerial Meeting for the Danube (Tisza Statement) Vienna, Austria12 March 2010 Meeting in Hungary with experts – preparatory meeting

related to the integration workshop (KvVM, VKKI)Budapest, Hungary

25 March 2010 2nd Preparatory meeting related to the Integration workshop (meeting with Marieke van Nood - EU DG Environment)

Brussels, Belgium

1 April 2010 TICAD meeting Budapest, Hungary26-27 April 2010 UNDP/GEF Tisza project Workshop on Integration back Szolnok, Hungary

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Date of the meeting Title of the meeting Place to back with the 14th Tisza Group meeting

10-11 May 2010 UNECE – Climate change meeting Geneva, Switzerland

13-15 June 2010 Integration workshop of the ILD project Nagykörü, Hungary

24-26 June 2010 Integration workshop of the Upper Tisza project Velyky Byckyv, Ukraine

30 September/1 October

15th Tisza Group meeting

25-28 October 2010 Peer to peer exchange of the LivingWater project Uzhgorod, Ukraine23-24 November 2010

Climate change conference Brussels, Belgium

8 December 2010 4th PSC meeting of the project Vienna, Austria201115-16 February 2011 Preparatory meeting for the Tisza Ministerial meeting Kiev, Ukraine24-25 March 2011 TICAD Conference – presentation about the Tisza River

Basin Activities (UNDP/GEF Tisza project and Tisza Group)

Budapest, Hungary

11 April 2011 Tisza Ministerial meeting Uzhgorod, Ukraine 12 April 2011 16th Tisza Group meeting Uzhgorod, Ukraine12-13 April 2011 UNDP/GEF Tisza Project Final Stakeholder meeting Uzhgorod, Ukraine19 May 2011 Follow-up project preparation meeting (VÁTI/TICAD)16-17 June 2011 Final presentation about the UNDP/GEF Tisza project in

the frame of the 9th STWG of the ICPDR Kiev, Ukraine

20


Annex 3: Consultants

Component 1

Consultant Activity Final OutputAlexei Iarochevitch 1 (i-iii) The consultant was nominated by the Ukrainian Ministry

to facilitate and help the preparation of strategies and dissemination materials of the UNDP/GEF Tisza project. Main final outputs:

National Flood and Drought Strategy National Strategy on Integration National P-reduction strategy Development of Hydromorphology related

chapters of the ITRBMP Translation of dissemination materials Contribution, participation and presentations in

relevant meetings of the UNPD/GEF Tisza projectJaroslav Cerni Institut 1 (i-iii) The consultant was nominated by the Serbian Ministry to

facilitate and help the preparation of strategies and dissemination materials of the UNDP/GEF Tisza project. Main final outputs:

National Flood and Drought Strategy National Strategy on Integration National P-reduction strategy Development of Groundwater related chapters of

the ITRBMP Translation of dissemination materials Contribution, participation and presentations in

relevant meetings of the UNPD/GEF Tisza projectVITUKI – János Fehér 1 (i-iii) The consultant was nominated by the Hungarian Ministry


National Flood and Drought Strategy National Strategy on Integration Development of Status assessment related

chapters of the ITRBMP Translation of dissemination materials Contribution, participation and presentations in

relevant meetings of the UNPD/GEF Tisza projectCESEP 1 (i-iii) The consultant was nominated by the Romanian Ministry


National Flood and Drought Strategy National Strategy on Integration Pollution Reduction Strategy Development of Economic and JPM chapters of

the ITRBMP Contribution, participation and presentations in

relevant meetings of the UNPD/GEF Tisza projectOana Islam 1 (iv), 2(v) Development of Dissemination materials of the UNDP/GEF

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Consultant Activity Final OutputTisza Project (Final Summary document and ILD summary – translation and design)

Boris Minarik 1 (i-iii) The consultant was nominated by the Slovakian Ministry to facilitate and help the preparation of strategies and dissemination materials of the UNDP/GEF Tisza project. Main final outputs:

National Flood and Drought Strategy National Strategy on Integration Translation of dissemination materials

Development of Management objectives and Exemptions related chapters of the ITRBMP

Contribution, participation and presentations in relevant meetings of the UNPD/GEF Tisza project

Natali Cristl 1 (iv), 2(v) Development of Dissemination material of the UNDP/GEF Tisza Project (Articles and news to be disseminated in Ukrainian newspapers)

Sonja Seizova 1 (iv), 2(v) Development of Dissemination material of the UNDP/GEF Tisza Project (Final Summary document and ILD summary – translation and design)

Marcus Venhor 1 (i), 1 (iii) Nutrient pollution related scenarios Calculation/results of nutrient scenarios and

pollution reduction effects by 2015 for the TRB and separately in the TRB countries

o Calculation of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions in the TRB in relation to the scenarios

o Reference situation and calculated baseline scenario – nutrients 2015

Estimation of effects of national measures on the basin wide scale related to nitrogen and phosphorus pollution

Comparison with the DRB results – evaluation of the contribution of the TRB in the DRB and Black Sea nutrient pollution and expert judgement on the most effective measures country by country.

Preparation of a presentation to the April workshop and Tisza Group meeting (26-28 April 2010)

Alexander Zinke 1 (iii) Background Paper (BP3): Accidental Pollution in the Tisza River Basin

Thomas Hein 1 (iii) Background Paper (BP1): Integrating multiple benefits of wetlands and floodplains into improved transboundary management for the Tisza River Basin

Kirstie Shepherd 1 (iv), 2(v) Proofreading of ITRBMP; writing the Tisza Summary document

János Szabó 1 (ii) Background Paper (BP6): Proposal to Establish a Joint, Streamlined Multi-level Action Planning Procedure for Managing Drought in the Tisza River Basin

Béla Borsos 1 (iv), 2(v) Communication strategy for the further dissemination of UNDP/GEF Project lessons learnt and outcomes of the ICPDR Tisza Group activities

22


23


Component 2

Consultant Activity Final OutputGlobal Water Partnership -Slovakia

2(iii) Project main outputs Formulation of the “Strategy for mitigation of

floods for Bodrog River Basin countries”. Improvement of conditions of original floodplains

and wetlands affected by current land uses and environmentally inappropriate flood protection measures. (Pilot demonstration projects, interventions carried out serve as a good example of floodplain restoration, increase conditions for flood control formulated, with view to create temporary “space” for water during flood events.)

Alliance for Living Tisza (ALT - SZÖVET)

2(iii) Project main outputs: Landscape strategy Barriers and opportunities ILD Manual Legal review checklist and questionnaire

(Hungarian and English) ILD comparative legal assessment (in Hungarian) ILD Legal review (English) List of ILD pilot site land survey documents (Land

survey deliverables.doc) ILD Toolkit contents (ILD toolkit konc4 BB-BP

vég.doc) ILD Summary in English and in Hungarian

Zakarpattya Oblast organization of All-Ukrainian Ecological League

2(iii) Project main outputs by involvements of two villages on both side of

Tisza the project restored relations and practically supported Ukrainian-Romanian cooperation at local level, which is an important element of successful implementation of the RBM,

the project practically showed how to establish sustainable local waste management system and supported first PET bottles recycling unit in Ukrainian part of the Upper Tisza, supporting the decrease of pollution by communal waste of water courses;

the project showed low-cost and simple methods to mitigate local floods consequences in the villages (such an sediments trapper construction and enlargement of the space on bottle-necks under bridges);

for the first time in Ukraine flood hazard and flood risk maps following the requirements of EU Flood Directive were established. Later this experience was further disseminated at national and international levels.

the project took simple and easy actions regarding restoration of the mountains creeks after forest cutting. As a result, we have healthy

24


Consultant Activity Final Outputecosystem and even fish returned back to the creek. The methodology developed and tested was provided to the State Forestry Commitee to become a basic for the relevant legal act.

the project support biodiversity studies on the lakes and gave recommendations how to avoid overgrowing of the lake by plants.

the project created automatic gauging station at Shopurka river, (tributary of Tisza, not covered previously by the monitoring station). The data are visible on-line for Ukrainian and Romanian colleagues at http://gmc.uzhgorod.ua This way monitoring system of both countries was strengthened.

the project promoted installation quite cheap and easy in operation local wastewater treatment facilities with biological cleaning, whose application will lead to decrease of untreated wastewaters entering Tisza, which corresponds to the goals of RBM.

25

http://gmc.uzhgorod.ua/


Annex 4 – Demonstration Project Call

CALL FOR PROJECT IDEAS

IN HUNGARY, ROMANIA, SERBIA, SLOVAKIA AND UKRAINE

in the frame of the UNDP/GEF project

Integrating multiple benefits of wetlands and floodplains into improved trans-boundary management for the Tisza River Basin

The purpose of the Call is to identify several project ideas, which could be further developed into full project proposals, with the support of the UNDP/GEF project, and submitted for

UNDP/GEF funding.

Background

The Tisza River is the largest tributary of the Danube River Basin and includes part of the territory of Ukraine, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Romania and Republic of Serbia. Over the last 150 years the basin has been subject to significant anthropogenic impacts that have resulted in a significantly degraded system, particularly in terms of pollution and the loss of floodplains and wetlands. In addition, predictions indicate that future growth of agriculture, coupled with climatic changes that already produce record flooding, will increase pressures on the available water resources. These problems require a concerted action by all the Tisza River Basin countries to develop and implement a more ecosystem-based approach to integrated river basin management and to address, as a priority, wetlands and floodplain restoration and management.

The UNDP/GEF project will provide support in developing an integrated strategy for water quality and water quantity that is incremental to the current work. The UNDP/GEF project will also implement demonstration projects that test the multiple environmental benefits of wetlands to mitigate impacts of floods and droughts and help to reduce nutrient pollution. Implementation of demonstration projects will showcase concrete advantages of an integrated land and water resource management at the community-level that will also lead to improved livelihoods of local communities. The results will also be an important step in delivering changes to current policies on wetlands and floodplains in the Tisza River Basin. The practical work will be undertaken through local organizations.

The project will be organized under the umbrella of the ICPDR as this organization is responsible for the management of the whole Danube River Basin and has established the ‘Tisza Group’ to manage the Tisza River Basin. In addition to the ICPDR, GEF and UNDP, the main project partners are the national governments of the Tisza River Basin, the United Nation Environmental Program (UNEP) and the European Commission.

The Carpathian Convention addresses the need for coordinated sustainable development throughout the Carpathian region, which includes significant portions of the Tisza Basin.

26


Integrated land and water management

The integrated ecosystem management considers linkages and interactions among natural systems and people, including economic and social factors. It integrates economic and social factors into ecosystem management goals. It includes land use harmonized with existing natural conditions, which beside maintenance of the landscape and natural habitats, ensures livelihood of the local community. Integrated ecosystem management includes sustainable land use activities, which respect the diversity of habitats, while oriented to economic profitability, as in case of any other land use activities.

The integrated land and water management harmonizes the land use with natural water level fluctuation. It integrates the water quality, water quantity, land use and biodiversity objectives to ensure sustainability.

Additionally the Carpathian Convention’s objectives are closely linked to aims of the UNDP/GEF Tisza project, and Article 6 of the Convention specifically contains provisions for "Sustainable and integrated water/river basin management".

Eligibility criteria

1. Relevance to priority concerns in the Tisza river basin a. water quality and quantityb. nutrient & hazardous substance pollution, c. flood protection, d. loss of floodplains

2. Trans-boundary involvement and benefits;3. Local community involvement and interest (from a wide range of stakeholders);4. Support of local / national administrations;5. Local benefits of implementing projects (e.g. tourism, minimizing damage from floods, etc.);6. High benefits for biodiversity – species or habitats7. Existing project underway or in advanced stage of planning which could be supplemented by

UNDP/GEF project;8. Lack of planning approval problems;9. Availability of national or international resources (cash or in-kind) to co-finance UNDP/GEF

budget;10. Maximum project duration 18 months11. Sustainability post-project;12. Approach can be replicated elsewhere in Tisza/Danube river basins – and wider;

Projects ideas will be ranked for each criterion as follows:

- for criteria 1-6 ranked from 1 to 5 (1- weak; 5 strong);- For criteria 7-12 ranked from 1-3 (1- weak; 3 strong).

Eligible activities

Examples of eligible activities include management activities and small-scale investments in the following areas:

27


Management and restoration of habitats (related to water regime and water quality, and agricultural use, including pasture, forestry, fishing, etc.)

Processing and marketing of traditional local products, which have been produced using sustainable land management practices

Elaboration of plans might be also considered, if followed by implementation of concrete activities.

Complementary or mirror projects representing a harmonized initiative in the trans-boundary region involving 2-3 participating countries are eligible. Initiatives might include individual projects or micro-grant schemes for a specific micro-region. Initiatives might submit one joint application, or apply separately, indicating the complementary or mirror project(s) in the other country(ies).

Grant available

The total grant available is 350.000 USD. Number of supported project will depend on the ideas presented. It is expected that 2-4 trans-boundary initiatives will be funded, each representing a different trans-boundary region.

Application procedure

The project idea can be submitted (format attached in Annex 1) by local and/or regional governmental, non-governmental or private organization, in partnership with wide range of local stakeholders. Partnership with a local civil society organization and local government will be considered as an asset. Local stakeholders should be represented, among others, by local entrepreneurs, other civil society organizations, state and public organizations.

A long-list of projects with highest ranking, maximum 2 for each bilateral or tri-lateral cross-border region, will be submitted for approval to the Tisza Group.

The Tisza Group will select the short-list of project ideas to be developed further into project proposals. Technical assistance will be provided from the UNDP project (in particular, but also from other project partners) to support the elaboration of project proposals. Priority will be given to projects representing different trans-boundary areas.

Representatives of 5 participating countries – National Governments -, GEF, UNDP, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), UNEP and UNOPS will evaluate the project proposals and approve the award of grant for the implementation of selected demonstration projects.

Deadline for submission of project ideas: 22 August 2008

Dissemination of `Call for project ideas` (present proposal) – uploaded to the http://www.icpdr.org/undp-gef-tisza website as well as will be sent directly to interested organizations

14 July 2008

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Deadline for the `Call for project ideas` 12 September 2008Selection of project ideas - agree on a shortlist of projects based on the selection criteria (ICPDR Tisza Group together with the UNDP/GEF Tisza project in the frame of the project workshop held back to back with the ICPDR Tisza Group meeting in September)

23-24 September 2008 (Kosice, SK)

Assisting selected projects to develop project proposal including detailed workplan, budget and indicators (in particular UNDP will assist the short-listed projects further develop their ideas in to more detailed proposals.)

September – November 2008

The detailed proposals will be presented at a stakeholder workshop to seek feedback and comment, and enable refinement of the concepts.

November (date to be agreed)

Formal approval on grant award (the 'final' proposals will be presented to the UNDP/GEF Tisza Project Steering Committee in December)

December 2008

Start of demonstration projects implementation 1st quarter 2009Completion of demonstration projects implementation Autumn 2010

Applicants are requested to please send in hard copy or electronic versions of project ideas in English in the attached format to:

Ms. Klara TothovaCountry Support TeamUNDP Regional Centre

Grosslingova 35

811 09 Bratislava

[email protected]

as well as to

Ms. Diana HeilmannICPDR – UNDP/GEF Technical Project AssistantICPDR1220 Vienna/AustriaWagramer Strasse [email protected]

29

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Annex 1

PROJECT IDEA APPLICATION FORMAT

in the frame of the UNDP/GEF project

Integrating multiple benefits of wetlands and floodplains into improved trans-boundary management for the Tisza River Basin

I General information

Project titleProject summary (max. 5 sentences)Project area (municipality, county/region, any other relevant area description)Requested grant USDAvailable co-financing Source:Amount:

USD

Project duration (max 18 months)Relevance with other application in the transboundary regionProject title:Name of applicant:

YES / NO

II Applicant information

Name of applicantType of organizationBrief description of organization mission

(max. 3 sentences)

Recent activities relevant to the project

(most important in last 3 years)

Contact personName:Address:Phone:Fax:e-mail:web-site:Project partnersName:Type of organization:Brief description of activities:Role in the project:

(add new line for each partner)

30


III Project information(max. 3 pages)

a) Describe the problem(s) this project intends to address. What would happen without UNDP/GEF support?

b) Outline the project objective, activities and outputs.

c) Describe how the sustainability of project results will be ensured.

d) Describe the potential for replication elsewhere.

e) Summarize activities, programs and projects being undertaken by other organizations that could influence your project, and how your project could collaborate with them.

f) List the project partners that have been already approached and agreed on the cooperation. Describe their role in the project.

g) List potential donors and in-kind contributors to project activities.

h) Estimate timeline and budget summary.

31


Annex 5: Project Achievement against Logframe

Project Objective and Outcomes

Description of Indicator

Baseline Level Target Level Level at 30 June 2011

Overall objective: Integrated River Basin Management Plans adopted in all countries

Adoption of an integrated plan by 2011

3 EU countries introduce WFD RBM plan by 2009

All 5 countries accept a basin-wide integrated management plan by 2011

All 5 countries use a harmonised methodology for data collection, reporting and evaluation in line with new EU reporting schemes for the development of the ITRBM Plan

ITRBM Plan approved by Tisza Heads of Delegation (December 2010) and endorsed by Ministers from all countries (April 2011).

Replication strategy

No strategy Strategy available Exchange of views and knowledge between EU and non EU countries in the TRB on the work carried out to develop the ITRBM Plan

Included in a Communication Strategy prepared by the Project and accepted by the Tisza Group as the main vehicle to assist replication/dissemination.

32





Dissemination strategy

No strategy Strategy available Lessons available to the DRB considering the scale and details of the investigations and added values compared to the DRBMP

Included in a Communication Strategy prepared by the Project and accepted by the Tisza Group as the main vehicle to assist replication/dissemination.

Outcome 1: Adoption of policies and legislation within Tisza countries that promote the use of wetlands/floodplains for flood mitigation, nutrient retention, biodiversity enhancement and social amenity value improvement consistent with the EU WFD and IWRM

Regional and National IRBM plans endorsed

No plans for IRBM

All 5 countries accept a basin-wide integrated management plan by 2011

Commitment to work together and share the same methodological approach for both EU and non EU countries

ITRBM Plan approved by Tisza Heads of Delegation (December 2010) and endorsed by Ministers from all countries (April 2011).

National budget allocation for IRBM plans

Budget available in EU countries

All countries follow on the Agreement of 2004 to work together for the ITRBMP

The TRB countries continue to work together and financially support the experts active involvement in the work under the co-ordination of the ICPDR and TIsza Group

33





Nutrient and flood/drought strategies adopted

No strategy Strategy adopted by all 5 countries

Recommendations for future legislation on the integration of flood and draughts issues

Prioritisation of issues according to the individual countries based on an agreed scheme

Tisza Group continues to develop/ refine approach for implementation

Operation of the Tisza Group confirmed

No strategy

Work programme

Strategy adopted by all 5 countries

Work programme implemented

Active participation at meetings and support of the work with contributions and comments

Future of the Tisza Group confirmed through agreement of revised MoU by Tisza Ministers (April 2011)

Inter-ministerial processes established or strengthened

Coordination mechanisms in place to implement the strategies

In all 5 countries the inter-ministerial mechanism exists and functions

Discussions and get familiar with the topic and suggest issue for inclusions such as integration quantity and quality

34





Reduced nutrient pollution, reduced flooding of urban areas and improved recharge of groundwaters through increase in the length of active floodplains and the area of connected wetlands

The potential of reconnection of 22 wetlands located in Hungary and Serbia. An area of 77 km2 of wetlands will be connected.

For the 2015 baseline scenario a number of 728 agglom. with 11,316,431 p.e generated will have at least secondary treatment in place. 7 agglomerations will have N+P removal by 2015.

Technical assistance

BAP manure storage in place, buffer stripes implemented

Current plus 10% of wetland and flood plan potential for reconnection

Commitments of the Non EU countries in the TRB to meet the WFD objectives (there will be 18 aglom – 14 in UA and 4 in RS for which uwwtp will be constructed by 2015)

Generated load reduced by 2015 through the realization of 18 uwwtp is 780,500 p.e.

Investments planned for uwwtp

Methodology available for MONERIS scenario calculations

Moneris use training

Extension services available

Training on MONERIS use

Work towards concluding a Joint Program of Measures in the TRB

Implementation of the ITRBM Plan will have a positive impact on the level of nutrients according to modelled results

Nutrient strategy No strategy Strategy available Prepare/discuss the legal frame for implementing at national level

Final nutrient strategy accepted by Tisza Group and incorporated in the approved / endorsed ITRBM Plan

35





Feedback on nutrient strategy by demonstration projects

No information Reports from 3 demonstration projects and collection of ideas to be incorporated into the national strategies

Final Stakeholder workshop held in April 2011.

Lessons from demonstration projects incorporated in the approved / endorsed ITRBM Plan,

Objective 1: To integrate water quality, water quantity, land use, and biodiversity objectives into an integrated water resources/river basin management plan under the legal umbrella of the EU and ICPDR, that will improve the Tisza River Basin environment including the reduction of pollution and mitigation of floods and droughts.

Draft flood/drought strategy developed

No strategy Strategy available Flood/drought strategy available and incorporated into the approved / endorsed ITRBM Plan

Feedback on flood/drought

strategy by demonstration projects

No information Reports from 3 demonstration projects


Lessons from demonstration projects incorporated in the approved / endorsed ITRBM Plan.

IRBM plan issued No IRBM IRBM plan distributed ITRBM Plan approved and endorsed by Tisza Ministers. Implementation to be monitored by ICPDR Tisza Group.

Adoption of revised policies for land-water management following the successful completion of demonstration projects

Lack or insufficient of legal and institutional frame to implement the IRBMP

At least 1 new policy for land-water management adopted


Lessons from demonstration projects incorporated in the approved / endorsed ITRBM Plan.

36





Meetings of the ICPDR and Tisza Group

Tisza Group focus on WFD and flood issues

Tisza Group succeeds in integrating the management of water quality and water quantity.

Tisza Group future to be assured through revision of MoU

Outcome 2: Demonstrating effective wetland and floodplain management with multiple environmental benefits, leading to stress reduction (e.g. nutrient reduction, flood mitigation, biodiversity enhancements, etc.) resulting in the motivation of local communities and other stakeholders to continue the implementation of the successful conclusions of the demonstration projects.

Project selection criteria developed

n/a Criteria agreed Completed – July 2008

List of provisional demonstration projects

n/a List available. Completed – October 2008

Hectares of wetland planned for restoration and initiated

Need current levels planned

Current plus 10% of connected wetlands

ITRBM Plan includes targets for wetland/ floodplain reconnections by 2015

Kilometres of floodplain planned for connection


Current plus 8% To be established by the Tisza Group

Hectares of habitat planned for restoration


Current plus x% Deleted by Project Steering Committee (December 2009)

Reduced Nitrogen and Phosphorus loads planned as a result of wetlands / floodplain restoration


Current minus 0.29% reduction for N and 0.01% for P (Limited reduction effect)

Estimates from MONERIS inconclusive. More work is needed

Objective 2: To begin implementation of IWRM principles through the testing of new approaches on wetland and floodplain management through community-based demonstration projects

Completion of first stakeholder workshop

No workshop Workshop successful (autumn 2009)

Report lessons learned

Replicability

First stakeholder workshop completed – November 2009

Agreed demonstration sites and projects

n/a Agreed list Completed – December 2008

Completion of demonstration projects

n/a 3 demonstration projects completed

All completed by February 2011

Inclusion of strategies in selected demonstration projects

n/a Strategies incorporated in demonstration projects where appropriate

Demonstration reports include comments and lessons for inclusion in the ITRBM Plan

Evaluation completed on demonstration projects

n/a Mid-term and final evaluation reports of 3 demonstration projects

Mid-term and terminal evaluations completed

37





Completion of second stakeholder workshop

n/a Workshop successful (autumn 2010)

Final stakeholder workshop completed & linked with the Tisza Ministerial Meeting in Uzghorod (Ukraine) April 2011.

Conclusions from demonstration projects

n/a 3 completed demonstration projects

Lessons & practical experiences from the demonstration projects included in the approved / endorsed ITRBM Plan.

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