Integrated Water Management in the Tisza River Basin
Towards a shared vision, the role of an International Seminar
Douglas Taylor, Wetlands International, 22 July 2003
Background
"In England when we see flooded fields we see it as a sign of failure. In Holland it is a feature of a working water management system" (Quote by John Prescott, UK Deputy Prime Minister on a visit to view newly developed flood defences in Holland.) (reference: 2001, Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd, UK)
The management of water, agriculture, landscape and the environment in many European countries is usually the responsibility of independent sectoral ministries, local authorities and other official bodies. The competing demands of water and land users, which differ throughout a river catchment, may result in policy conflicts, and require often complex, expensive capital works to maintain a landscape that is potentially unstable with respect to economics and water management.
This sectoral trend has in many western European countries, led to the development of floodplains (washlands) and other wetlands for arable agriculture, that demands low water levels in associated rivers. Urban building has also increased within drained floodplains, taking advantage of apparently reduced flood risks. Where traditionally, floodplains supported flood tolerant grasses, water meadows and fishponds, agricultural production demands low and tightly regulated water levels and protection from seasonal inundation. This trend has been exacerbated by the availability of arable area, and crop intervention payments (under the EC Common Agriculture Policy) and grant aid for drainage, including pumped drainage, within floodplains. This increasing intensity of floodplain use demands year round land drainage and flood protection, further reducing the storage capacity of the original floodplains.
In addition to the changed nature of floodplains, the land use of the upper catchment is also crucial to the overall risk management situation. Loss of uncultivated land, especially within the crucial 10 metre buffer zone along headwater streams, will increase the speed of runoff, increasing suspended solid and nutrient loads and producing more unstable catchment behaviour, where the retention time of rainfall is reduced, leading to larger flood pulses downstream. Cumulatively, the reduction in upper and mid-catchment water retention will lead to more flood events downstream where river channels no longer contain peak water levels from minor flood events. It is possible therefore to learn from many past examples where the consequences of non-integrated water management have led to undesirable consequences. Equally, examples of best practice, could be used to transfer experience.
Within the Great Hungarian Plain disruptive downstream flooding and consequent disruption of economic activity has been frequent, and is driving the relevant authorities to greater cooperative efforts to regulate the Tisza, primarily for socio-economic reasons. In addition, serious chemical pollution accidents within the upper stretch of the river, for example, cyanide and heavy metals into the river Szamos (a tributary of the Tisza) in Romania in 2000, have resulted in ecological damage, thus also raising awareness of the ecological importance of the upper catchment of the Tisza.
International context
The five countries within which the River Tisza itself originates and flows each have their own interests and needs and it can be assumed that the current water management situation in each country has developed in response to the diverse viewpoints of each country, especially through their responsible land and water managers. With respect to relevant international frameworks which exist both in the planning field and also water management, many international and regional legal instruments are considered relevant. The following are the most relevant with respect to water: Convention on Measures to Combat Pollution on the Tisza River and its Tributaries (Szeged, 28 May 1986), the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Helsinki, 17 March 1992), the Convention on Co-operation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the Danube River (Sofia, 29 June 1994), the Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Community Action in the field of Water Policy (23 October 2000), the European Charter on Water Resources (Recommendation Rec (2001) 14 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the European Charter on Water Resources), the Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Kiev, 23 May 2003), the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, 2 February 1971. These instruments therefore provide the background against which the need for additional agreements should be tested.
The role of an International Seminar
In two consecutive FAO Regional Conferences for Europe in Portugal (2000) and Cyprus (2002), the Government of Hungary has emphasized the need for technical assistance in the form of a water management project, involving the countries in the Tisza River Basin (within the Carpathian Sub Basin of the Danube), to address recurring problems related to water management and environment.
In order to work towards a joint approach of the water management in the latter Basin, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Hungary requested the FAO to provide a project to that effect in November 2000. The latter request was subsequently supported by Slovenia, Slovakia and the FR Yugoslavia. The FAO has acted on that request and prepared a project outline, which was in a later stage revised (2002), in order to adapt the project in compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD).
To further encourage dialogue and better define a sustainable project, an International Seminar is proposed in November 2003, to encourage the five riparian countries to present their individual views concerning the management of the Tisza River Basin. The principal objective of the Seminar is to achieve as much common ground as possible regarding the goal of integrated water management. Representatives of Hungary, Romania, Serbia/Montenegro, Slovakia and Ukraine will be invited to present their views, and will be especially encouraged to present their own visions for the future.
Preparatory steps for the Seminar and potential outcomes
Following the requests made to the FAO, the concept of the Seminar was envisaged, and the necessary background research commissioned to provide the necessary information about relevant technical work and initiatives, policy context and identification of focal points. Consultants have been engaged to obtain this information, and to advise on representative participation at the Seminar. One of the roles of the consultants is to provide an inventory of government and regional authority visions for the Tisza. The consultants are also testing ideas for the potential outcomes of the Seminar, which include
the potential value of some form of transboundary cooperation document to be drafted for discussion and potential approval by the Seminar;
a project proposal geared towards a multinational (co-)financing organization to design and test an integral river basin management plan for the Tisza River Basin;
identification of the most appropriate mechanism to promote cooperation between the concerned Tisza River Basin countries to enable the coordinated implementation of integrated river basin management.
Options for response - exploring the common ground
Integrated water management can be achieved through integrated river basin management -IRBM) which is the process through which people can develop a vision, agree on shared values and behaviours, make informed decisions and act together to manage the natural resources of a river basin. The primary pre-condition to achieving integrated water management through IRBM is the willingness of sectoral stakeholders to work together, to achieve the benefits outlined above. To achieve the necessary cooperation, stakeholders and their communities throughout a catchment need to be able to understand each other clearly, even though in the case of the Tisza River Basin this is shared between more than one country, therefore a single common vision is not available. Steps to achieve understanding of the various visions, and to explore how far such separate visions can be shared, will be proposed within the planned Seminar.
Provided therefore that the five principal stakeholders (Hungary, Romania, Serbia/Montenegro, Slovakia, Ukraine) sharing the Tisza River Basin are able to work together to explore a shared vision, the design of common objectives between all countries or combinations of countries is a necessary first step. The information base required to assess options and risks must next be assembled, and the actions necessary to achieve the desired objectives identified, together with the agreed indicators and the monitoring required to demonstrate achievement, will complete the framework required to achieve the shared vision.
Partners and linkages
The Seminar is being co-proposed by several partners, who have commissioned the preparatory work. Additionally, further partners or associates are welcomed, to enable the Seminar to achieve the maximum benefits to the five countries involved. The promoting partners are as follows:
FAO SEUR
Jack Damen
Benczur utca 34
H-1068 Budapest
e-mail:
Tel: +31 30 2756778 / GSM: +31 6 5240 1007
Wetlands International
Douglas Taylor
P.O. Box 471
6700 AL Wageningen (NL)
e-mail:
Tel: +31 317 478852
Dienst Landelijk Gebied (DLG)
Guus Schutjes
P.O.Box 20021
3502 LA Utrecht (NL)
Em:
Tel: +31 30 2756777 / GSM: +31 6 5240 1058
IAC
Henk Zingstra
PO Box 88
6700 AB Wageningen (NL)
e-mail:
tel: + 31 317 495257
RIZA
Els van Grol
P.O. Box 2500 EX Den Haag (NL)
e-mail:
Tel: +31 70 311 4327 / GSM: +31 6 23486038
In addition to the above, other organisations, including the Ramsar Bureau (Ramsar Convention on Wetlands), the Council of Europe, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), the World Wildlife Fund Hungary and the Regional Environmental Center (REC) for Central and Eastern Europe, will be invited to be associated with the Seminar. Please contact the partners shown above for further information and advice.
