WILL THE TAP RUN DRY
2 October 1997
Managing Transboundary Waters in Europe
As the floods came sweeping down the Morava and Oder rivers only a few
months ago, many people in central Europe suddenly found themselves deprived
not only of their worldly possessions but above all of their sense of security. With
their homes inundated, their cattle drowned and their crops devastated, they fear
the onslaught of winter.
With this recent catastrophe still fresh in our memory, it is hard to imagine
that, in normal conditions, water is scarce, especially water of good quality. All
over the world, in developed as well as in developing countries, people are making
more and more use of the available quantities of fresh water: for drinking, for
washing and cleaning, for industrial processes and cooling, for recreation,
navigation and irrigation. Most of the available fresh water flows down rivers: we
can use it only once, so we should use it wisely. As the majority of rivers flow
from one country to another, people downstream depend on what happens
upstream. Consequently, international cooperation is necessary to achieve sound
transboundary water management.
This is the reason why 160 representatives of more than 25 countries and
international organizations gathered at Mrzeyno in Poland to participate in the
International Conference on Management of Transboundary Waters in Europe.
Under the patronage of the Polish Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural
Resources and Forestry, this Conference was organized by the Regional Water
Management Board, the Voivodeship Inspectorate of Environmental Protection in
Szczecin and the Szczecin Economic Information Bureau. It was supported by the
International Commission for the Protection of the Oder and the secretariat of the
UN/ECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses
and International Lakes.
The Conference stressed that environmental issues cannot be dealt with in
isolation from other social developments. Agriculture, industrial activities,
transport, all have an impact on the environment. There is, therefore, a joint
responsibility to protect the environment. The common will to cooperate and
resolve existing problems through negotiation was reaffirmed at the Conference.
Participants underlined the importance of avoiding one-sided promotion of
individual, sectoral or national interests.
Progress in European water policy cannot be achieved in closed circles of
administrations and scientific experts. Progress requires a much wider involvement
of the public at large, including non-governmental organizations and local action
groups. The Conference provided a platform for the drafting of action programmes
to reduce pollution, revive the ecological systems of transboundary rivers, and
protect against floods. These programmes will draw on experience gained on the
rivers Rhine and Elbe.
The Conference also gave guidance on transboundary monitoring and alarm
systems, which provide information on the quality of water and discharges to
those who are involved in crisis management. The hope is that regular publication
of monitoring results will also help to raise public awareness. It will help to create
partnership not only among representatives of the authorities from the participating
countries but also among all those who are personally committed to improving our
common environment. International cooperation cannot be achieved by
governments or administrations alone. It is above all a matter of relations
between human beings.