UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Press Releases 2000

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Will big cities run out of drinking water?

The International Water Assessment Centre under the UN/ECE Water Convention comes on stream

Geneva, 23 September 2000 

"Recent spills of toxic substances in Baia Mare in Romania and Mitrovica in Kosovo have once again revealed the dramatic situation of rivers in some European countries. The international community must wake up to the results of decades of water mismanagement," says Mrs. Danuta Hübner, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). "We must know the exact nature and extent of the environmental problems facing our rivers. This is why it is so important to set up the International Water Assessment Centre under the aegis of the UN/ECE Water Convention with the support of the Government of the Netherlands."

The Centre will initially monitor eight rivers in eastern Europe and Central Asia: the Bug (Belarus, Poland, Ukraine), the Ipoly (Hungary, Slovakia), the Kura (Azerbaijan, Georgia), the Latoritca/Uzh (Slovakia, Ukraine), the Mures (Hungary, Romania), the Morava (Czech Republic, Slovakia), the Serverski Donets (Russian Federation, Ukraine) and the Tobol (Kazakhstan, Russian Federation). All these rivers face environmental problems.

The River Bug marks the border between Poland and Ukraine and between Poland and Belarus. Its water resources are particularly important to the 2.5 million people who live in its catchment area. The City of Warsaw also largely depends on the River Bug for its water supply. In recent years agriculture in its basin has intensified, especially in Belarus, where other regions can no longer be used for agriculture because of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. The expansion of agriculture means higher levels of pesticide and herbicide pollution in the basin’s groundwater and surface water. But near industrial cities the quality of the Bug’s water is also threatened by excessive levels of heavy metals, organic nutrients and phosphorus. Inadequate sewer systems and waste-water treatment add to the problem, especially in the dry season. Both the upper and the lower reaches of the Bug are affected by pollution.

A drinking water reservoir near Baku is also threatened as a result of mining and agriculture in the catchment area of the River Kura in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Mures, on the other hand, is exposed to the same risk of industrial accidents in the mining and manufacturing sectors as the Tisza, which was poisoned by the cyanide spill in Baia Mare. Finally, the River Pripet (Ukraine, Belarus) may also be included. It is still contaminated by radioactivity as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

The International Water Assessment Centre will open in Lelystad (Netherlands) on Saturday, 23 September 2000. It will carry out tailor-made assessments of international rivers and lakes to set priorities to protect our rivers, to choose the best management practices and to examine the effectiveness of the UN/ECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. This will help riparian countries decide where to invest to improve water quality. The Centre will also provide training.

The Centre’s role in harmonizing the assessment criteria and legislation in Europe will be important too. The Centre will provide advice on such questions as: what kind of information is relevant to the management of transboundary waters; how can the information needs of decision makers and the public be met most effectively; and how can countries in transition get reliable information at low cost?

For further information, please contact:

Rainer ENDERLEIN
UN/ECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 313
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: +41 22 917 23 73
Mobile: +31 620 777 511 (in the Netherlands)
Fax:      +41 22 907 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]

 

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