[Index]
Agreement to clean up the river Dniester
Geneva, 2 December 2005 - The
United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE) together with the Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) have facilitated a landmark agreement
between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine
to clean up the river Dniester.
The river Dniester, one of Eastern
Europe’s largest, is facing serious
environmental problems due to pollution
and the impact of the water flow regime.
Its basin is home to more than 7 million
people, and the river itself is the main
source of drinking water in the Republic
of Moldova and parts of Ukraine.
The Dniester rises in the Ukrainian
Carpathians, flows through the Republic
of Moldova and reaches Ukraine again
near the Black Sea. Much of the pollution
comes from industries located upstream.
Meanwhile Ukraine’s second city,
downstream Odessa, relies entirely on
the river for its drinking water. The
transboundary character of the river
has so far made it difficult to solve
the environmental problems and to improve
the river’s management.
The Republic of Moldova
and Ukraine concluded the agreement on “Transboundary
Cooperation and Sustainable Management
of the Dniester River”
at a meeting in Odessa, Ukraine, yesterday.
The project, financed by Sweden, Switzerland
and the United States, brought together
government and NGO representatives from
the two riparian countries to study the
condition of the Dniester basin and agree
on the way forward to strengthen collaboration
and to improve the river’s management.
The project put into practice the principles
of the UNECE Convention on the Protection
and Use of Transboundary Watercourses
and International Lakes, and involved
experts from both UNECE and OSCE.
For more information on this project,
please contact:
Mr. Bo LIBERT, Regional Adviser
UNECE
Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 315
CH–1211
Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0)22 917 23 96
Fax: +41
(0)22 917 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/ENV/05/P08