EECCA region waters are increasingly polluted, new assessment finds
Geneva, 24 November 2006 -- Pollution is an increasingly serious
problem for rivers and lakes in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central
Asia (EECCA) region, according to a newly released preliminary assessment
of the status of transboundary rivers and lakes in the region. More than 80
per cent of the rivers and 75 per
cent of the lakes assessed are polluted, some heavily. For example, the
Syr Darya River, whose basin is shared by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan, is heavily polluted by agriculture drainage water and industrial
wastewater. Some other rivers, like the Prut, a Danube tributary, show
slight recent improvement in water quality but remain threatened by heavy
pollution from past activities.
The preliminary assessment was presented at the fourth Meeting of the Parties
to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses
and International Lakes, held this week (November 20-22) in Bonn.
Most of the lakes assessed are affected by eutrophication, a condition that
kills animal life in water bodies. (When water is too rich in nutrients, it
supports a very dense plant population. When the plants rot, their decomposition
kills fish and other animal life by depriving them of oxygen.) Eutrophication
is increasing throughout the region except in areas where wastewater treatment
has been introduced.
Some lakes are shrinking because of excessive water use linked to urbanization.
Lake Balquash, shared by China and Kazakhstan, is rapidly decreasing in volume. Only stringent joint measures
by China and Kazakhstan can prevent Lake Balquash from sharing the fate of
the Aral Sea, which has been drying out since the 1950s. Lake Jandari, shared
by Azerbaijan and Georgia, also suffers from decreasing water levels, which
in turn concentrate pollution (carried mainly by the lake’s tributaries).
Over-abstraction of water, increased urbanization and poor water management
in the basins of transboundary rivers and lakes are major causes of poor water
conditions and excessive pollution. The accelerated melting of glaciers (owing
to rising temperatures and contamination of rainwater) is changing the rivers’ hydrological
and ecological regimes. In most EECCA countries, owing to a lack of appropriate
legislation and institutional capacity, there are no comprehensive basin-wide
water management or water monitoring programmes. Increased cooperation and
harmonization of legislation and monitoring and assessment practices, along
with the establishment of transboundary commissions, could improve water conditions
in the region.
The Preliminary Assessment of Transboundary Rivers and Lakes in the EECCA
Region was completed for the tenth anniversary of the entry into force
of the Water Convention, which is serviced by the UNECE secretariat. A
complete assessment of the status of transboundary rivers, lakes and groundwaters
in the UNECE region will be presented at the sixth Ministerial Conference “Environment
for Europe” in Belgrade in October 2007.
The spirit of the celebrations of the tenth anniversary inspired decisions
regarding the implementation of the Convention. Parties, together with
representatives of other countries and observers, held animated discussions
and adopted Recommendations on the Payments for Ecosystem Services
in Integrated Water Resources Management and Model Provisions
on Transboundary Flood Management. They decided to cooperate in National
Policy Dialogues on integrated water resources management in the EECCA
region and to develop guidance on water and climate adaptation, addressing
flood and drought risk management in transboundary basins.
The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses
and International Lakes has 35 Parties.1
For more information, please contact:
Francesca BERNARDINI
Secretary of the Water Convention
UNECE Environment, Housing and Land Management
Division
Palais des Nations, Office 313
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 2463
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0107
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/env/water/welcome.html
_________
1 The Convention has been
ratified by Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian
Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and
the European Community.
Ref: ECE/ENV/06/P09