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Introduction
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Introduction
The three countries that share the Dnipro River – the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine – have been pursuing a consistent policy aimed at achieving the goals of the ECE (UN) Convention “On the protection and use of transboundary water bodies and international lakes” that was ratified March 17, 1992 [1] and to which all three are party. Over the past ten years, the three countries have significantly improved their mutual understanding in this sphere. During this period, a number of important intergovernmental agreements directed towards improving the efficiency of environmental management, including the condition of transboundary water bodies, were signed.
In the 1994–7 period, the governments of the three states concluded bilateral agreements on cooperation in the sphere of environmental protection. In the period from 1992 to 2002, they concluded three bilateral agreements on the joint use and protection of transboundary waters. In accordance with these agreements, the three states are taking appropriate measures for developing and implementing additional relevant intergovernmental documents aimed at improving the environmental condition of transboundary water bodies.
The latest document of this type is the “Statement of the environmental protection ministers of the three Dnipro River countries regarding cooperation in environmental enhancement of the Dnipro River basin,” signed May 22, 2003 in Kyiv at the Fifth Pan-European Conference of Environmental Protection Ministers of ECE (UN). That statement demonstrated a common political will to effect a balanced use of the basin’s natural resources, the conservation and sustainable functioning of its ecosystems, and the prevention, limitation and reduction of the transboundary effect.
The three ministers declared their conviction regarding the need to develop new environmental strategies and intergovernmental and national policy guidelines that are based on interdisciplinary approaches to the ecosystem and on the principles of sustainable balanced development of the basin and its management. Moreover, the ministers demonstrated their willingness to develop the basin’s transboundary monitoring system and its information system for environmental management, and a willingness to develop and support the basin’s system for exchanging intergovernmental information and data on the environment.
The Trilateral Convention should form the basic mechanism of the three Dnipro River countries for coordinating their effective international cooperation in the protection and use of the Dnipro River basin. The draft convention, which has already been developed, establishes general principles, goals, and the tasks and commitments of the parties to the environmental enhancement of the Dnipro River basin. Provision has also been made for organizing a body to govern the convention, conferences, an international council of the Dnipro River basin, an international commission comprised of working groups of experts, and the regional centres in Moscow, Minsk, Kyiv, and Kharkiv.
One of the important tasks for promoting the successful achievement of the goals of the ECE (UN) Convention “On the protection and use of transboundary water bodies and international lakes” of March 17, 1992 is the harmonization of the three countries’ national environmental legislation with the environmental legislation of the European Union. The latter is particularly significant for two reasons.
First of all, the Dnipro River has a significant impact on the near-shore water and ecosystems of the western section of the Black Sea adjoining two countries – Rumania and Bulgaria – that will soon become EU member. It is therefore necessary to ensure compliance with EU environmental requirements.
Secondly, one of the Dnipro River countries, namely Ukraine, has declared its desire to become an associated member of the EU in the future, and this will require the adaptation of its legislation to that of the EU. In their turn, Belarus and Russia have also expressed an interest in bringing their related national legislation into line with EU legislation for reform purposes.
Within the framework of this project, the experts have analyzed real opportunities for developing harmonized environmental legislation and related acts, and every possible prospect for their implementation.
This task was jointly executed by the national working groups of Belarus (coordinator, Sergei Balashenko), Russia (Victor Melikhov), and Ukraine (Volodymyr Lozansky).
According to the Terms of Reference, project activities were subdivided into seven stages, namely:
- Development of a methodology for comparing and characterizing the structure of the EU water code, compiling a list of EU laws for analysis, determining a structure for national reports and the consolidated report, and for preparation of the model
- Negotiations concerning prepared materials and a project implementation schedule during the working meeting of participants
- Collection of data and preparation of draft national reports
- Analysis of materials obtained, and the preparation of comments and first version of the consolidated report
- Revision of national expert reports
- Preparation of consolidated report
- Revision of consolidated report and consideration of comments by Project Implementation Unit
The consolidated report presents the results of the activities of the three working groups as of September 20, 2003. The interim results were discussed and approved at working group sessions in Kyiv on May 22, 2003, and in Moscow on August 25-26, 2003.
References
1. ECE (UN) Convention “On the protection and use of transboundary water bodies and inter-national lakes.” March 17, 1992.
