INTRODUCTION

The UNDP-GEF Program’s Project Document says that a new transborder structure, the Dnipro Basin Council, is needed in order to establish an effective mechanism of cooperation between the three countries in the field of Dnipro basin environmental rehabilitation, drafting and signing intergovernmental agreements and regulations and effective information exchange, as well as to ensure the participation of all stakeholders.

Pursuant to the Program’s Project Document and previous decisions, Ukrainian Program Management Committee has commissioned the Ukrainian Research Institute of Ecological Problems of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine with drafting a project proposal on the establishment of the Dnipro Basin Council. IDRC made a commitment to fund the proposal.

The project’s main goal is to establish elements of a functional international system for coordinating the Dnipro’s environmental rehabilitation. This is to be accomplished through the development of the concept and working out of the necessary documents to establish and provide for the work of the Dnipro Basin Council as the project’s main component.

The project proposal established the following main tasks for the project:

1. Study, analysis and assessment of international and national legislation and practice as to cooperation in the sphere of mutual management and protection of transboundary waterways;

2. Drafting, preliminary discussion and submission for approval and signing by the ministers of the three countries and UN representatives of the international document on the establishment of the Dnipro Basin Council and mechanisms of the Council’s activities based upon international and national practice;

3. Providing for the Council’s practical work through the development and preliminary discussion and adjustment of the materials included in the agenda of the Council’s meetings that provide for the Council’s participation in the drafting and adoption of proposals and recommendations on urgent issues of the UNDP-GEF Program implementation;

4. Developing the conceptual basis of establishing the body and mechanisms of coordination of Dnipro basin management in the future and implementing high-priority practical efforts directed at achieving this goal.

All these tasks were successfully fulfilled within the project. In addition, the project was extended at the suggestion of IDRC and the UNDP-GEF Program Management Group to include the direct organization of the First Meeting of the International Dnipro Basin Council (July 24 and 25, 2003, Kiev). The project’s budget was redistributed accordingly to provide for the fulfillment of this task (see letter in Appendix 1).

1. STUDY, ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL LEGISLATION AND PRACTICE AS TO COOPERATION IN THE SPHERE OF MUTUAL MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF TRANSBOUNDARY WATERWAYS.

An urgent need to take into account the interests of water management in river basins, increasing pollution of international rivers and degradation of their ecosystems make it necessary to establish or consolidate the international legal and institutional framework allowing to effectively counteract the environmental danger.

Organizational cooperation has been established in many of the large international basins. The framework for the cooperation is provided either by basin organizations such as commissions or committees or by agreements between two or more countries.

Stage 1 of the project included the study and generalization of international legislation and practice as to cooperation in the sphere of mutual management and protection of transboundary waterways covering the following directions:

1. General tendencies of cooperation in the basins of transboundary waterways.

2. International cooperation experience in the Danube basin.

3. International cooperation experience in the Rhine basin.

4. International cooperation experience in the Black Sea basin.

5. International cooperation experience in the Baltic Sea basin.

The report on this task was presented to IDRC as a part of the Stage 1 report. It is attached to this Final Report as Appendix 2.

Efforts to deal with transboundary environmental problems in other regions may benefit from the UN’s EEC Convention on the protection and use of transboundary waterways and international lakes. The convention covers all aspects of the use and protection of waterways, including information exchange, joint research, legislation coordination, introduction of joint monitoring systems, and coordinated water management and protection efforts.

The experience of drafting the following conventions was also used when drafting the documents within the project:

1. Convention on cooperation in the protection and sustainable use of the Danube (1994).

2. Rhine Convention (1999).

3. Convention on Black Sea protection from pollution (the Bucharest Convention, 1992).

4. Convention on Baltic Sea marine environment protection (1992).

2. ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION FRAMEWORK OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE DNIPRO BASIN COUNTRIES IN THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, COMMON USE AND PROTECTION OF TRANSBOUNDARY WATERWAYS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BASIN APPROACH TO WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION IN THESE COUNTRIES.

The goal of this stage of the project was to assess the preconditions for establishing a joint Dnipro basin management body.

We analyzed the degree of introduction of the basin approach to water management and use (on the practical implementation level as well as on the level on declarations and adopted development concepts) in the Dnipro basin countries and their current water use and protection legislation and policy tendencies.

In particular, we analyzed the experience of creating basin management bodies gained by the Dnipro basin countries when implementing ТАСІS programs (ТАСІS project “Consulting the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation on Water Resources Management in Russia” (ENVRUS9801) involving a consortium of French companies and organizations BCEOM, VERSeau, IOWater and more), as well as other international cooperation programs and projects.

In particular:

1. Within the abovementioned project, Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources has expressed the intention to base its institutional structure mainly on two existing models: the French model of water resources management and the Framework EU Directive on Water.

2. The Angara Basin Council is being created at the initiative of the participants of the Russian-Canadian project “Water Resources Managementin the Angara Basin (1998-2000)”. Draft regulations of the council have been considered.

3. Etc.

This experience shows that the Dnipro basin countries are ready to develop the basin approach based on the principles that are currently utilized in the EU countries.

Thus, Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources has issued a number of administrative documents promoting the introduction of basin management principles. In particular, the development of the basin approach in Russia in the near future proposes the following measures:

1. Establishing representative water resources management bodies (basin councils) in order to involve water users in decision-making.

2. Establishing international water commissions for transboundary rivers in the rivers’ basin countries. These commissions are to determine general goals of river management.

3. Establishing executive bodies to provide practical basin management.

4. Developing a comprehensive financial and economic scheme of water resources management. A substantial part of payment for consumed water must be used to fund various basin programs.

5. Organize monitoring, data management and information flow management, which are important water resources management tools.

To ensure implementation of these measures, the 2002 – 2004 Bill Drafting Plan of Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources provides for the drafting of governmental enactment On Approving the Regulations of the Dnipro Basin Council (State Water Service’s proposal for 2004) and federal law On Protection of the Volga Basin (State Water Service’s proposal for 2004).

The need to implement basin management principles in Ukraine is reflected in the Water Code of Ukraine, which was passed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 1995 /26/, and Main Directions of Ukraine’s State Policy in the Sphere of Environment Protection, Natural Resources Management and Ecological Security approved by the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada from May 5, 1998.

An important step in this direction was the establishment of the Dnipro Basin Environment and Drinking Water Council in accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 1544 from August 19, 1999. Members of the council are representatives from ministries and other government agencies, 20 regional administrations, Kiev City State Administration, as well as the region’s academic organizations, industry and NGOs. The council’s purpose is to carry out coordinated environmental protection and management policy in the Dnipro basin.

International experience of implementing the basin management approach is of great importance. Therefore, the decision to establish the Council and the beginning of its work constitute an important step in Ukraine’s European integration through harmonization of law and improvement of the country’s environmental protection management system in accordance with EU requirements.

In the Republic of Belarus, water management and protection system does not make such an extensive use of the basin management approach. Nevertheless, there are some positive tendencies, which partly come from the country’s participation in a number of international projects.

The following groups of documents were examined when analyzing the Dnipro basin countries’ existing legislation:

1. Bilateral and multilateral agreements on common use and protection of transboundary waterways.

2. Bilateral and multilateral environmental protection agreements.

3. Bilateral and multilateral agreements on economic, interregional and cross-border cooperation.

Russia has ratified, and Ukraine has joined the Convention on the protection and management of transboundary waterways and international lakes (March 17, 1992, Helsinki), which is a crucial step on the way to creating interstate management bodies. Russia and Ukraine have ratified the Convention on Black Sea protection from pollution (Bucharest, 1992).

The main conclusion is that the necessary prerequisites are in place in the Dnipro basin countries for signing the Dnipro Convention and establishing an organizational structure to provide for and coordinate its implementation.

A complete report on this task is attached in Appendices 3 and 4.

3. DRAFTING, PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION AND SUBMISSION FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNING BY THE MINISTERS OF THE THREE COUNTRIES AND UN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DNIPRO BASIN COUNCIL AND MECHANISMS OF THE COUNCIL’S WORK BASED UPON INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL PRACTICE.

Documents necessary to establish the Dnipro Basin Council and mechanisms of the Council’s work were prepared within the project.

The central document in this package is the Regulations of the International Dnipro Basin Council.

The regulations were considered by the Joint UNDP-GEF Dnipro Basin Environment Program Management Committee and approved by its decision dated October 15, 2002. The document was then approved by the resolution of the First Session of the International Dnipro Basin Council (June 24 and 25, 2003, Kiev).

The text of the Regulations of the International Dnipro Basin Council that are currently in effect is attached as Appendix 5.

The following documents were also prepared within the project:

1. Draft Convention on cooperation in Dnipro basin management and protection (considered at the First and Second Sessions of IDBC) (see Appendix 6).

2. Draft Agreement on Cooperation in Dnipro Basin Environmental Rehabilitation between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Ministry of Natural Resources of Russian Federation and Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine. (This was considered to be a landmark document with respect to the convention – see Appendix 7.

Appendix 1. Project Expansion Letter.

Appendix 2. International practice of cooperation in and protection of transboundary waterway basins.

Appendix 3. Development of the basin approach to water resources management and protection in the Dnipro basin countries.

Appendix 4. Legislation framework of cooperation between the Dnipro basin countries in the field of environmental protection, common use and protection of transboundary waterways.

Appendix 5. Regulations of the International Dnipro Basin Council.

Appendix 6. Draft Convention on Cooperation in Dnipro Basin Management and Protection.

Appendix 7. Draft Agreement on Cooperation in Dnipro Basin Environmental Rehabilitation between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Ministry of Natural Resources of Russian Federation and Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine.

Appendix 8. Minutes of the First Working Meeting of the IDBC Session Organization Committee.

Appendix 9. Agenda of the First Meeting of the International Dnipro Basin Council.

Appendix 10. Resolution of the First Meeting of the International Dnipro Basin Council.