Introduction

Progressive degradation of the Dnipro Basin ecosystem became apparent by the early 1990s, especially in the middle and lower reaches of the Dnipro River. This critical situation is the direct consequence of large-scale industrialization, uneven development of heavy and chemical industries, and unsustainable resource uses and practices that completely disregard environmental values and priorities. The scale of changes that have occurred in the natural ecosystems of the Basin is so great that many of them cannot be reversed. The effect of these changes on the habitats and living conditions of the human population has been no less dramatic.

Most of the consequences of environmental degradation in the Dnipro Basin are transboundary for its riparian countries, and global in the context of their impact on the Black Sea and beyond, thus affecting the ecosystem and climate of the whole European region.

Having become aware of this, the riparian countries of the Dnipro Basin have committed themselves to taking decisive action to protect and restore the Basin ecosystem.

In 1995, the Ministers of Environment from the Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation, and Ukraine signed the Memorandum on Cooperation for the Dnipro Basin Rehabilitation expressing their intention to work together and pool their resources. On the basis of this document, financial support and technical assistance was sought from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the development of the international programme for environmental rehabilitation of the Dnipro Basin.

Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Dnipro Basin and the mechanisms for its implementation were developed within the framework of the UNDP-GEF Dnipro Environment Programme (‘the Programme’ hereinafter). This Programme was approved by the GEF Council and launched in December 1999 in order to provide financial support and technical assistance to the Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation, and Ukraine. Total GEF contribution was 7 million USD, with co-financing provided from the following sources:

Source                                                    Contribution

Altogether, the total Programme budget was 14,255,000 USD.

The implementation of the Programme is the result of the joint effort of three riparian countries (Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation, and Ukraine), assisted by international executing agencies, including UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation), IDRC (International Development Research Centre, Canada), IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).

The Strategic Action Programme (SAP) is a policy document, negotiated and endorsed by three riparian countries, to be implemented at the highest level of executive power. It defines the priority areas for action to resolve the most urgent issues identified in the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA).

The overall objective of the SAP implementation is to ensure the Dnipro's environmental rehabilitation and achieve improvements in the state of environment and natural ecosystems, both in the region and beyond (i.e. in the Black Sea Basin). To achieve this objective, a number of tasks have to be resolved. These are:
- to ensure sustainable socio-economic development in the region and integrated management/protection of the environment;
- to remedy the serious environmental effects of pollution and habitat deterioration in the Dnipro Basin;
- to ensure sustainable use of its natural resources; and
- to protect biodiversity in the Basin.

The process of preparation of the Strategic Action Programme (SAP) involved the following steps:
- establishing and ensuring sustainable operation of national and international bodies for transboundary management of the Dnipro Basin, and international coordinating mechanisms, to involve and encourage the active participation of various stakeholder groups and NGO’s;
- preparation of the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) that involved identification of key environmental issues, assessment of their significance and scale, completion of causal chain analysis to identify root causes of environmental degradation in the Basin;
- identification and evaluation of the Hot Spots, and analysis of their environmental and economic characteristics, followed by formulation of priority projects, constituting the Priority Investment Portfolio;
- preparation of the Regional Strategy for Protection and Conservation of Biological and Landscape Diversity, which forms an integral part of the overall environmental rehabilitation strategy for the Basin;
- preparation of the State of the Dnipro’s Environment Report, establishing a baseline for measuring the progress of environmental rehabilitation;
- formulation and endorsement of the Strategic Action Programme (SAP), and adoption of the National Action Plans (NAPs).

The Dnipro Basin SAP has been prepared in accordance with the GEF procedure for conducting Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses and Strategic Action Programmes (Laurence Mee, Notes[1]  on a Proposed Scheme of Best Practice, see also Annex 1).

The SAP defines the long-term Ecological Quality Objectives (LTEQOs), agreed among the three participating countries, and short-term steps for achieving them. These steps comprise a set of coherent, logical and complementary actions that constitute a programmatic tool for achieving the specified objectives. In the process of detailed elaboration of these options, special focus was placed on the financial resources, legislative and institutional improvements required to ensure the implementation of priority actions, planned over 5, 10 and 15 years.

National Action Plans (NAPs), prepared by the three riparian countries of the Basin, form an integral part of the Dnipro Basin SAP. The NAPs identify a suite of measures in the field of environment protection and sustainable use natural resources that need to be taken in order to effectively address strategic transboundary issues and the most urgent environmental issues at the national level.

The SAP provides a strategic vision statement of the acceptable level of environmental rehabilitation that can be achieved through the joint effort of the three riparian countries.

During the 5th Pan-European Conference “Environment for Europe”, held on 22-24 May, 2003 in Kyiv, the Ministerial Declaration on Cooperation for Environmental Rehabilitation of the Dnipro Basin was signed by the three riparian countries. In this Declaration, the Ministers of the Environment expressed their “willingness and preparedness to develop the international agreement that will provide a common framework for ensuring the sustainability of international cooperation between the riparian countries of the Dnipro Basin, and establishing the common principles, objectives, tasks and obligations of the parties in the field of environmental rehabilitation of the Dnipro Basin”. Thus, the trilateral agreement and SAP should provide a legal and policy framework for further international cooperation on protection and rehabilitation of the environment in the Dnipro Basin.

In order to ensure that a consistent approach is applied to address the environmental rehabilitation issues in the Dnipro Basin, the riparian countries developed and agreed the SAP endorsement procedure through the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Management and Protection of the Dnipro Basin between the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Federation, and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The SAP constitutes an integral part of (Annex to) this Agreement, and shall not be read and construed otherwise.

By endorsing this document, the Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation, and Ukraine voluntarily commit themselves to take concrete actions identified in the SAP in order to achieve the specified objectives. To meet this international commitment, the riparian countries should take joint and agreed actions to ensure protection of the environment in the Dnipro Basin, sustainable use of natural resources, conservation of biological diversity and reduction of adverse anthropogenic impact on the Dnipro Basin, and beyond (i.e. on the Black Sea).

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[1]  These notes were prepared by Prof. Laurence Mee on the basis of discussions at the GEF TDA/SAP Course Design and Development Session (DACUM) held at the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations from 15 to 19 July 2002.

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