Sava River Commission. Dejan Komatina, Secretary, International Sava River Basin Commission. Furthering water cooperation among nations and stakeholders. Making it happen!. International Annual UN-Water Zaragoza Conference 2012/2013. Preparing for the 2013 International Year. Water Cooperation: Making it Happen! 8-10 January 2013
3. Sava river basin
– Area: 97 713 km2 (the second largest Danube sub-basin; share: 12%)
– Average flow at the mouth: 1722 m3/s (the
largest Danube tributary; contribution: 25%)
– River length: 940 km (594 km of which is the waterway)
– Population: approx. 9 million
Country Share of the Share of the
basin (%) territory (%)
Albania 0.2 0.6
Bosnia & Herzegovina 39.2 75.8
Croatia 26.0 45.2
Montenegro 7.1 49.6
Serbia 15.5 17.4
Slovenia 12.0 52.8
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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4. Establishment of cooperation
• Challenge 1
– Need for economic development of the countries in the basin
– Need (and obligation) for environmental protection of the basin
– A well-balanced approach is necessary to use the potential and
preserve the existing values simultaneously
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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5. Establishment of cooperation
• Challenge 2
– Consequences of the geopolitical changes in the region in the
1990-ies
• Sava turned from the largest national river into an international river
• Water management got restricted to national level of the newly
established countries
– New, international framework
is required for water management
on the basin level
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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6. Establishment of cooperation
• The Sava River Initiative
– Launch of the Initiative: June 2001
– Signing the Letter of Intent on Coop. in the SRB: Nov. 29, 2001
– Signing the FASRB: Kranjska Gora, Dec. 3, 2002
– Est. of the Interim Sava Commission: Brussels, March 12, 2003
– Entering of the FASRB into force: December 29, 2004
– Est. of the ISRBC: Zagreb, June 27-29, 2005
– Est. of the ISRBC Secretariat: Zagreb, January 9, 2006
• FASRB: the first development-oriented multilateral
agreement concluded in the region after the agreements on peace
and succession
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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7. FASRB
• Key objective:
Transboundary cooperation
for sustainable development of the region
• Particular objectives – to establish:
– International regime of navigation
– Sustainable water management
– Sustainable management of hazards
(floods, droughts, accidents, etc.)
• Provides the ISRBC with the broadest scope of work among
European int’l basin organizations (i.e. int’l river/lake commissions)
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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8. Activities of the ISRBC
• Coordination of:
– Development of joint / integrated plans for the basin
– Establishment of integrated systems for the basin
– Development of economic activities (navigation, tourism)
– Harmonization of regulation (national EU)
– Creation of additional protocols to the FASRB
• Cooperation / stakeholder involvement / public participation
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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9. Key features of the approach
• Cohesive, providing conditions for:
– Cooperation of the countries after the conflict
– Implementation of joint, basin-wide projects
– Harmonization of national regulation, methodologies, procedures …
– Enhancement of cross-sectoral cooperation on national level
• Integrated
– Geographical scope (whole basin)
– Scope of work (sustainability + development)
– Across the sectors of society (gov., non-gov., academic, business)
• Transparent (public participation, stakeholder involvement)
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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10. Key features of the approach
• Aligned with UNECE conventions and EU regulation / strategies
– Water Convention, Espoo Convention
– EU directives (WFD, Flood Directive, INSPIRE, etc.)
– EU Danube Strategy, EU 2020 Strategy
• Subregional (“finer resolution” and complementarity of results with
those obtained on a regional, Danube scale)
• Pragmatic and practical – providing the Parties with concrete
“products” (strategic plans, integrated systems, development
programs, harmonized regulation)
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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11. Challenges to implementation
• Differences between the countries
– Status with respect to EU & eligibility for approaching funds
– Level of economic development (financial resources)
– Organizational structure in decision-making process
– Environmental awareness of the public
• Conflict of interests of different users of water (within
a country / between countries / climate change)
• Different legal capacity of the ISRBC in the fields of
navigation and water management (different perception of the
ISRBC decisions and recommendations by the Parties / national
institutions)
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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12. Challenges to implementation
• Broad scope of the FASRB
– Protocols are necessary to regulate specific issues addressed by
the FASRB
– Many focal points and good cross-sectoral coordination and
communication within a Party are needed
– Lack of human and financial resources in the Parties
– Considerable efforts are needed to raise awareness in the Parties of
benefits and the importance of the existing cooperation
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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13. Conclusions
• FASRB appears to be a good framework for Integrated TWRM
• High demand for resources and permanent joint efforts of
the Parties
• Considerable benefit for the Parties
• FASRB provides a good basis for the progress towards the
achievement of the key objective – sustainable development of
the Sava river basin
UN-Water Conference on Water Cooperation, Zaragoza, 8-10 Jan. 2013
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14. Contact information
International Sava River Basin Commission
Kneza Branimira 29
10000 Zagreb
Croatia
www.savacommission.org
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