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5 batyr hajiyev -unece - convention&groundwater
- 1. The UNECE Water Convention and its application to groundwaters Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Batyr Hajiyev Economic Affairs Officer, Deputy Head ESCAP/UNECE SPECA Office in Almaty
- 2. The Water Convention Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes United Nations Economic Commission for Europe • Signed on 17 March 1992 • Entered into force on 6 October 1996 • Amended in 2003 to allow accession to countries beyond the UNECE region • Amendment entered into force on 6 February 2013 => countries outside ECE to accede as of end of 2013
- 3. Status of ratification of the Convention Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Status of ratification of the Convention 38 countries and the European Union Parties Countries in accession Non Parties . 38 countries and the European Union Parties Countries in accession Non Parties
- 4. Main obligations under the Convention Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes United Nations Economic Commission for Europe • Protection of transboundary waters by preventing, controlling and reducing transboundary impacts • Reasonable and equitable use of transboundary waters • Obligation to cooperate through agreements and joint institutions => Overall objective of sustainability
- 5. Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Applicability to groundwater • "Transboundary waters" means any surface or ground waters which mark, cross or are located on boundaries between two or more States (Art.1(1)) • The Guide to Implementing the Convention: “As for groundwaters, the Convention includes both confined and unconfined aquifers”
- 6. Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Two categories of obligations • For all Parties => also benefit for national legislation • For Riparian Parties => the Convention does not replace basin agreements – Conclude bilateral and multilateral agreements Cooperate on the basis of IWRM – Establish joint bodies (e.g. river commissions) – Consult and exchange of information – Joint monitoring and assessment – Elaborate joint objectives and action programme
- 7. Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Groundwater activities… • Guidelines on monitoring and assessment of transboundary groundwaters (2000) & pilot projects to apply the guidelines • Inventory and assessment: First (2007) and Second (2011) Assessments of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters in UNECE region • Preliminary study of the application of the principles of the Convention to transboundary groundwater (2010- 2011) and Study on groundwater in transboundary water agreements in EECCA (2009) • 2012 Model provisions for transboundary groundwaters • Capacity for Water Cooperation workshop for EECCA countries (Almaty, 2012)
- 8. Model Provisions on Transboundary Groundwaters • Non-binding guidance • adopted by Meeting of the Parties in 2012 • Build on the ILC Draft Articles • To be used by Parties and non-Parties when entering into or reviewing bilateral or multilateral agreements on transboundary groundwaters (in the form of an additional protocol to an existing agreement or a new and separate specific agreement on groundwaters) • Accompanied by commentaries with references to international commitments and existing State practice
- 9. Model Provisions on Transboundary Groundwaters Provision 1 -obligation to take all appropriate measures to prevent, control and reduce any transboundary impact -obligation to use transboundary groundwaters in an equitable and reasonable manner, taking into account all relevant factors Provision 2 -obligation to use transboundary groundwaters in a sustainable manner
- 10. Model Provisions on Transboundary Groundwaters Provision 3 -Obligation of cooperation in the common identification, delineation and characterization of their transboundary groundwaters -Programmes for the joint monitoring and assessment of quantity and quality of transboundary groundwaters Provision 4 -Integrated management of transboundary groundwaters and surface waters
- 11. Model Provisions on Transboundary Groundwaters Provision 5 -Prevention, control and reduction of the pollution of transboundary groundwaters Provision 6 -Exchange of information and available data on transboundary groundwaters (condition, status of use) Provision 7 -Joint or coordinated plans for the proper management of their transboundary groundwaters (allocation, abstraction volumes, authorizations, pumping limitation, preservation & rehbilitation))
- 12. Model Provisions on Transboundary Groundwaters Provision 8 -Environmental impact assessment -Notification of the other Party and consultations -Access to information, public participation and access to justice with respect to the conditions of transboundary groundwaters Provision 9 -Joint body
- 13. Second Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters • Prepared for the 7th Ministerial Conference (Astana, Kazakhstan; September 2011) • Collective effort by Parties and non-Parties to the Water Convention, and countries outside the UNECE region • Covers more than 140 rivers, 25 lakes, about 200 groundwaters and 25 Ramsar Sites/wetlands of transboundary importance
- 14. Central Asia Transboundary waters Zoï IGRAC
- 15. Transboundary aquifers inventoried in Central Asia • 35 transboundary aquifers • Groundwater used mainly for drinking and agriculture, animal watering, small amounts for industry and spas, mineral water • Pressure from agriculture, industry, elevated salinity from inefficient irrigation & drainage, depletion due to heavy abstraction, waste disposal, locally mining • No data to assess pollution even though occurrence of pollution indicated (salinization, nitrogen, pesticides, heavy metals, pathogens, organic compounds & hydrocarbons)
- 16. Capacity for Water Cooperation Workshop on Legal, Institutional and Technical Aspects of Managing Transboundary Groundwaters Almaty, Kazakhstan, 29-31 May 2012 The participants made recommendations about •activities at national level (improvement of coordination, communication and information exchange, developing monitoring, training, research etc.) •activities at transboundary level (following slide) •recommended measures in the context of cooperation on transboundary groundwaters
- 17. Workshop recommendations: Important activities at the transboundary level (a) Develop bilateral and multilateral cooperation on the use and protection of transboundary groundwaters, including information exchange; (b) Organize joint delineation and status assessment for and develop joint monitoring; (c) Analyze transboundary water cooperation agreements for coverage of groundwater & assess the needs for new agreements; (d) Encourage joint bodies to work on transboundary groundwaters (including representation of groundwater authorities); (e) Involve international organizations in facilitating the initial dialogue
- 18. Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Thank you! More information including guidelines, publications and information on activities under the Convention can be found at http://unece.org/env/water water.convention@unece.org
Editor's Notes
- What the map shows Upstream/downstream Water rich/water poor Wealthier/poorer
- Model provisions Challenges in practical implementation of Water Convention’s obligations, together with specificity of groundwater => Meeting of the Parties to UNECE Water Convention (2009) mandated the Legal Board together with Working Group on IWRM to elaborate study with proposals for future action Active participation of UNESCO and International Association of Hydrogeologists Preliminary study on the application of the principles of the Convention to transboundary groundwater (2010)
- Provision 1 1.Each Party shall, in its utilization of transboundary groundwaters, or while undertaking any activity affecting in any way transboundary groundwaters, take all appropriate measures to prevent, control and reduce any transboundary impact. 2.The Parties shall use transboundary groundwaters in an equitable and reasonable manner, taking into account all relevant factors, including under agreements applicable between them. Provision 2 1.The Parties shall use transboundary groundwaters in a sustainable manner, with a view to maximizing the long-term benefits accruing therefrom and preserving groundwater-dependent ecosystems. 2.To that end, the Parties shall take into due account the functions of groundwater resources, the amount and the quality of groundwater in reserve and the rate of its replenishment, making their best efforts to prevent the diminution of the groundwater reserve from reaching a critical level.
- Provision 3 1.The Parties shall cooperate in the common identification, delineation and characterization of their transboundary groundwaters. They shall also strive to develop common conceptual models whose level of detail depends on the complexity of the system and the pressures weighing on it. 2.The Parties shall establish programmes for the joint monitoring and assessment of quantity and quality of transboundary groundwaters. To this end, they shall, inter alia: (a)Use common or harmonized standards and methodologies; (b)Agree upon assessment criteria and key parameters to be regularly monitored, taking into account the specific features of the groundwaters; (c)Establish a groundwater monitoring network linked to the monitoring of surface waters, where appropriate; (d)Develop appropriate hydrogeological maps, including vulnerability maps and mathematical models where appropriate. Provision 4 The Parties shall cooperate on the integrated management of their transboundary groundwaters and surface waters.
- Provision 5 1.The Parties shall take appropriate measures to prevent, control and reduce the pollution of transboundary groundwaters, especially those reserved for drinking water supply. In this context, they shall follow the precautionary principle in view of the vulnerability of groundwater to pollution, particularly in cases of possible uncertainty about the nature and extent of transboundary groundwaters. 2.Such measures shall include, inter alia, the following: (a)The establishment of protection zones, in particular in the most vulnerable/ critical parts of the recharge area of groundwaters, especially of groundwaters used or intended to be used for the provision of drinking water; (b)The adoption of measures to prevent or limit the release of pollutants into groundwaters, such as negative influences on groundwater from point sources; (c)The regulation of land uses, including intensive agricultural practices, to combat pollution of groundwater from nitrates and plant protection agents; (d)The definition of groundwater quality objectives and the adoption of groundwater quality criteria. Provision 6 The Parties shall establish arrangements for the exchange of information and available data on the condition of transboundary groundwaters, including available data on the parameters prescribed in Provision 3, as well as information on the status of use of transboundary groundwaters. Provision 7 1.The Parties shall establish and implement joint or coordinated plans for the proper management of their transboundary groundwaters, where appropriate. 2.Such management plans shall provide, inter alia, for: (a)The allocation of water uses, taking into account all relevant factors, including present and future needs, as well as the needs of groundwater-dependent ecosystems; (b)The recording of the volume of water abstractions and the prescription of a requirement of prior administrative authorization for abstraction and artificial recharge; (c)The prescription of pumping limitations, inter alia, in the form of quantification of the aggregate of annual abstraction, and of criteria for the placement of new wells and the development of other abstraction facilities; (d)The development of programmes of measures for preserving and rehabilitating groundwater quantity and quality.
- Provision 8 1.All planned activities which are likely to have a significant effect on transboundary groundwaters and, thereby, to have an adverse impact on another Party, shall be subject to an environmental impact assessment procedure. In addition, the Party of origin of the planned activity shall notify the other Party accordingly as early as possible and, if the latter so wishes, provide the environmental impact assessment documentation and enter into consultations with that Party. 2.The obligations of paragraph 1 shall apply, inter alia, in cases of large-scale abstractions of groundwater from the transboundary aquifer or in case of significant artificial groundwater recharge schemes. 3.The Parties shall adopt measures aiming at raising awareness and providing access to information, public participation and access to justice with respect to the conditions of transboundary groundwaters, and the proposed activities of paragraph 1. Provision 9 In order to implement the objectives and principles of the present Model Provisions and coordinate their cooperation, the Parties shall establish a joint body.
- Participants stressed that cooperation of States in the area of groundwater is needed in order to avoid excessive exploitation and pollution of groundwaters. They emphasized the importance of the following activities at transboundary level: (а) Develop bilateral and multilateral cooperation on the use and protection of transboundary groundwaters, including exchange of data and information on status and pressures; (b) Organize joint delineation and status assessment for transboundary groundwaters and develop methodologies and programmes for joint monitoring; (c) Analyze transboundary water cooperation agreements in force in order to clarify their scope and existing obligations of States in relation to transboundary groundwaters, as well as assess the needs for entering into new agreements or revising existing agreements to ensure the regulation of use and protection of transboundary groundwaters; (d) Encourage existing joint bodies on transboundary waters to work on transboundary groundwaters, in particular by ensuring the representation of governmental authorities responsible for groundwater in the national delegations participating in the activities of the joint bodies; (e) Involve international organizations in facilitating the initial dialogue between States on transboundary groundwaters, as necessary.