Objective: The aim is to prevent and diminish damage caused by floods or low water levels.

1. THE JOINT FINNISH-RUSSIAN COMMISSION ON
TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS
TRENDS IN INFORMATION EXCHANGE
SIRKKA HAUNIA
Finnish Environment Institute
St. Petersburg, 8-10 June 2005

2. AREA COVERED BY THE FINNISH-
RUSSIAN AGREEMENT
 "TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS" ARE LAKES, RIVERS OR
STREAMS WHICH CROSS THE BOUNDARY OR ARE
LOCATED ON THE BOUNDARY"
 HENCE COASTAL WATERS AND GROUND WATERS
ARE EXCLUDED
 INVENTORY OF THE TRANSBOUNDAR WATERS WAS
MADE 1970-1974
• 20 RIVER BASINS
• 448 LAKES; RIVERS OR STREAMS

3. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
1964 AGREEMENT BETWEEN FINLAND AND
THE SOVIET UNION / 1992 RUSSIA
1965 JOINT COMMISSION ESTABLISHED
1972 AGREEMENT ON THE WATER LEVEL
BETWEEN THE IMATRA AND SVETOGORSK
POWER STATIONS
1991 DISCHARGE RULE OF LAKE SAIMAA
AND THE VUOKSI RIVER

4. SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT
ALL FIELDS OF WATER MANAGEMENT ARE
COVERED
• WATER PROTECTION
• HYDROELECTRIC POWER
• FISHERIES
• WATER TRANSPORT
• (TIMBER FLOATING)

5. HOW DOES THE COMMISSION WORK
IN PRACTICE 1)
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE COMMISSION IS THE
FORMAL DECISION-MAKING BODY
IN-BETWEEN THE COMMISSION MEETINGS THE
CHAIRMEN TOGETHER MAKE DECISIONS IF NEEDED
WORK IN PRACTICE IS CARRIED OUT BY THE
PERMANENT WORKING GROUPS AND THE
SECRETARIES ACCORDING TO THE ANNUAL WORK-
PLAN

6. HOW DOES THE COMMISSION WORK
IN PRACTICE 2)
• WORKING GROUP ON WATER PROTECTION
• WORKING GROUP ON WATER RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT
• WORKING GROUP OF FISHERY EXPERTS
THE FRONTIER GUARD ASSIST THE COMMISSION IN
FIELD WORK AND BORDER CROSSING

7. WORKING GROUP ON WATER
PROTECTION 1)
 ANNUAL JOINT REPORT ON MONITORING
RESULTS/ WATER QUALITY IN
TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS
 BOTH SIDES REPORT ANNUALLY ON
POLLUTION LOADING AND THE MEASURES
TAKEN TO REDUCE IT
 EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ON RELEVANT
PROJECTS, DEVELOPMENTS ETC.

8. WORKING GROUP ON WATER
PROTECTION 2)
 OCCASIONALLY CONSIDERED SPECIAL WATER
PROTECTION ISSUES
 COMPARABILITY OF WATER QUALITY DATA
(SAMPLING, ANALYTICAL METHODS,
LABORATORY PRACTICES) CHECKED
PERIODICALLY
 THE FINNISH SIDE GIVES A STATEMENT TO
PERMIT AUTHORITIES ON PERMIT APPLICATIONS
INVOLVING TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS

9. JOINT MONITORING PROGRAMME 1)
 STARTED IN 1966, INITIALLY ALL MAJOR RIVERS
WERE MONITORED
 AS MOST TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS WERE IN
NEARLY NATURAL STATE, MONITORING WAS
CONCENTRATED ON THE RIVERS IN THE SOUTH-
EAST WHICH ARE EXPOSED TO WASTE WATER
LOADING
 IN 1994 MONITORING PROGRAMME WAS
REVISED, MONITORING FREQUENCY WAS
INCREASED, SOME PARAMETRES WERE ADDED

10. JOINT MONITORING PROGRAMME 2)
 AT PRESENT THE ANNUAL PROGRAMME INCLUDES
RIVERS FLOWING INTO LAKE LADOGA (VUOKSI,
HIITOLANJOKI) AND TO THE BAY OF VYBORG IN THE
GULF OF FINLAND (RAKKOLANJOKI, URPALANJOKI
AND THE SAIMAA CANAL)
 REGIONAL AUTHORITIES IN BOTH COUNTRIES
CARRY OUT COLLECTION ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES
ACCORDING TO THE PROGRAMME AGREED ON BY
THE COMMISSION. WATER QUALITY DATA ARE
EXCHANGED BY E-MAIL AS SOON AS THEY ARE
RECEIVED FROM THE LABORATORY.

12. WORKING GROUP ON WATER
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 1)
 FINLAND REPORTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE DISCHARGE RULE FOR LAKE SAIMAA AND THE
RIVER VUOKSI. THE OUTCOME IS DISCUSSED AND
IF RELEVANT, COMPENSATION IS AGREED.
 FINLAND PREPARES PROGNOSIS REGARDING
DEVELOPMENT OF THE WATER REGIME FOR LAKE
SAIMAA AND THE RIVER VUOKSI FOR THE COMING
YEAR

13. WORKING GROUP ON WATER
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 2)
 BOTH SIDES REPORT ANNUALLY ON THE
REGULATION OF RIVERS HIITOLANJOKI AND
JÄNISJOKI AND OF LAKES JÄNISJÄRVI AND INARI
 BOTH SIDES INFORM ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE 1972 AGREEMENT (RAISING OF WATER LEVEL
BETWEEN THE IMATRA AND SVETOGORSK POWER
STATIONS)
 BOTH SIDES INFORM ABOUT RELEVANT PROJECTS,
PLANS AND DEVELOPMENTS

14. THE DISCHARGE RULE
 THE AIM IS TO PREVENT AND DIMINISH DAMAGE
CAUSED BY FLOODS OR LOW WATER LEVELS
 DISCHARGE VOLUMES CAN BE CHANGED RAPIDLY
AND FLEXIBLY
 WHEN THERE IS NO LONGER THREAT OF FLOODING,
NORMAL DISCHARGE RATES AND NATURAL WATER
LEVEL WILL BE RESUMED
 IF DAMAGE IS CAUSED BY THE CHANGES OF
DISCHARGE VOLUMES IT WILL BE COMPENSATED
BY FINLAND

15. The discharge rule of
Lake Saimaa and River Vuoksi
1 m

16. INFORMATION EXCHANGE RELATED
TO THE DISCHARGE RULE1)
 Once a year the working group meeting is held for
discussing the outcome of the implementation of
the rule in the previous year.
 Once a month a forecast of the water level for the
next four months is sent to the Russian side.
 Once a week the hydropower companies in the
River Vuoksi are informed about the discharge for
the coming week.

17. INFORMATION EXCHANGE RELATED
TO THE DISCHARGE RULE 2)
 In case there will be a change in discharge, the
Russian side and the power companies are
informed.
 If the discharge is expected to cause damage, the
amount of discharge will be agreed on in consultation
between the Parties.
 Throughout the year information on water level,
precipitation and water equivalent of snow is sent to
the Russian side and directly to some institutions.

18. WORKING GROUP ON FISHERIES
 BOTH SIDES INFORM ON RELEVANT STUDIES
AND RESULTS OF RESEARCH AIMED AT
IMPROVING FISH STOCKS AND THEIR
MANAGEMENT
 PLANS AND PROJECTS ARE NEEDED FOR
MANAGING AND ENHANCING FISHERY
 DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFIC METHODS FOR
THE ASSESSMENT OF FISH STOCKS
 PREPARATION OF FISHERY GUIDELINES

19. IMPORTANT PROJECTS
Several projects have been carried out in recent years
which have produced a lot of useful information for the
Commission's work. These have been funded from the
TACIS CBC Programme and involved several local
and regional authorities and organizations in both
countries:
RUSSFINNONPOINT
VIVATVUOKSIA
VUOKSIAGAIN

20. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION MEETING CONTAIN A
LOT OF INFORMATION (USUALLY SOME 20 ANNEXES)
 THESE REPORTS ARE DISTRIBUTED TO RELEVANT
AUTHORITIES AND STAKEHOLDERS, BUT THEY ARE
ALSO GIVEN TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ON
REQUEST
 USUALLY A PRESS RELEASE IS ISSUED IN
CONNECTION WITH THE COMMISSION MEETING,
OCCASIONALLY ALSO AT OTHER TIMES
 INTERNET SITE FOR THE COMMISSION IS BEING
PREPARED, SHOULD BE READY THIS YEAR
• IN FINNISH, RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH

21. TRENDS IN INFORMATION EXCHANGE
EXHANGE OF INFORMATION IS FASTER
using fax, email, telephone
automatic measuring and data transmission
between the power companies

22. MORE AND EASIER ACCESS TO
INFORMATION
- real-time time forecasts on water level and
discharges from some measuring sites are
available in the Internet
The forecast of water level and discharge of Lake
Saimaa and Vuoksi River on the Russian territory
and two smaller rivers flowing to the Vuoksi River
on Russian territory can be seen and are updated
daily in the Internet.

25. IMPROVED PREPAREDNESS FOR
EXCEPTIONAL SITUATIONS
 a plan is under preparation on how to ensure
information exchange within the Commission
during exceptional situations
 the hydropower companies have prepared a code
system for information exchange by telefax to
ensure that the message is understood e.g. in case
of urgent need to change the discharge

26. WIDER DISSEMINATION AND
ECHANGE
Internet pages for the Commission being
prepared
Information to and feedback from local
people gathered
WWW.YMPARISTO.FI