Towards a sustainable developmentin the Sava river basin

Dejan Komatina, Ph.D. Civ. Eng., Secretary, ISRBC

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 2

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 3

Background

• Until 1990’s:

– Sava river used to be the biggest national river

– Integrated management of the Sava water resources

• 1990’s to 2000’s:

– Management of the water resources restricted to the country level

– Integrated approach accepted on European level

• Since 2000’s:

– Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin (signed 2002, ratif. 2004)

– International Sava River Basin Commission (est. 2005, Secr. 2006)

– 4 Parties (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia)

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 4

FASRB

• Key objective:

Transboundary cooperation for sustainable development of the region

– Issues of sustainability:• Improvement of water quality• Protection of aquatic ecosystem• Protection against the harmful effects of water

(due to floods, ice, droughts, accidents)

– Development activities:• Different kinds of water use

(navigation, hydropower, water supply, irrigation, recreation, tourism)

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 5

FASRB (cont.)

• Peculiarities:

– The first multilateral agreement in the region signed after the Agreement on succession

– Provides to the Sava Commission the broadest scope of work among European basin organizations (i.e. river commissions)

– Given the international legal capacity, for:• Making decisions in the field of navigation• Providing recommendations on all other issues (i.e. water

management)

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 6

Natural basis for cooperation(high environmental and socio-economic values of the Sava river)

- Natural beauty- High biological and landscape diversity - Large retention capacity- High potential for different forms of water use (navigation, hydropower, water supply, recreation, tourism, etc.)

- FASRB and its protocols- Declaration of the 2nd MoP- EU directives- MoUs with ICPDR and DC

ISRBC(Strategy on

FASRB implementation)

Sustainable development of the

region

Framework for cooperation

(recognition of the values)

“Engine” of cooperation

Key objective of cooperation

IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS

Approach

Key objective of cooperation

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 7

Activities

– Development of joint / integrated plans for the SRB

– Establishment of integrated systems for the SRB

– Harmonization of regulation (national EU)

– Preparation and implementation of projects• Development of the Sava RBM Plan• Development of the Flood Risk Management Plan for the SRB• Rehabilitation and development of navigation on the Sava river• Development of nautical tourism in the SRB

– Creation of additional protocols to the FASRB

– Cooperation and public participation

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 8

Future projects

– Implementation of the Sava RBM Plan• Climate change adaptation• Sediment management• Groundwater management• Further establishment of Sava GIS• Projects arising from the first Progamme of Measures

– Development of the Flood Risk Management Plan• Flood risk assessment

– Establishment of flood forecasting and warning system

– Water pollution contingency management system

– Rehabilitation and development of navigation

– Development of tourism (incl. nautical tourism)

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 9

Sustainability and development

• ISRBC approach

– Cohesive

– Integrated

– Transparent

– Aligned with EU directives

– Sub-regional

– Pragmatic and practical

Conf. on EU Strategy for the Danube region, Vienna/Bratislava, 19-21 Apr 2010 10

Detailed informationwww.savacommission.org