Although there is a lack of current reliable data on surface water quality, various studies and expert' estimates indicate that major rivers and tributaries in both the Kura and Black Sea Basins are polluted, predominantly by municipal wastewater discharges. The Kura River is polluted downstream from the cities of Borjomi, Gori, Tbilisi and Rustavi. One of the major concerns within the Kura River Basin is the pollution of river Mashavera, downstream from Madneluli, where there is a copper mining industry. In the Black Sea Basin, the Rioni River is considerably polluted downstream from Kutaisi, a major urban area in Western Georgia, and Poti near the black Sea.
The quality of drinking water is of particular concern in Georgia. In total approximately 18% to 24% of samples collected from central water systems in the years 2000 and 2001 violated Georgian norms for chemical and microbiological constituents. Samples from 13 towns and cities exceeded microbiological norms by 50% or more.
The project, under implementation of the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre, is currently in the preparation phase (PDF-B), with the the project document to be finalised in early 2007. Four of the basin countries are signed up to the project: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Efforts are being made to involve Turkey in the project. The Ministry of Foriegn Affairs in Baku has confirmed Azerbaijan's comittment to the project and to work with Armenia in a multi-lateral setting.
The project preparation phase is 18 months and began July 05. It's co-funded by Sweden and has following main activities:
* A Transboundary Diagnostic Assessment (TDA) of the priority environmental problems in the Kura-Aras basin, including water quantity, water quality, flooding, habitat protection and bioresources. The first meeting of the technical experts to discuss the TDA took place in Nov 2005 (see attached meeting report).
* Development of Kura-Aras Strategic Action Programme (SAP) and National Action Plans. The activity is supported by Sida helping the countries produce draft National Action Plans (NAPs) that will act as implementation mechanisms for the SAP. The SAP and NAPs will be developed in parallel in an iterative process. At the end of the preparatory phase the hope is to produce a preliminary SAP which all four countries can endorse and build on during the main project phase.
* A stakeholder analysis and the establishment of a NGO forum. The qualitative part of the stakeholder analysis has been completed in fall 2005 in three of the four countries and a quantitative survey is planned for early 2006. In conjunction with the Eurasia Foundation two NGO meetings - comprising 10 NGO representatives per country - have been held to asisst NGOs develop transboundry projects for funding and advance ideas for a Kura-Aras NGO forum. The estblishment of a forum has now been agreed and a working group established to develop the charter and a management structure. (See attached NGO Forum Report below for more details.)
* Development of 4-5 demonstration projects for implementation in the main project. Initial ideas include establishment of transboundary water monitoring stations on the Aras (Az, Ar and Ir), creation of a Flood Management Commission (first stage between Ge and Az) and improved environmental management controls at selected mining sites. Work on development of these demonstration projects will begin in spring 2006 when co-funding will be activiely sought.
* Two regional conferences to discuss options for future management of the Kura-Aras basin to which representatives from the MoFA and Ministries of Ecology or Natural Resources will be invited. These discussions will continue into the main project. At the end of the preparation stage it is hoped that the countries can sign a declaration to work together to protect the environment of the Kura-Aras basin.
* Development of the main project document with GEF funding of $6 million and hoped for co-funding of more than $5 million. Co-funding is to be sought in particular for the implementation of the demonstration projects.
Background: The Kura-Aras river system is a principal source of water for industry, agriculture, residential uses and energy in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey. The rivers are important to regional cooperation as they cross and form many of the borders. Both rivers are seriously degraded in places. Water quality is impaired by the dumping of untreated municipal, industrial, medical and agricultural wastes, and by high sedimentation loads resulting from upstream deforestation. Water quantity is constrained by use of water for agricultural and hydropower purposes, which impacts upon the river ecosystem in places. Integrated, inter-country efforts are urgently required to evaluate the degree of ongoing degradation of these river ecosystems and to take action to halt and reverse damaging trends where necessary.
The project aims to ensure that the quality and quantity of the water throughout the Kura-Aras river system meets the short and long-term needs of the ecosystem and the communities relying upon the ecosystem. The project will achieve its objectives by: fostering regional cooperation; increasing capacity to address water quality and quantity problems; demonstrating water quality/quantity improvements; initiating required policy and legal reforms; identifying and preparing priority investments and; developing sustainable management and financial arrangements.
Lessons Learned
Following lessons can be drawn from the project so far (March 2007): * The project has been able to strengthen the regional network of technical experts working on groundwater issues. The regional meeting organized is the first time many of the experts had met since the break-up of the Soviet Union; * There is a lack and/or absence of valid and reliable data and this will affect the quality of project deliverables; * There is no capacity to undertake integrated management of water resources at the basin level but, also given the current evel of management/regulation, it is not clear that it is implementable in the short to medium term; * Lack of funds and understanding of importance of groundwater monitoring among decision makers are the main reasons why GW monitoring has been abandoned in Kura-Aras basin countries since early 90ies; * There is lack of clear vision of good management of water resources and absence of national and a regional strategies;
Objectives of the Sida Component: * Identification of National Legal-Institutional and Policy needs for Integrated Management of the Kura River Basin; * Background Analyses of the Kura River Basin (feedback to TDA): Water quality and quantity; Major ecosystems; Socio-economic trends, driving forces and pressures on the basin’s degradation; Existing water infrastructure * Identification of Optimal Institutional arrangement for the management of the Basin; * Development of National Action Plans
This project component is an integral part of the UNDP/GEF Project entitled "Reducing Trans-boundary Degradation of the Kura-Aras River Basin", focusing on i) Public involvement and Stakeholder Participation, ii) Community-based demonstration projects, and iii) Integration of transboundary aquifer aspects into the project activities.
The specific objective for public involvement and stakeholder participation, and development of community based demonstration projects of this component are:
To support and contribute to country wide, stakeholder ownership of the basin planning process thus ensuring its sustainability and country commitment.
The project outcomes, verify achievement of this objective, are:
1. Active regional participation of NGO and other civil society organisations in the planning process engaged at the government and the grass-roots levels, capable of advocating the wishes of a broad spectrum of society.
2. A planning process which consults and involves stakeholders at all levels and the active participation of those stakeholders in implementing the resultant plans.
These outcomes will be met through three related outputs: 1. Creation of a region-wide NGO forum resultant of the regional meetings 2. Development of pilot projects that have an emphasis on public involvement, including a trans-boundary public involvement project to be implemented in the early stages of the full project 3. Creation and support for the regional Stakeholder Advisory Group in conjunction with the TDA – SAP process and promotion of its meaningful and active participation in decision-making during the TDA/SAP/NAP formulation.
Planned demonstration project to establish approximately 90 monitoring stations for collection of limited data above and below major cities and farming, mining and industrial areas on the Kura and Araks Rivers and their major tributaries. System to be developed cooperatively with scientists from Armenia, Azerbaijan , Georgia and the US, and with additional funding from the US DOE.
The project goal is to increase the dialogue for sustainable water management between representatives in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan in the riparian states of the South Caucasus, and to encourage bilateral actions on the sustainable use of natural resources.
The general activities include support to the appropriate agencies in each country for:
* Monitoring, data exchange, and training in each country, * Integrated river basin planning in bilateral pilot areas, and * Institutional framework for addressing water policy issues in the region.
The project activities have been successful in increasing sustainable water management among the stakeholders in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in:
* Monitoring and Data Exchange - provided practical demonstration projects that restarted the monitoring programs, and developed and implemented a common database for web-based data sharing in the region; * Training Programs - developed an extensive training program at the local and national levels for basic and advanced data management, geographic information systems, and web site development, including a basin model of the Debed River in Armenia; * Integrated River Basin Planning - increased understanding of effective water management in the Khrami-Debed River basin, and included the completion of seven (7) prefeasibility evaluation reports and 70 grants that increased the effective participation of stakeholders in river basin planning issues; * Institutional and Legal Framework - provided policy support for sustainable water management that addressed and prioritized water issues with the extensive collaboration of counterpart agencies, other donors, and project implementers in the region; * Basin Council Development - initiated stakeholder meetings in the river basins that included the preparation of registration documents and support for the establishment of basin councils that resulted in the formal registration of three new basin council organizations at the grass-roots level; and * Leveraging of Support - leveraged support from other contractors and donors to continue the public awareness in the basin areas, to conduct a study tour on basin management in the US, and to consider the funding of the prefeasibility evaluations in a phased program.
This report was prepared for the EAP Task Force Meeting 'Group of Senior Officials on the Reforms of the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia: Water and sewerage Utilities in the Republic of Georgia - Operational and Financial Performance Indicators'.
This report is about the project, in which the OECD/EAP Task Force secretariat cooperated with the Georgian Government to assess the financial implications of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); to help the Government of Georgia to set realistic targets for the rehabilitation and development of urban water supply and sanitation infrastructure and services; and to identify options to bridge the finan-cial gap between the expenditure needed for achieving policy objectives and the financing available.
