Petersberg Process Phase II / Athens Declaration Process
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The two Petersberg Process and Athens Declaration processes have been linked in order to generate synergies and maximize the outcomes for the benefit of the SEE region, rather than duplicate activities and consequently efforts. The Petersberg Process Phase II / Athens Declaration Process has become a reference for many other processes and activities in the region. The Process is jointly coordinated by the German Ministry for the Environment, the Hellenic Ministry and the World Bank. GEF IW:LEARN is supporting synergies and GWP-Med provides technical and administrative assistance. The Process would complement European Union (EU) integration processes, the Stabilisation and Association process of the European Union and other ongoing initiatives in the region. It contributes directly to the scope and objectives of the Mediterranean Component of the EU Water Initiative (MED EUWI).
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Focus / Objective
As agreed in Rudesheim, 2004, follow-up activities focus on basins of transboundary rivers lying south of Danube, which flow into the Adriatic, the Ionian, the Aegean and the Black, Seas, and on the set of transboundary lake basins in the same area.
The main objective is to build capacity and share experience on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), and to develop IWRM plans for these shared water bodies as a response to the targets of the Johannesburg Summit, 2002. The activities are fully integrated in the MED EUWI Work Plans.
The Berlin Roundtable (December 2005; see Petersberg process for details) has been a milestone in the Petersberg Process Phase II / Athens Declaration Process. More than 60 participants, representatives of competent Ministries of the countries of the SEE, water stakeholders, representatives of the German and Greek Governments, World Bank, GEF, European Commission, UNESCO, UNECE, UNEP, KfW, GTZ, InWEnt and GWP-Med, participated.
The Roundtable reviewed the progress on cooperation in the field of transboundary Water resources management (TWRM) in the region at unilateral and multilateral level and underlined its importance for succeeding stability and prosperity in the SEE. It reaffirmed the, common, interest for the continuing and enhancement of close cooperation and underlined the importance of initiatives that promote such activities. It acknowledged the central role of Petersberg Process Phase II / Athens Declaration Process and provided input and guided the next steps of the Process in the effort to succeed its objectives.
It was recommended that the Petersberg Process Phase II /Athens Declaration Process will:
- Continue to provide a dialogue Forum for identification of new and discussion of all relevant ideas and challenges in transboundary water management in SEE;
- Support measures to obtain and enhance the political, economic and environmental benefits that may be realized through effective cooperation in management of transboundary waters;
- Increase the visibility of success stories and good practices that may inspire similar initiatives; and
- Focus on a set of key areas and conduct activities at an increasingly local level to facilitate a broader range of participants in the dialogue.
The Process would not directly support investments. However it would provide the framework for exchange of the necessary information and experience that would support the creation of conditions that would facilitate investment to take place.
GEF IW:LEARN, in cooperation with the World Bank, the Governments of Germany and Greece, and GWP-Med is supporting synergy in the Petersberg Process Phase II / Athens Declaration Process, and contributions of practical experience from GEF projects working in transboundary river, lake and groundwater in the SEE region as well as elsewhere in the world.
It aims to strengthen Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) by facilitating structured learning and information sharing among stakeholders. The goals of of GEF IW:LEARN Activity D2 Project are to contribute to the cross-fertilization between competent organizations and persons with roles within the river commissions and other joint bodies in SEE and, at the same time, to allow for the introduction of new elements and experiences from outside the region.
The goals will be pursued through the organization of a series of capacity building workshops for senior officials, decision makers and experts, and through the facilitation of an internet-based information network establishing a community of practice on transboundary water resources management with a particular focus in SEE. The project’s overall implementation period is 38 months, from May 2005 until June 2008.
The "countries of focus" are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro. Neighbouring countries – Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Slovenia and Turkey will be included where relevant.
Activities are primarily supported by the Governments of Germany and Greece, World Bank and GEF IW:LEARN. GWP-Med provides technical and administrative assistance. Organizations and Institutions having experience and working in the field of TWRM, such as UNESCO, UNESCO-IHP / International Shared Aquifers Resource Management Programme (ISARM) and International Network of Water-Environment Centres for the Balkans (INWEB), and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) are collaborating partners. Synergies with active institutions, processes, initiatives and projects supported by GEF, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and donor countries, in the field of transboundary water management at the international, regional and national level, are being developed.
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MAIN LESSONS
Further Readings, References, Links
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Transboundary Waters Information Exchange Network for the South Eastern Europe (TWIEN SEE)
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