The country can be divided into seven major river basins, all of them discharging into the Black Sea except the Northern Buh which flows towards the Baltic Sea:
-The Dnipro basin, covering about 65% of the country.
-The Dniester basin, covering 12% of the country. It flows into Moldova before re-entering Ukraine some 50 km before its mouth in the Black Sea.
- The Danube basin, covering 7% of the country. Ukraine contributes 7.5% to the total flow of the Danube.
- The coastal basin, covering 7% of the country.
- The Northern Donetsk basin, covering 4% of the country.
- The Southern Buh basin, covering 3% of the country. It is an internal river basin, generating about 3.4 km³/year.
- The Northern Buh basin, covering 2% of the country. The Northern Buh River rises in Ukraine and flows north, forming the border with Poland, and then the border between Poland and Belarus.
The Danube River contributes almost 80 percent of inflow to transboundary rivers. Resources are unevenly distributed throughout the country. Some areas experience water shortages. There are about 3,000 natural lakes in Ukraine, with a total area of 2,000 square kilometres. The largest freshwater lakes have an approximate area of 50 square kilometres and are located in the central and southern parts of the country. In addition, there are about 12,000 square kilometres of swamp (peat soil) in the north.
The IRSWR can be estimated at 50.1 km³/year (Figure 2), while the total surface water resources can be estimated at 136.55 km³/year.
The groundwater resources are estimated at 20 km³/year. Artesian wells are found at an average depth of 100-150m in the north of the country and at 500-600m in the south. The overlap between surface and groundwater resources has been estimated at 17 km³/year.
The lack of permanent access to clean drinking water is an important environmental, as well as a health issue in Ukraine. The Dnipro Basin has been described as a classic example of unsustainable development due to the legacy of attempts to transform an agricultural region into a major industrial one in a few decades. More than ten years ago a number of pollutants made the water undrinkable in many areas. These pollutants derived from inadequate sewage treatment facilities, direct discharge of industrial waste, excessive fertilizers, and untreated animal waste. The river was also contaminated by the runoff from areas affected by the Chornobyl accident. Since independence substantial progress has been made towards cleaning up the river but much remains to be done. One of the obstacles in assessing the situation is that data differs considerably. According to one survey conducted in 1999 by UNICEF and the SSC, 98 per cent of the country’s population had permanent access to safe drinking water. Yet, water samples analyzed that same year showed that the water failed to meet the government’s norms for safe drinking water. A subsequent survey conducted by UNDP concluded that only 64 per cent of respondents had running water in their homes
Water Use and Management
The government is now focusing on expanding supplies of drinking water. Although nearly 100 percent of the population has access to safe water (in rural areas, mostly through wells), the existing network is overburdened. For this reason, and because of energy shortages, many cities receive water only twice a day for a limited number of hours.
Traditionally, the government has focused on providing water for agriculture. But after 1992 this changed. The shift was caused by a lack of capital and the undefined status of land ownership on large areas. Combined with the lack of fuel to pump water, this explains the recent decrease in irrigated areas.
The water resources used by humans are classified as polluted or very polluted. Drinking water often fails to meet quality standards, which poses a major threat to public health. Lack of sewerage and wastewater treatment facilities also contributes to the poor quality of water in Ukraine.
With regards to transboundary water management, Soviet legislation regarding international water issues is still valid, which means that the agreements with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania -- as well as the internal regulations between former Soviet republics -- are still in force. An agreement between Moldova and Ukraine stipulates that Moldova may use water stored in the Curciugan reservoir, located on a tributary of the Dnestr river basin. This tributary forms the border between Ukraine and Moldova before it reaches the Dnestr.
Fact and Figures
Total Available Renewable Water Resources [1] -- 140 km2/yr (7,712 L/day/cap)
Renewed as:
- Surface water produced internally -- 50.4 km3/yr (36%)
- Groundwater recharge -- 19.4 km3/yr (14%)
- Incoming waters -- 86.8 km3/year (62%)
Used by man -- 37.8 km3/yr (27%)
Rainfall -- 600 mm/year
Water Usage [2] -- 37.8 km3/yr (100%)
By Sector:
- Agriculture -- 11.34 km3/yr (30%)
- Industry -- 19.66 km3/yr (52%)
- Domestic -- 6.80 km3/yr (18%)
Population [3] without Safe Access to..
.. an improved water source (2004) [4] -- 1,926,004 (4%)
The Water Infrastructire Pilot Initiative: As in many rural villages in Crimea, both pilot settlements identified reliable drinking water supplies and adequate water for home gardening (irrigation) as overwhelming priorities. Since more than 80% of the active population is unemployed, gardening is the main source of income for the majority of the households. This untenable situation has aggravated poverty and has naturally increased the potential for conflict by fuelling sentiments of frustration and despair amongst the 800 inhabitants of the two communities.
The main aim of the pilot projects of Sevastyanovka and Tenistoye was to create an attitude of self-confidence within the communities. Since rural communities (and in particular FDPs) tended to wait for the central government to improve their situation, the pilot projects aimed at assisting both target communities to realise that they can do a great deal on their own, without outside help. This new attitude amongst the majority of the population could be created by strictly adhering to the concept of community participation through social mobilisation.
From 2001 to June 2005, 13 water supply projects were implemented in Belogorskii, Simferopolskii, Bakhchisaraiskii and Pervomaiskii regions and the city of Simferopol though contracting construction organizations. 2 projects are ongoing at present. Total number of beneficiaries of these projects is 29,177 people, out of them 12,904 are FDPs. Total projects cost amounted to US$ 2,193,650 out of which the Government of Crimea/Rescomnats contributed US$ 435,960.
The most important lesson learned from the pilot initiatives is that meaningful community involvement through social mobilisation can lead to positive changes in attitude - even in the complex environment of post-soviet Crimea. Attitudes can be changed so that communities are able to take stock of their own situation, identify their own needs, set their own priorities and decide what resources they can contribute towards the solution of their own problems.
With respect to observations made several years ago, the opinions of public authorities at national, regional and local levels towards CIDP and its approaches have shifted considerably. The new orientation towards real community involvement is increasingly seen as a viable approach (if not the only approach) for improving the desperate conditions prevalent in most rural villages - and particularly in FDP compact settlements. Nowadays, community participation is not just accepted but is actively and sometimes even enthusiastically supported by regional administrations and village councils throughout the Crimea.
This growing awareness is currently contributing to mainstream community involvement in planning and decision-making processes throughout the Crimea; it favours a gradual scaling up of the approach as it reaches influential decision-makers at the policy level. CIDP has been invited by the Republican Committee for Housing and Communal Services that is responsible for operation and maintenance of communal infrastructure to take an active role in the finalisation of a key policy paper.
At the project level CIDP combines technical know-how with social competence. As a result, technically sound water supply facilities have been constructed in the two pilot communities with substantial contributions made by the communities themselves. The communities can now rectify problems such as system leakage independently, right on the spot.
The new orientation towards real community involvement is increasingly seen as a viable approach for improving the desperate conditions prevalent in most rural villages: In both pilot communities, the establishment of community organisations has helped to overcome prejudices and inter-ethnic relations have greatly improved. With the advent of social mobilisation, people interact and work side by side on their priority projects. The communities feel overwhelmingly proud about their achievements. After just a few months of operation, they already realise that the new service has substantially changed their lives for the better.
Although the processes promoted by CIDP were followed during preparation, construction, operation and maintenance, the communities had to make their own adjustments regarding cost recovery. The fact that both communities were able to resolve cost recovery problems shows that even in the specific socioeconomic context of the Crimea, the concept of community participation/involvement through social mobilisation works.
Even in the specific socio-economic context of the Crimea, the concept of community participation/involvement through social mobilisation works: The CIDP pilot approach is now being applied right across CIDP and is gradually being introduced in all UNDP projects in Ukraine. The conceptual framework, the social mobilisation process and the implementation mechanisms have been described in a comprehensive user manual.
The May 2004 evaluation quoted the chairman of a participating village council as follows: "In the past, I felt extremely uncomfortable going into open meetings with local communities. Most of the time would invariably be spent listening to biting criticism of the administration. Shouting was common, and in the end we would leave without having accomplished anything. Now, I meet with elected representatives of communities. They are well prepared, they propose specific projects and they indicate their own contributions, which are usually substantial. Shouting has given way to listening".
UNDP-GEF Preparation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Dnipro River Basin and Development of SAP Implementation (UNDP/UNOPS 2000-2005)
UNDP-GEF Implementation of Priority Interventions of the Dnipro Basin Strategic Action Program: Chemical Industrial Pollution Reduction and The Development of Joint Institutional Arrangements (UNDP/UNOPS 2005-2007)
The idea behind this project is to develop a sustainable forestry programme in the Trans-Carpathian region, rounding off the humanitarian aid activities undertaken in 1998 and 2001 when the Theiss flooded twice causing tremendous damage in Trans-Carpathia and the neighbouring country of Hungary. Initial action, including reinforcement of the river bed, protective embankments and corrections of the river course, was taken, helping to avoid further extensive damage. As a follow-up measure, this project now aims to strengthen and protect the stocks of beech trees in Trans-Carpathia – the largest in the world. They have crucial ecological and economic functions but their care, cultivation and use have been sadly neglected, with all the parties involved failing to recognize the significance of these forests for regulating groundwater stocks far and wide. In the first phases of the project, an inventory is being drawn up and the basis for a forestry strategy established, while contacts are being made with the authorities and businesses in the forestry field. For that purpose, various missions to Trans-Carpathia are necessary. Ukraine's Ministry of the Environment and its Forestry Ministry as well as (at a later stage) Ukrainian universities are the local project partners.
This analytical report is a draft for discussion to articulate the urgent goals by the means of large scaled public discussion and improve it considering the followed modifications.
This report presents an assessment of the key development results in Ukrainein the last five to seven years, focusing on the contribution the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) has made towards them.
The National Human Development Report on Ukraine for 2003 continues the public discussion on ways to involve the wider community at local levels of governance.
