Transboundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River Basin - Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan

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Project ID
Project Title	Transboundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River Basin - Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan
Type	International Waters
Focus Areas
Geographic Scope	Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Europe & CIS
Lead Organization(s)	Financed by the EC and implemented by a consortium led by Eptisa
Project Partners	Armenia Ministry for Nature Protection Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Azerbaijan Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources From the European Commission Armenia European Union Delegation Georgia European Union Delegation Azerbaijan European Union Delegation The European Commission Neighborhood Policy European Commission Neighborhood Policy on Armenia European Commission Neighborhood Policy on Georgia European Commission Neighborhood Policy on Azerbaijan The Common Strategy for Implementing the EU Water Framework Directive & the Floods Directive European Environment Agency Multilateral Agencies in the Region NATO/OSCE Science for Peace Environment & Security Initiative Southern Caucasus North Atlantic Treaty Organization Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe United Nations Environment Programme - Regional Office for Europe United Nations Development Programme Europe & CIS UNDP Armenia UNDP Georgia UNDP Azerbaijan United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Water Convention UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Caspian Environment Programme
Financing
Timeframe	June 2008 - December 2010 (30 months)
Status	Under implementation
Project website(s)	http://www.kuraarasbasin.net/Home.html
Contacts	Anatoly Pichugin [email protected]

1 Description
2 Expected Outcomes
3 Achievements: Results and Impact
4 Lessons for Replication
5 References
6 See also
7 External Resources
8 Attachments

Description

Long-term project objective

To improve water quality in the [[Kura-Araks|Kura] Basin through transboundary cooperation and implementation of the integrated water resources management approach.

Project Purposes

Support the establishment of transboundary monitoring and information management systems to improve transboundary cooperation in the Kura River basin; and enhance capacities of environmental authorities and monitoring establishments engaged in long-term integrated water resources management in the Kura River basin.

The key areas of effort are the five main project components as follows:

Component 1: Assessments and Surveys
Component 2: Monitoring
Component 3: Management Information and Methodology
Component 4: Institutional Capacity and Training
Component 5: Public Engagement and Civil Society

Expected Outcomes

The outputs from this project will come from the combined efforts of the key and non-key experts and the beneficiaries. The intended outputs have been discussed and agreed with the project partners during the inception phase:

Available data collected, reviews carried out and the gaps in the knowledge base determined
Joint field surveys carried out in the selected pilot areas to address data shortfalls and improve transboundary cooperation
Joint monitoring programmes designed and agreed with the beneficiaries
Assistance provided to the national water quality monitoring establishments where appropriate to help to address the key concerns
A computerised common GIS databases established to facilitate the information management and data exchange between the project countries
Draft catchment (sub-catchment) river basin management plans (RBMP), including basin description, risk and pressure-impact assessment, water quality and ‘hot spots’ maps and a tentative programme of measures, put together for the selected pilot basins using the IWRM/WFD methodology
A proposal developed for improvements in the data structures, formats and information flows to facilitate decision making in the integrated water resources management
Proposals developed for the future international projects to help to address priority issues in IMRM in the project countries
EU Study Tour for the beneficiaries’ staff from the project countries
Increased public awareness regarding the priority transboundary water issues in the Kura River basin