International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre Transboundary Aquifers within the Second Assessment: the case of Dinaric Karst Aquifer System Dr Neno Kukuric Sarajevo, 2009
Content of the presentation Introduction to IGRAC (an UNESCO/WMO Groundwater Centre) Introduction to ISARM (an UNESCO led programme) State of TBA information in SSE and the UNECE Second Assessment Introduction of a DIKTAS (Dinaric Karst Aquifer System) project Concluding notes
What is IGRAC? IGRAC - International Groundwater Resource Assessment Centre is an UNESCO and WMO groundwater centre IGRAC facilitates and promotes global sharing of information and knowledge required for sustainable groundwater resources development and management. Focused on information and knowledge management, transboundary aquifer assessment and groundwater monitoring Receives financial support from the government of The Netherlands Hosted by the DELTARES in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
TBA Activities at IGRAC A map Transboundary Aquifers of the World ISARM Portal (www.isarm.net) UN ILC assistance: International Legal Agreement on groundwater TBA Methodology and a Course GEF (Global Environment Facility) projects ISARM Regional Activities (cooperation with OAS, SADC, INWEB, UNECE, OOS, GWP-MED, GEF, UNEP, UNDP..).
ISARM Programme The worldwide ISARM (Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management) Initiative is an UNESCO led multiagency effort aimed at improving the understanding of hydrogeological, socio-economic, legal, institutional and environmental issues related to the management of transboundary aquifers. Since its start in 2002, ISARM has launched a number of regional initiatives designed to assess transboundary aquifer systems and to encourage aquifer states to work cooperatively toward mutually beneficial and sustainable aquifer development.
ISARM Portal www.isarm.net
State of TBA Information in SEE 1997: Inventory of TBAs in Europe (UNECE) 2007: First Assessment (UNECE led, INWEB, IGRAC.. ) Scale & scope Pressure factors Status, trends, impacts Management responses Water Framework Directive Planned/on-going implementation Groundwater bodies vs aquifers
TBA Assessment Methodology Hydrogeological Aspect Delineation and description Classification, diagnostic analysis and zoning Data harmonisation and information management Environmental issues Socio-economic framework Institutional settings International legal framework
DIKTAS - Dinaric Karst Aquifer System DIKTAS is a GEF (www.gef.org) regional project, implemented by UNDP (www.undp.org) and executed by UNESCO (www.unesco.org). The core project partners are four countries of the Dinaric mountain region, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. Several other countries, in the region and beyond, have shown interest to join the project or to supported it in other ways. Preparatory phase 2008-2009 Project duration: four years (2009-2013) Proposed budget: circa US$ 5.5M (GEF US$ 2.2M)
DIKTAS Objectives At the global level the project aims to increase attention of the international community on the huge but vulnerable water resources contained in karst aquifers, which are widespread globally, but poorly understood. At the regional level the project s objectives are to: facilitate the equitable and sustainable utilization of the transboundary water resources of the Dinaric Karst Aquifer System, and protect the unique groundwater dependent ecosystems that characterize the Dinaric Karst region of the Balkan peninsula.
DIKTAS Activities Objectives are expected to be achieved through a concerted international effort involving: improvement in understanding of the resource and its environmental status building of political consensus and facilitating harmonisation around key reforms and new policies, enhanced and sustainable coordination among countries, donors, projects and agencies,
Concluding notes Challenges of the Second Assessment Clear definition of objectives Elaboration of the assessment procedure Close cooperation with organisations, programmes, projects and initiatives in the region Integrated Water Resources (Assessment and) Management Lessons learned from transboundary surface water assessments invisible groundwater, usually slow changes, various approaches to aquifer assessment, lack of information, political will Joining forces with Water Framework Directive Thank you for your attention! United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Meteorological Organization Government of The Netherlands Deltares