OSCE and partner organizations launch new project to support implementation of the Dniester River Basin Treaty

High-level government representatives from Ukraine and Moldova, along with representatives of NGOs and academia from both countries, met in Kyiv on 18 December 2017 for a workshop to launch a new project to strengthen sustainable development in the Dniester river basin. 

The project, which is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), aims to enhance transboundary co-operation and water resources management in the river basin, and support Moldova and Ukraine in implementing the bilateral Dniester Treaty.

The Treaty, which came into force in July 2017, was the result of long-term co-operative endeavour between the two countries facilitated by the OSCE and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) since 2004. Both countries have been working towards establishing a Commission on Sustainable Use and Protection of the Dniester River Basin, and the new project will facilitate this process still further, along with implementing an in-depth assessment of water resources and related ecosystems.

“The project will help Ukraine and Moldova to further strengthen transboundary co-operation in the Dniester basin and to manage the basin jointly,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mykola Kuzio.

Moldova’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, Ion Apostol, said: “The Dniester is a source of drinking water for significant parts of Moldova’s and Ukraine’s population. This project will help the countries to address many of their water-related issues.”

“Water co-operation can be an effective tool for conflict prevention and confidence building, which is showcased in the Dniester river basin. The OSCE has a strong and positive track record of support provided to the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in strengthening transboundary water co-operation,” said Jeffrey Erlich, Senior Project Officer of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/Global Environment Facility Regional Team Leader and Technical Advisor Vladimir Mamaev emphasized the importance of the project’s inception workshop and reconfirmed UNDP’s full support to both countries in their trans-boundary co-operation and integrated water resources management in the Dniester River basin.

UNECE Environmental Affairs Officer Alisher Mamadzhanov said: “UNECE strongly supports the goals of the project and looks forward to fruitful joint work with stakeholders, the OSCE and the UNDP to further enhance transboundary co-operation in the Dniester basin in line with the Dniester Treaty, the Water Convention and the  Sustainable Development Goals.”

The inception workshop was followed by a project steering committee meeting that included high-level representatives from the environmental ministries and water agencies from Moldova and Ukraine, and of the OSCE, UNDP and UNECE.

The best art works prepared by children and youth from both countries as part of the OSCE-supported Colours of the Dniester art contest were also presented. The pieces raise awareness about the Dniester and the protection of its ecosystem.

The Enabling Transboundary Co-operation and Integrated Water Resources Management in the Dniester River Basin project is being implemented  by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities in close co-operation with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, the OSCE Mission to Moldova and in partnership with UNDP and UNECE.