Tirana

On 25 November 2011 in Tirana the five Drin River Riparians signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a Shared Strategic Vision for the Sustainable Management of the Drin River Basin to protect the shared water resources for about 1.5 million people relying on the water resources of the basin for drinking water, agriculture, fisheries, industry and hydropower. Recent floods, in particular, have highlighted the need for such closer transboundary cooperation.

Fatmir Mediu, Minister of Environment, Forests and Water Administration, Albania; Abdilaqim Ademi, Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, The former Yugoslavia Republic of  Macedonia; Ilir Mirena, Deputy Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Kosovo (United Nations administered region, Security Council resolution 1244); Andreas Andreadakis, Special Secretary for Water, Ministry of Environment,  Energy and Climate Change, Greece, and Velizar Vojinovic, Deputy Minister of Agricultural and Rural Devevelopment, Montenegro, signed the Memorandum, which represents a significant step forward in the development of transboundary cooperation in the Drin Basin.
The Drin Dialogue, which was set up to look into the many competing interests and challenges facing Riparians and which led to the signing of the Strategic Vision, was facilitated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean.

Competing uses for the water resources of the basin need to be addressed. Hydropower is of particular importance, with major dams and associated power stations in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in Albania, where hydropower accounts for more than 85 per cent of the total electricity supply. In addition, the basin faces a number of threats to its water quality, such as pollution from agriculture and discharges of untreated wastewater from cities. The exceptional biodiversity and endemic species of the Drin Basin are also under threat without improved and coordinated management of the ecosystem.

The Shared Strategic Vision identifies the challenges at the transboundary level and lays out the actions that need to be taken to address them, such as:

• Improving access to comprehensive data and adequate information
• Developing cooperation and measures to minimize flooding
• Improving management and appropriate disposal of solid wastes
• Decreasing pollution of nutrients and hazardous substances such as heavy metals and pesticides
• Minimizing the effects of the building of dams and other changes of the water system.

The Shared Strategic Vision includes specific objectives in the short, medium and long term and institutes the Drin Core Group with representation from all Riparians to manage its implementation.

The signing took place during a Multi-stakeholder Consultation Meeting of the Drin Dialogue, with the participation of representatives from the riparian countries: national, regional and local authorities, important economic sectors, water users associations, academia, the private sector and non-governmental organizations, as well representatives of international organizations and donor countries. Marco Keiner, Director of the UNECE Environment Division, and Mr. Michael Scoullos, Chairman, Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean, also participated in the ceremony. Marco Keiner said that UNECE stands ready to further support the Drin Dialogue process, i.e. the implementation of the signed shared vision.

Note to editors

The Drin Dialogue is a structured consultation process that aims to develop a shared vision among Riparians and stakeholders for the sustainable management of the Drin Basin. The Drin Dialogue is facilitated by UNECE and the Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med) using the platform of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) and the Petersberg Phase II/Athens Declaration Process. It is part of Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) work programme and is financially supported by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The Drin Core Group, with representatives from all Riparians, has guided the process to establish the Shared Strategic Vision for the sustainable management of the basin.

The Drin Basin covers a geographical area that includes Albania, Greece, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo (United Nations administered region, Security Council resolution 1244) and Montenegro. The Drin River is the connecting body of this water system, linking the lakes, wetlands, rivers and other aquatic habitats into a single ecosystem of major importance. The region is very rich in endemic species and exceptional in terms of biodiversity conservation, and so has great potential for the development of sustainable tourism.

The UNECE Water Convention is an important legal framework for transboundary water management in the pan-European region. The Drin Dialogue is part of its work programme. Currently, 37 countries and the European Union are Parties to the Convention. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro are preparing for accession; Albania and Greece are already Parties.

The Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med) is a platform bringing together competent organizations working on water issues in the Mediterranean region. Created in 2002, this non-governmental organization promotes and exchanges knowledge on integrated water resources management for the sustainable use of the region’s water resources. GWP-Med is the technical secretariat of the Petersberg Phase II/Athens Declaration Process for South-East Europe, a framework for the development of transboundary water cooperation in the region. For more information, see http://www.gwpmed.org.

Contact information:

Bo Libert
UNECE Regional Adviser on Environment
Tel.: +41 (0) 22 917 2396, +41 (0) 22 917 2396
Email: bo.libert@unUNECE.org

Baku

On Monday, 28 November 2011, Government representatives of Azerbaijan and Georgia met in Baku to discuss a draft bilateral agreement on the shared water resources of the Kura River Basin as part of a joint United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)-Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) project under the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC). The consultations were constructive and will result in a revised draft for discussion by the two Governments.

Azerbaijan and Georgia rely on the water in the Kura Basin as a key source of drinking water, for sanitation, municipal and industrial water use, and for irrigated agriculture, among other uses. Increased variation and reduction of hydrological flow, deterioration of water quality and ecosystem degradation, as well as flooding and bank erosion, are some of the issues that need to be addressed jointly by the two Riparian States.

The draft agreement, which was officially submitted in advance of the meeting to Azerbaijan and Georgia for review, provides a framework for cooperation between the two countries on water pollution prevention and control, conservation of biodiversity, emergency situations, data and information sharing and public participation. The draft agreement also envisages the establishment of a joint commission for the protection and rational use of water resources of the Kura River Basin.

The project on the Implementation of the UNECE Water Convention and Management of Transboundary Watercourses Shared by Georgia and Azerbaijan has provided technical assistance to Georgia in identifying its legal and financial needs for accession to, and implementation of, the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention).

The meeting was another step in the increasing engagement of UNECE in water management in South Caucasus. National Policy Dialogues on integrated water resources management are actively developing in all three countries after the signing of a memorandum of understanding in October 2011 between the Georgian Ministry of Environment Protection and UNECE.

The signing of a bilateral agreement by Azerbaijan and Georgia would contribute to the implementation of the UNECE Water Convention in the Southern Caucasus. One of the requirements of the Convention is that countries must enter into bilateral or multilateral agreements regarding the prevention, control and reduction of transboundary impacts on water resources.

For further information please visit: http://www.unece.org/env/water/caucasus.html or contact:

Mr. Bo Libert
UNECE Regional Adviser on Environment
Phone:  +41 (0)22 917 2396
E-mail: bo.libert@unece.org

Note to Editors:

Project on implementation of the UNECE Water Convention and management of transboundary watercourses shared by Georgia and Azerbaijan

The objective of this project is to support Georgia in its analysis of the possible ratification and implementation of the UNECE Water Convention and to strengthen transboundary water cooperation between Azerbaijan and Georgia. The project is funded by Canadian International Development Agency in Canada and is implemented in collaboration with OSCE. The objectives of the project are:

• An analysis of the consequences and costs of the ratification and implementation of the UNECE Water Convention by Georgia.
• To support Georgia in preparations for ratification and implementation of the UNECE Water Convention.
• To strengthen transboundary water cooperation between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

The Environment and Security Initiative (www.envsec.org) was established in 2003 and includes OSCE, the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe, the United Nations Development Programme, UNECE and the United Nations Environment Programme. The ENVSEC Initiative works to assess and address environmental problems, which threaten or are perceived to threaten security, societal stability and peace, human health and/or sustainable livelihoods, within and across national borders in conflict prone regions.

The UNECE-supported National Policy Dialogues on integrated water resources management programme assists Governments of the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia in promoting implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in line with the principles of the UNECE Water Convention, the Protocol on Water and Health, the European Union Water Framework Directive and other UNECE and European Union instruments.

National Policy Dialogues on IWRM are the main operational instrument of the European Union Water Initiative (EUWI), an international partnership that aims at contributing to the achievement of the water related Millennium Development Goals. UNECE is the strategic partner to support the policy dialogue process on IWRM. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is the strategic partner for water supply and sanitation.

Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 05 05

Email: info.ece@unece.org

Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged.

The Regional Preparatory Meeting for the United Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, Rio+20) for the UNECE region will take place at the Palais des Nations, Room XVIII, on 1-2 December 2011.

About 300 delegates representing Governments, intergovernmental organizations, UN agencies, and civil society organizations will gather to identify the specific challenges and priorities of the UNECE region with regard to the Rio+20 Conference. The results of the meeting, including policy recommendations and good practices, will be transmitted to the global preparatory process and presented at the Second Intersessional Meeting for UNCSD (New York, 15–16 December 2011).

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development is scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) from 20-22 June 2012. Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, where countries adopted Agenda 21 – a blueprint to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection – the UN is again bringing together governments, international institutions, the private sector, NGOs and other stakeholders to agree on a range of measures that can reduce poverty while promoting decent jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable and fair use of resources.

The official discussions will focus on two main themes:

• how to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people out of poverty, including support for developing countries that will allow them to find a green path for development;
• how to improve coordination for sustainable development at international, regional and national levels.

The Regional Preparatory Meeting for the UNECE region was mandated by the UN General Assembly as part of the preparatory activities in all regions for the Rio+20 Conference. The meeting will be co-chaired by deputy-ministers from Poland and Kazakhstan. The Secretary-General of the Rio+20 Conference, United Nations Under-Secretary General Mr. Sha Zukang, will participate in the meeting.

The meeting will tackle the same issues as the Rio+20 Conference itself, however, with a focus on measures required and existing good practices in the UNECE region.

At the Seventh Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” that took place in Astana/Kazakhstan in September 2011 the Ministers of the  Environment from the UNECE region declared “We agree to take the lead in the transition to a green economy and to make a substantive contribution to the discussions on green economy within the context of sustainable development and poverty alleviation at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development….”. The Regional Preparatory Meeting will build on the Astana outcomes on green economy. It will furthermore assess how developed countries from the UNECE region can assist poorer countries in and beyond the region in their transition to a green economy.

At the margins of the meeting, a series of 12 side events will be organized to discuss specific topics. The list of side-events is available at: http://www.unece.org/env/sustainabledevelopment/rpm2011/rpm2011.html

For further information, please visit http://www.unece.org/env/sustainabledevelopment/rpm2011/rpm2011.html

or contact:

Ms. Monika Linn
Principal Adviser
Chief, Development Policies and Cross-Sectoral Coordination Unit
Phone: +41 (0)22 917 13 15
Email: monika.linn@unece.org

Geneva

Fostering innovation occupies a central position in strategies to enhance national competitiveness, serving to increase productivity and providing the foundation for sustained economic growth. Collaboration between the public and private sectors, including in the development of key infrastructure, is essential to create a prosperous economy.

Two major initiatives in these areas will be the focus of the substantive segment of the  sixth session of the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration.  Responding to a request by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the UNECE secretariat undertook in 2011 an “Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan”. This participatory policy advisory service was carried out by a group of international experts in close cooperation with the national authorities and local experts. The main outcomes of this project, including its preliminary conclusions and recommendations, will be discussed on  the first day of the session, 30 November 2011.

The second part of the substantive segment, which will take place on 1 December 2011,  will provide an overview of the UNECE PPP Initiative, composed of the PPP Toolkit for capacity building and the proposed International PPP Centre of Excellence. Once operational, the Centre of Excellence with its specialist and regional training centres, will become a one-stop-shop for the delivery of capacity building, training and policy advisory services to member states. The national PPP Readiness Assessments, a policy advisory service provided by UNECE will also be presented at this session.  The aim of this new initiative is to identify the challenges that a country may face in attracting private capital for its infrastructure development, consider areas where potential infrastructure pilot projects could be procured through the PPP model, and agree on a strategic plan of action for PPP development in the country.

The discussion on PPP will also include two roundtables. In the first roundtable, representatives of member states will discuss their vision, support, plans and current status in the development of specialist and regional training centres. The second roundtable will consider the potential use of the PPP model in the reconstruction of the tsunami-hit region of Japan, and give an account of the recent visit to this disaster-affected area by a UNECE-led delegation of international PPP experts and practitioners. Finally, participants will also be briefed on the premier global PPP conference “PPP Days 2012″ co-hosted at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 21-24 February 2012 by the UNECE together with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, with the support of the Swiss Government and the International Finance Corporation.

At its sixth session, CECI will also review the work carried out after the 2005 ECE reform and debate the programme of work for 2012-2013.  The Committee will also discuss the biennial evaluation of the subprogramme for 2010-2011 and the plan for 2012-2013.

The sessions will take place in Salle VII, Palais des Nations, Geneva, from 30 November to  2 December 2011.

For more information, please visit: http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=25747

Note to editors

The implementation of Innovation Performance Reviews in countries with economies in transition was initiated in 2010 with a project in Belarus. The Reviews provide a thorough assessment of the national innovation system, the institutional framework of innovation policy and the various mechanisms and instruments used to support  innovation. On the basis of this assessment, a number of policy options and recommendations are offered to improve the innovation performance of the country and enhance its innovation capacity. The Reviews provide the basis for focused capacity-building actions to support the implementation of its recommendations.

The CIS Interstate Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification decided to include in its standards-development programme for 2012 some major e-standards and recommendations drawn up by UNECE and its Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), at its 40th session in Baku on 29 November.

“This decision opens a new page in UNECE-CIS cooperation on information technologies and standards”, said Mr. Grigorii Elkin, head of the Russian Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology (ROSSTANDART), the agency that put forward the proposal.

The decision constitutes an important breakthrough in the use and promotion of UNECE standards in the CIS region. This was the first time that CIS countries discussed implementing UNECE-UN/CEFACT information standards and the following eight countries were represented at the event—Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Poland.

The growing globalization of the international economy and trade is creating new challenges for the integration of companies from transition economies into global supply chains. Along with the traditional market factors, today’s challenges for companies include the ability to use information technologies and standards to ensure control over their products, cost effectiveness and on-time delivery.

The standards suggested for transposition and implementation include UN/EDIFACT— the world’s most widely used standard for electronic data exchange. It has also been adopted as ISO standard 9735. Another is the UNECE standard for a uniform format and the harmonization of paper documents—the UN Layout Key (also adopted as ISO standard ISO 6422).

UNECE continues to work actively with the countries in transition to build awareness and capacity in the area of electronic standards and trade facilitation. Cooperation with these countries will be further pursued within a new UNECE project to help developing and transition economies link to global supply chains by reducing obstacles to trade. This project begins with a Global Trade Facilitation Conference, organized by UNECE, on 12 and 13 December 2011 in Geneva.

For further information please contact Serguei Kouzmine: serguei.kouzmine@unece.org