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Towards Integrated Water Management
in the Tisza River Basin
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Where we are working
Wetland and floodplain restoration in
Reducing pollution and floods
the Bodrog River Basin: Sénne
though improved river
depression (Slovakia), Viss-oxbow
management in the Upper
(Hungary)
Tisza area: Velyky Buchkiv
(Ukraine), Bocicoiu Mare
(Romania)
TISZA RIVER BASIN:
UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP
Floodplain land management: Nagykör
region (Hungary), Székelyudvarhely
demonstration projects'
(Romania), and Senta (Serbia)
locations
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Tisza River Basin at a glance
The picturesque Tisza River Basin is located in the heart of Europe, and is the
largest sub-basin of the Danube catchment. It is shared by five countries:
Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Distribution of the area
Size of the Tisza River Basin
157.186 km2
Lenghth of the Tisza River
966 km
Percentage of the Tisza Basin
19.5 %
in the Danube River Basin
Past river engineering works have resulted
in shortening of the original length of the
Tisza River by 30%. An estimated more
than 80% of the original wetlands and
floodplains in the Tisza Basin were lost.
Population in the Total population Status in the EU
Tisza River Basin
in million
Ukraine
1,240,000
47,1
-
Romania
6,095,000
21,7
Member
Slovak
1,670,000
5,4
Member
Republic
Hungary
4,126,000
10,1
Member
Serbia
810,000
9,0
-
The Tisza Basin is suf ering from
floods, drought and pollution, with
over two thirds of waters at risk not to
meet `good status' criteria, and
demand for water likely to double by
2015.
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Tisza River Basin
Following a long history of cooperation, five countries sharing the largest sub-
basin of the Danube catchment opened a new chapter in 2004. Ukraine, Romania,
Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia - established as ICPDR Tisza Group - committed to
producing Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan. Their effort is
supported by the UNDP/GEF, EU, UNOPS and UNEP.
The strongly meandering Tisza River has a
The first step towards the Integrated Tisza
significant impact on local economies, and
River Basin Management Plan was the
was for centuries subject to human
preparation of the Analysis of the Tisza River
interventions at the local scale.
Basin (2007), endorsed by the Tisza Group.
Today, the EU Water Framework Directive
The Analysis characterises the Tisza River and
(WFD) is the frame for transboundary
its basin, identifies the key environmental
cooperation in water management. Its key
and water management problems, and
objective is achieving the `good status' of all
confirms the need for action.
waters by 2015.
The ICPDR Tisza Group in its supervisory
The International Commission for the
role is coordinating all activities and
Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is a
information exchange related to the
platform for coordination of the EU WFD
cooperation for the integrated river basin
throughout the Danube River Basin, and on
management.
sub-basin level.
In line with the EU WFD, public participation
is especially important for the development of
Tisza River Basin is the largest sub-basin of
river basin management plans because they
the Danube catchment
integrate environmental goals, social concerns
and economic factors.
Following the strategy developed by the
ICPDR for public participation throughout the
Danube River Basin, the input from the
stakeholders will be central component of the
UNDP/GEF Tisza medium-size Project
(MSP).
The success in the Tisza River Basin
strongly depends on the countries
working together and with all other
partners.
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The Integrated Tisza River Basin
Management Plan will be finalized in the
frame of the UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP, and
the results will be disseminated for
replication throughout Tisza River Basin
and beyond through ICPDR activities.
The work done by the ICPDR Tisza
Group toward the Plan for the Tisza
River Basin serves as a pilot
programme for other European
sub-basins and beyond.
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UNDP/GEF supporting Tisza countries
Integrating multiple benefits of wetlands and floodplains into improved
transboundary management of the Tisza River Basin (2008-2011)
UNDP/GEF three-year Tisza Medium-sized
Project (Tisza MSP) supports the efforts of
five riparian states to achieve the `good status'
of the basin waters required by the EU Water
Framework Directive by 2015.
· Adoption of policies and legislation that
Through the work of the ICPDR Tisza Group,
promote the use of wetlands /
measures will be identified which will have
floodplains in line with Integrated
positive impacts on both water quality and
Water Resource Management (IWRM)
water quantity of water ecosystems.
and the EU WFD;
The UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP is contributing to
· Implementation of new policies:
the improved transboundary management in
Through community-level
two ways:
demonstration of effective floodplain
management for nutrient retention,
habitat restoration, and flood
management.
The links between these are crucial for
demonstrating the integrated water quality and
quantity management approach. The feedback
from the field will be incorporated in the
Integrated Tisza River Basin Management
Plan.
The three demonstration projects,
implemented on several locations throughout
Tisza River Basin, aim at testing the multiple
environmental benefits of wetlands to reduce
the impacts of floods/droughts and nutrient
pollution.
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UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP builds on experience
gained and strategies developed through the
15-years' long UNDP/GEF work in the entire
Danube Basin. The results will be replicated
throughout the region, and disseminated
globally.
The integration of water quality and
quantity, land use and biodiversity
issues in the Tisza River Basin
Management Plan is a significantly
innovative approach in the basin.
Embedded in harmonized national,
regional, and EU water
management policies and tested on
multiple demonstration sites, these
novel integrated approaches will be
replicated in the Danube River
Basin through ICPDR activities.
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Towards the Integrated Tisza River
Basin Management Plan
The Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan will integrate issues of both
water quality and water quantity, in a combined approach for land and water
management, flood and drought.
The ICPDR Tisza Group through the Analysis
of the basin defined the following major water
management issues:
· Organic pollution;
· Nutrient pollution;
The Project is focusing on the development of
· Hazardous substances, specially from
strategies and implementation of
mining;
demonstration project on community level. It
builds on experience gained and strategies
· River engineering;
developed through the 15-years' long
· Groundwater quality and quantity;
UNDP/GEF work in the entire Danube Basin.
· Water quantity issues.
They aim at testing the multiple environmental
benefits of wetlands to reduce the impacts of
floods/droughts and nutrient pollution.
To address these issues, the Tisza Group with
the support of the UNDP/GEF project will
The Tisza River Basin Strategies for nutrient
incorporate the water quality and ecological
reduction and flood/drought mitigation will be
plans currently in development under the EU
complemented by national management plans
WFD, with flood and drought management.
developed by national experts, and
This integration will ensure that the overall
incorporated into the Integrated Tisza River
management of the Tisza River Basin will
Basin Management Plan.
address both land and water issues.
Water demand (estimation of consumptive use)
2007: 700 mil ion m3
2015: 1.5 bil ion m3
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Wetlands and floodplains form an
integral part of the river systems,
providing a variety of habitats for
wildlife, reducing nutrients,
trapping sediments, aiding flood
protection and recharging
groundwater.
The UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP is
promoting integration of
environmental benefits of wetlands
and floodplains into the river basin
management.
The Tisza MSP is an important step in the
UNDP/GEF exit strategy from the region.
The `scaling down' of Danube Basin
programmes to Tisza sub-basin will also
contribute to the development of the
Integrated Tisza River Basin Management
Plan from both a `top-down' and a `bottom-
up' perspective, and will carry a significant
global replication potential.
Tisza River surface water bodies at risk of
not meeting the WFD `good status' criteria
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Demonstration projects
The community-level demonstration projects have crucial contribution to the
development of the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan. They will
provide experience acquired in the field on the integrated water quality and
quantity management approach.
The Tisza Group selected three demonstration
Integrated land development:
projects from over 15 submitted from a range
How to overcome fragmentation and unclear
of NGOs, institutes and other actors in the
land ownership for sustainable resource
region.
management; and
With the pro-active support of UNDP/GEF,
Waste and river bank management:
these proposals were developed into the three
Dealing with multiple pressures hazardous,
projects, to be undertaken over 18 months.
organic, and solid waste pollution, and floods.
Implemented on locations throughout the
The projects have started in mid 2009.The
Tisza River Basin, the demonstration projects
multiple benefits of the approaches applied
are seeking practical and cost-effective ways
will be discussed on the final workshop in
to address pressures typical for the Tisza River
2010, to understand how these can be further
Basin:
replicated and disseminated.
Flooded areas in the Tisza River Basin
1998-2006
Reconnecting wetlands for flood protection:
Improving the capacity of wetlands to retain,
store and drain excess water;
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Wetland and floodplain reconnection
A UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP Demonstration Project in the Bodrog River Basin, shared
by Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine
With the original floodplain forests partly
destroyed, the Bodrog catchment suffers
regular floods all year round due to snow melt
and rain. A series of severe floods in 1998-
2001 lead to reconsidering of the traditional
system of flood prevention based on dikes.
The flood prevention strategy applied by the
demonstration project is based on the capacity
of restored and reconnected wetlands and
floodplains to retain, store and drain excess
water.
Implemented by: The Global Water
Partnership Slovensko, and 14 partners in
Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine.
In Slovakia:
Restoration of the original floodplains affected
by capital-intensive drainage systems, with
focus on water retention measures.
In Hungary:
Unblocking water flow to the Viss-oxbow for
improved living conditions of protected plants
and birds during rainless summers and low
flow periods.
Objectives:
· Development of a Strategy for mitigation
of floods in the Bodrog River Basin, to
be incorporated into the Integrated
Tisza River Basin Management Plan;
· Conservation and restoration of original
floodplains and wetlands affected by
current land uses and environmentally
inappropriate flood protection
measures, and
· Dissemination of project results for
replication on national levels and in
other river basins.
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Land management in floodplains
A UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP Demonstration Project in Hungary, Serbia and Romania:
Improving land use and water management efficiency
Over-fragmentation and unclear land
ownership following the privatization in the
early 1990s is an impediment to efficient
management of the risk-prone areas.
at areas with high risk (water stagnation, flood,
flash flood, biodiversity loss).
The lessons learned from UNDP/GEF Tisza
Biodiversity (2005-2008) project highlighted
Activities:
the need for integrated land management
· Legal assessment of all Tisza
landscape planning, utilization programming,
countries on integrated land
land consolidation, and property management.
development, to be incorporated in
Implemented by: NGO SZOVET The
the Tisza Integrated River Basin
Alliance for the Living Tisza Association
Management Plan.
(Hungary), and three partners in Hungary,
· Implementation of integrated land
Romania and Serbia.
development at a pilot site in
Hungary, development of additional
pilots;
·
Dissemination of results.
The activities are conducted on three
locations with different natural and social
characteristics:
Hungary
Nagykör region, Middle Tisza
Romania
Székelyudvarhely, Upper Tisza
Serbia
Senta, Lower Tisza
Objective:
To develop Integrated land and water
management protocol based on case studies to
support efficient water and land management
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Reducing pollution through improved
floodplain management
A UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP demonstration project in Romania and Ukraine:
The two mountainous villages in Upper Tisza
on Romanian-Ukrainian border live on timber
processing, and suffer from severe floods and
multiple environmental stresses: toxic wood
residues, destroyed riverbeds, poor
infrastructure, solid and organic waste and
high flood risk.
Implemented by: Zakarpatyya Oblast
organization of all-Ukrainian Ecological
League and nine partners in Romania and
Ukraine.
Objectives:
· Improvement of communal solid waste
management system in both vil ages;
· Development and practical implementation
of the Local Flood Risk Management Plan;
· Revitalization of a mountainous stream in
Ukraine and a lake habitat in Romania;
· Re-opening of a water gauging station;
· Construction of biological waste water
treatment facilities.
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The implementation of the project is supported by:
The competent authorities for WFD implementation in the Tisza countries
Ukraine
Ministry for Environmental Protection of Ukraine, www.menr.gov.ua
State Committee of Ukraine for Water Management, www.scwm.gov.ua
Slovak Republic
Ministry of the Environment, www.enviro.gov.sk
Romania
Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, www.mmediu.ro
National Administration "Apele Romane", www.rowater.ro
Hungary
Ministry of Environment and Water, www.kvvm.hu
Serbia
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, www.minpolj.sr.gov.yu
IMPRINT/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Published by:
ICPDR International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
Vienna International Centre, D0412
P.O. Box 500 / 1400 Vienna, Austria
Written, edited and publication developed by:
Sonja Seizova
The photographs have been kindly provided by:
Alexei Iarochevitch / Ukraine
Zsuzsanna Flachner / Hungary
ICPDR
Source of maps and figures:
Analysis of the Tisza River Basin - 2007 (published by ICPDR)
UNDP/GEF Tisza demonstration projects partners
Demonstration projects map by Sonja Seizova
© ICPDR 2009
www.icpdr.org