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First Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters

Published:
OUR WATERS: JOINING HANDS ACROSS BORDERS

The first Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters has been carried out under the auspices of the Water Convention, under the overall leadership of Finland. It has been a joint undertaking of Governments and international and national organizations: more than 150 experts took part.
The Assessment' preparation was supported by the Finnish Environment Institute, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, the British Geological Survey, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, UNEP/GRID-Europe, UNESCO, the World Water Assessment Programme of the United Nations and OSCE.
It is the first ever in-depth report produced on transboundary waters in the UNECE region. It covers 140 transboundary rivers and 30 transboundary lakes in the European and Asian parts of the region, as well as 70 transboundary aquifers located in South-Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.
The assessment aims to inform, guide and stimulate further action by Parties and non-Parties to the Convention, river basin organizations (joint bodies), international organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations to improve the status of transboundary waters.
 It describes the hydrological regime of these water bodies, pressure factors in their basins, their status and transboundary impact, as well as trends, future developments and envisaged management measures. Water sharing among riparian countries, increasing groundwater abstraction for agricultural purposes and drinking water supply, pollution from
diffuse sources (e.g. agriculture, urban areas) as well as point sources (e.g. municipal sewage treatment and aging industrial installations), and the effects of climate change on water resources are among the many issues documented.
 The assessment highlights the achievements of over 10 years' work under the Water Convention to prevent, control and reduce transboundary impact.
 New York and Geneva, 2007
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Download the full Assessment in English [15.6 MB] in Russian [20. MB]

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Front matter [222KB]

Foreword by Mr. Marek Belka, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
[119 KB]

Preface by Ms. Lea Kauppi, Chairperson of the Water Convention's Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment [147 KB]

Ackowledgements [88 KB]

Contents [124 KB]

Overview [183 KB]

PART 1 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE ASSESSMENT
Download all Part 1 [259 KB]

Chapter 1: Objectives [141 KB]

Chapter 2: Scope [127 KB]
 

PART 2 TRANSBOUNDARY SURFACE WATERS
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Section I Major findings of the assessment
Download all Section I [645 KB]

Overview maps [1.6 MB]
 
Chapter 1: Monitoring of transboundary rivers and lakes [282 KB]

Chapter 2: Pressures [173 KB]

Chapter 3: Status and impact [77 KB]

Chapter 4: Responses [240 KB]

Section II Facts and figures on transboundary rivers and lakes
Download all Section II [12.1 MB]

Chapter 1: Drainage basins of the White Sea, Barents Sea and Kara Sea [1.8 MB]

Chapter 2: Drainage basins of the Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan [624 KB]

Chapter 3: Drainage basin of the Aral Sea and other transboundary surface waters in Central Asia [1.1 MB]

Chapter 4: Drainage basin of the Caspian Sea [ 844 KB]

Chapter 5: Drainage basin of the Black Sea [2.1 MB]

Chapter 6: Drainage basin of the Mediterranean Sea [1.4 MB]

Chapter 7: Drainage basins of the North Sea and Eastern Atlantic [2.3 MB]

Chapter 8: Drainage basin of the Baltic Sea [2.8 MB]

PART 3 TRANSBOUNDARY GROUNDWATERS
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Section I Transboundary groundwaters in Caucasus and Central Asia
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Chapter 1 Scale and scope of transboundary groundwaters in Caucasus and Central Asia [600 KB]

Chapter 2 Pressure factors [112 KB]

Chapter 3 Status, trends and impacts [94 KB]

Chapter 4 Management responses [191 KB]

Chapter 5 Conclusions [85 KB]

Chapter 6 Facts and figures on transboundary groundwaters in Caucasus and Central Asia [176 KB]

Section II Transboundary groundwaters in South-Eastern Europe
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Chapter 1 Scale and scope of transboundary groundwaters in South-Eastern Europe [352 KB]

Chapter 2 Pressure factors [144 KB]

Chapter 3 Status, trends and impacts [132 KB]

Chapter 4 Management responses [76 KB]

Chapter 5 Conclusions [89 KB]

Chapter 6 Facts and figures on transboundary groundwaters in South-Eastern Europe [380KB]

ANNEXES
Download all Annexes [179 KB]

Annex 1 Inventory of transboundary rivers and lakes [172 KB]

Annex 2 List of country codes [27 KB]

Annex 3 Acronyms and units of measure [38 KB]