orm/display/ClimateChange/Neman
The project “River basin management and climate change adaptation in the Neman River Basin” was launched in 2011 and is funded by Finland and Sweden in the framework of ENVSEC. Local implementation in Belarus started in February 2012. It is one of the pilot projects on climate change adaptation in transboundary basins under the UNECE Water Convention (see http://www1.unece.org/ehlm/platform/display/ClimateChange/). The project is implemented in Belarus by UNDP Belarus and covers the territory of the Neman River Basin (Belarus, Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Region in the Russian Federation).
The overall objective of the project is to improve integrated river basin management and transboundary cooperation in times of a changing climate in the Neman River Basin. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the countries sharing the Neman River to adapt to climate change through supporting dialogue and cooperation on the needed steps to design an adaptation strategy in the transboundary context. It will aim to reach a common understanding on future water availability and water use, taking into account possible climate change impacts. The project also assists Belarus in implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by means of building national capacity for sustainable management of the country’s water resources in the context of climate change.
Within the project the following activities are carried out: assessment of the Neman River Basin’s water resources, taking into account different scenarios of climate change and economic development; water balance calculations; development of proposals regarding the agreed indicators of water bodies’ status and systems for classification of water bodies’ state and parameters; analysis of the monitoring systems; development of recommendations related to adaptation to climate change in the Neman River Basin; and elaboration of an information platform (Internet database), containing data on water resources management for the Neman River Basin countries. The project activities are expected to support improvement of integrated water resources management and enhance transboundary cooperation, including improvement of exchange of information about water resources use between Belarus, Lithuania and the Russian Federation.
The UNECE Water Convention programme of pilot projects on promoting cooperation to adapt to climate change in transboundary basins aims to assist UNECE countries in implementing the Water Convention and the European Union Water Framework Directive under conditions of a changing climate and to support UNECE countries in their efforts to develop adaptation strategies and measures by promoting cooperation on adaptation in transboundary basins.
For more information about the project and the field trip, please contact:
Manager of the project in Belarus
Tel: +375 29 755 6097
Manager of the project at UNECE
Tel: +41 (0)22 917 1218
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations,
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 (0) 22 917 44 44
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 05 05
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