90
8 Transboundary Water Governance in the European Union
legal framework was agreed upon as early as 1990 in the form of a basin agreement
entitled Convention on the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe.
26
Parties to the original Convention were Germany, the Czech and Slovak Republic
and the European Communities.
The objectives of the Elbe cooperation relate predominantly to pollution prevention and control. Cooperation among the riparian countries takes place through the
International Commission of the Protection of the Elbe (ICPER) whose main goals
include:
– to facilitate water usage, primarily to provide drinking water from riverbank infiltration and water and sediments for agricultural usage,
– to restore the ecosystem to a healthy abundance of species, and
– to incrementally decrease pollution of the North Sea from the Elbe basin area
(Art. 2.).
To that end the focus of the activities of the ICPER is the improvement of the
status of the Elbe and its tributaries from the physical, chemical and biological
point of view with respect to water, suspended matter, sediments and organisms
and the enhancement of the ecological value of the Elbe river valley. Despite the
rather sketchy regulatory framework, the Elbe cooperation is perceived as generally
effective which is illustrated by a relatively high achievement of the goals established
by the ICPER in its various action programmes (Dombrowsky 2008).
8.2.3.4 The Oder Convention
The Oder (Odra) river is 840 km long and has a catchment area of 124,000 km
2 ,
shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and the Germany. The river constitutes the
border between Germany and Poland over a 170 km long stretch.
27 Its geopolitical
function as well as its hydro-geographical conditions qualify the Oder as one of the
principal transboundary rivers in Europe.
The existing basin-wide cooperation framework is based the 1996 Convention on
the International Commission for the Protection of the Oder
28 which is modelled very
closely on the Elbe Convention. As in the case of the Elbe, the objectives and main
measures of the Convention are formulated with reference to the responsibilities of
the implementing basin organisation: the International Commission for the Protection
of the Oder (ICPO). The principal objectives of the ICPO’s work are:
– to prevent and reduce the pollution of the Oder,
– to restore water and riparian ecosystems to a near-natural condition with a characteristic diversity of species,
– to facilitate the primary use of the Oder as a source of drinking water by bank
filtration, for fishing and tourism,
– to implement EU water legislation,
26 See footnote 3
27 http://www.mkoo.pl/index.php?mid=2&lang=EN (accessed 12 February 2019).
28 See footnote 7.
8 Transboundary Water Governance in the European Union
legal framework was agreed upon as early as 1990 in the form of a basin agreement
entitled Convention on the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe.
26
Parties to the original Convention were Germany, the Czech and Slovak Republic
and the European Communities.
The objectives of the Elbe cooperation relate predominantly to pollution prevention and control. Cooperation among the riparian countries takes place through the
International Commission of the Protection of the Elbe (ICPER) whose main goals
include:
– to facilitate water usage, primarily to provide drinking water from riverbank infiltration and water and sediments for agricultural usage,
– to restore the ecosystem to a healthy abundance of species, and
– to incrementally decrease pollution of the North Sea from the Elbe basin area
(Art. 2.).
To that end the focus of the activities of the ICPER is the improvement of the
status of the Elbe and its tributaries from the physical, chemical and biological
point of view with respect to water, suspended matter, sediments and organisms
and the enhancement of the ecological value of the Elbe river valley. Despite the
rather sketchy regulatory framework, the Elbe cooperation is perceived as generally
effective which is illustrated by a relatively high achievement of the goals established
by the ICPER in its various action programmes (Dombrowsky 2008).
8.2.3.4 The Oder Convention
The Oder (Odra) river is 840 km long and has a catchment area of 124,000 km
2 ,
shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and the Germany. The river constitutes the
border between Germany and Poland over a 170 km long stretch.
27 Its geopolitical
function as well as its hydro-geographical conditions qualify the Oder as one of the
principal transboundary rivers in Europe.
The existing basin-wide cooperation framework is based the 1996 Convention on
the International Commission for the Protection of the Oder
28 which is modelled very
closely on the Elbe Convention. As in the case of the Elbe, the objectives and main
measures of the Convention are formulated with reference to the responsibilities of
the implementing basin organisation: the International Commission for the Protection
of the Oder (ICPO). The principal objectives of the ICPO’s work are:
– to prevent and reduce the pollution of the Oder,
– to restore water and riparian ecosystems to a near-natural condition with a characteristic diversity of species,
– to facilitate the primary use of the Oder as a source of drinking water by bank
filtration, for fishing and tourism,
– to implement EU water legislation,
26 See footnote 3
27 http://www.mkoo.pl/index.php?mid=2&lang=EN (accessed 12 February 2019).
28 See footnote 7.