The most important events related to transboundary groundwaters in the SEE region are listed below. More information is provided on anticipated GEF project Dinaric Karst Transboundary Aquifer System.
South-East EuropeThe ISARM activities in South East Europe started in March 2004 by consultations among UNESCO-IHP, UNESCO Chair/INWEB and the Global Water Partnership Mediterranean (GWP-MED) Secretariat in Athens, aimed at coordinating two separate ongoing activities concerning internationally shared surface and groundwaters. One of the advantages of the coordinating action was that both studies would be prepared by the same team of national experts, most of whom are members of UNESCO Chair/INWEB. Accordingly, two workshops were held in Thessaloniki consecutively in October 2004:
- UNESCO Workshop Development of an Inventory of Internationally Shared Surface Waters in South-Eastern Europe (SEE) and
- UNESCO/ISARM Workshop Key Issues for Sustainable Management of Transboundary Aquifers in the Mediterranean and in South-Eastern Europe(SEE)
- Workshop report
- more on these workshops can be found on the INWEB site
The following workshop on Transboundary Groundwaters in SE Europe was again held in April 2007, again in Thessaloniki,. The workshop was organized by UNESCO-IHP, UNECE and UNESCO Chair/INWEB. The results of the workshop were used to prepare the section "Transboundary Groundwaters in South-Eastern Europe" of a report "First Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters in the UNECE", published by UNECE in 2008.
Almost parallel to this process of "Thessaloniki workshops" an initiative has started to improve transboundary water cooperation in the South East Europe. So far the most important result of this initiative for groundwater issue is preparation of GEF proposal on Dinaric Karst Transboundary Aquifer System.
Continuing its good tradition of hosting transboundary events, UNESCO Chair (together with
Aristotle University, UNESCO, SAHRA and IGRAC) organized the IV International Symposium on Transboundary Waters Management, held in October 2008 in Thessaloniki.
Since autumn 2009, a flyer including the inventory of 65 transboundary aquifers "Internationally Shared Aquifers in the Balkan Region: Preliminary Assessment", prepared by UNESCO Chair And Network INWEB/Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, at the completion of Phase I of ISARM/Balkans, is available for download or can be requested as a flyer with CD.