Transboundary Water Resources in the Balkans

A source of up-to-date information on current water resources, their quality and quantity, in every country in the Balkans. Institutional structures, water management issues and water monitoring problems are analyzed, with special reference to international waters, using characteristic case studies, including the Sava River, Lake Ohrid, The Nestos/Mesta River, the Neretva River estuary, and coastal waters in Turkey. Contributions written by experts from France, the UK and the USA demonstrate state-of-the-art electronic networking and the management of distributed water databases.
The protection of water resources in the Balkans has become a high profile issue since the collapse of communism in the area, the break up of former Yugoslavia, and ethnic tensions in Kosovo. Transboundary river pollution and the development of international water basins call demand urgent regional co-operation, which will be facilitated by the International Network of Water-Environment Centres for the Balkans, the initiation of which is described in the final conclusions of the book.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Transboundary Water Resources in the Balkans: Initiating Regional Monitoring Networks, held in Thessaloniki, Greece, 11-15 October 1999

I. Introduction and Key Issues.- Workshop Goals: A Balkan Monitoring Network.- Sharing Transboundary Water Resources: The Role of Regional Partnerships in the Balkans.- Electronic Networking: Essential to Improved Transboundary Water Management in the Balkans.- II. Case Studies.- The Sava River.- The Nestos/Mesta River: A Transboundary Water Quality Assessment.- The Monitoring Programme of the Lake Ohrid Conservation Project.- The Neretva River: Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management.- Coastal Zone Management Applications in Turkey.- III. The Status of Water Resources Monitoring in the Balkans.- Albania.- Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Bulgaria.- Croatia.- FYR of Macedonia.- Greece.- Romania.- Slovenia.- Turkey.- FR of Yugoslavia.- IV. Support for a Balkan Water Network.- Eurowaternet: A Freshwater Monitoring and Reporting Network for All European Countries.- Monitoring Water Systems: The USA Experience.- Managing Human Resources for Water Monitoring: A Role for the International Water Environment Centre for the Balkans.- The Status of Transboundary Water Resources in the Balkans: Establishing a Context for Hydrodiplomacy.- A Plan for a Balkan Water-environment Centre.- V. Consensus on a Strategy.- Conclusions and Recommendations: An International Network of Water-environment Centres for the Balkans (INWEB).- List of Workshop Participants.- Website Contacts.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Transboundary Water Resources in the Balkans: Initiating Regional Monitoring Networks, held in Thessaloniki, Greece, 11-15 October 1999