Adapting to climate change in Dniester/Nistru River basin focus of meeting in Kyiv held by OSCE and UNECE

KYIV, 13 December 2013 – International co-operation in adapting to changing climate conditions in the Dniester/Nistru River basin is the focus of the 8th meeting of the Working Group on Flood Management and Climate Change Adaptation, organised under the auspices of the OSCE and the UN Economic Commission for Europe in Kyiv that today brings together representatives from Moldova and Ukraine.

According to a recent assessment, Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group I, the Dniester/Nistru basin, shared by Ukraine and Moldova, will be significantly affected by climate change, with summer temperatures expected to rise by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The most pessimistic scenarios predict a 20% reduction in precipitation during summer months. This confirms earlier studies carried out under the project “Reducing vulnerability to extreme floods and climate change in the Dniester River basin”.

Rene BeBeau, Senior Project Officer at the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine said at the opening part of the meeting: “To address the looming challenges of climate change, consistent and close co-operation between the governments is needed. Without this the communities living on both banks of Dniester/Nistru River will become even more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, such as floods and summer droughts.”

Representatives of environmental ministries, water agencies and other authorities, as well as academia and civil society from both countries are taking part in the two-day event.

On the eve of the event a workshop was held in partnership with the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation to discuss the performance of water resources management in the context of the threats posed by future climate changes; with risk assessment of different sectors conducted.

Flood management, ecosystems and agriculture/irrigation were identified as priority areas requiring adaptation at the transboundary level. Improvement of the monitoring system and data exchange between the two countries, ecosystem restoration as well as awareness-raising were earmarked as possible response measures.

Both events were organized within the framework of the project “Climate Change and Security in the Dniester River Basin” implemented by UNECE and OSCE. The project aims at increasing the capacity of Moldova and Ukraine, implementing adaptation measures and enhancing transboundary co-operation among them, which would also contribute to the efforts of both countries to implement their obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UNECE Water Convention.

The events held today form an integral part of the wider project “Climate Change and Security in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus”, implemented by the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) Partner Organizations, OSCE, UNDP, UNEP, UNECE and REC, with funding from the European Union and the Austrian Development Agency and under the overall lead of the OSCE.