On May 13th, the EU4Environment Water and Data Programme celebrated Europe Day in Chisinau.
Water resources
Water monitoring
Several water surveys took place in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia over the months of May and June. In Armenia, surface and groundwater surveys took place mid June. In Azerbaijan, a surface water survey took place early May, and a coastal and transitional water survey aimed to examine the eutrophication in the Baku Bay caused by wastewater. In Georgia, following a surface water and coastal and transitional water survey in May, experts conducted in June a comprehensive groundwater assessment training and a groundwater sampling audit to assess the respect of the ISO standards and the EU Water Framework and Groundwater Directives to monitor groundwater. Still in Georgia, a workshop on ecological monitoring took place early May.
River Basin Management Plans
In Armenia, a consultation on the Qasakh quantitative management plan was held.
National Policy Dialogues and international cooperation
Ukraine held its 7th meeting of the national policy dialogue. Participants discussed the next steps in the actualisation of Ukraine’s water governance policies in order to better put the European Union objectives in practice.
Several UNECE working groups took place in May and June (working group on water and sanitation, on integrated water resources management).
Environmental data
The 25th session of the UNECE Working Group on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment was held and gathered representatives from all of the Eastern Partner Countries.
Water accounts
A workshop to introduce water accounts to decision-makers took place on June 13th in Armenia.
Air quality
Region-wide activities were organized concerning air quality monitoring. One regional training on statistics and indicators on air quality and emissions to air took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. This will help countries to provide robust information for evidence-based policies, following the SEIS principles.
The Regional Training was preceded by the 25th session of the Working Group on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment which was held from 2-3 May 2023 in Geneva and online and with financial support from the European Union.An indepth review of air emission inventories submitted by the partner countries under the Air convention took place in Vienna at the end of May.
Environmental data collection
The previous progress on open data collection for environmental information online portals continued in Armenia and Georgia. These portals will collect data submitted by various stakeholders and analyze it, in order to present it to a large audience on their websites.