Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses

The objective of the Benguela Current TDA is to provide, on the basis of clearly established evidence, structured information relating to the degradation and changing state of the Benguela Current LME, to scale the relative importance of the causes and sources of the transboundary water-related problems, and to elucidate practical preventative and remedial actions to ensure the sustainable integrated management of this unique environment. The TDA provides the technical basis for the development of a Strategic Action Plan (SAP), and the Project Brief, for the BCLME within the International Waters Area of the GEF. (p. 9)

This Transboundary Diagnostic Analisys (TDA) is one of the principal results of the Project to formulate a Strategic Action Program (SAP) for the Bermejo River Basin and is intended to provide technical support and a strategic framework for that Program.

This TDA relies on and benefits from the dedicated work of numerous individuals, agencies, institutes, projects and corporations. The major building blocks are the studies and research works conducted and carried out by the Caspian Regional Thematic Centres. These works have been mostly produced by the national experts of the Caspian countries and have been effectively led and substantially assisted by the National Focal Points (NFPs) and the Management Advisory Group and Inter-sectoral Assistants (MAGICAs).

The Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) for the Dnipro River Basin focuses on priority environmental issues that are transboundary in nature. The preparation of the TDA involved the assessment of the impacts (both environmental and socio-economic) of transboundary issues, and the identification of institutional, legal and policy issues that need to be addressed. A comprehensive analysis of transboundary issues provides a factual basis for the formulation of recommended options for improving the environmental situation and ensuring the sustainable development of the Dnipro Basin. The TDA was produced on the basis of comprehensive studies of the physical and geographical features, water uses, and the socio-economic and environmental situation in the Dnipro Basin that extends into the territories of the three riparian countries – the Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine. The TDA was prepared using a modified version of the GIWA methodology, suited to the specific regional conditions of the Dnipro Basin.

This work was a subcontract within the framework of the UNDP/GEF project ”Development and Implementation of the Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe Basin Management Programme” The TDA were performed by 5 experts and was primarily based on a scientific and technical assessment, through which the water-related environmental issues and problems of Lake Peipsi were identified and quantified. Besides the experts own vast knowledge and experiences in the area, data and information was collected from various projects; in particular the following 3 projects: o EU FP5-project ‘MANTRA-East’ (website www.mantraeast.org). o VIRU-PEIPSI CAMP EU LIFE project (website www.envir.ee/viru.peipsi) project o EU TACIS CBC Baltic Line 2000 project “Environmental Management of Lake Chudskoe”. (p. 4)

The working paper is based on a seminar “Strategies for Public Participation in the Management of Transboundary Waters in Countries in Transition: Cases of Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe (Estonia/Russia) and Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania)” Tartu, 15-16 October 2001. The seminar was organised by Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation (Peipsi CTC) and the Alliance for Lake Cooperation in Ohrid and Prespa (ALLCOOP). (p. 1)

The purpose of the Preliminary TDA is to define immediate management objectives within the overall management goal of conserving the biodiversity of Lake Tanganyika, addressing global concerns and ensuring the sustainable use of these and other resources for local communities into the foreseeable future. The Transboundary Analysis brought together technical teams from the participating countries to establish a common understanding of the threats and specific problems that the riparian countries are facing in managing the lake resource. With this information the teams together established priorities for possible interventions to address specific management problems.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP/MAP concerning the legal status of any State, Territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. This TDA was prepared within the GEF Project “Determination of priority actions for the further elaboration and implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Mediterranean Sea”, under the coordination of Mr Ante Baric, PhD, Project Manager. Responsibility for the concept and the preparation of this document was entrusted to MED POL (Mr Fouad Abousamra, PhD, MED POL Programme Officer).

Le projet FEM “ Renversement de la Tendance à la Dégradation des Terres et des Eaux dans le Bassin du Fleuve Niger vise à soutenir les pays membres de l’Autorité du Bassin du Niger (ABN) dans leurs efforts d’oeuvrer ensemble pour assurer le développement et la gestion durables des terres et des ressources en eaux du bassin, y compris la protection de son unique environnement de terres sèches et sa biodiversité. La première phase (phase 1) du projet est centrée autour de l’ Analyse Diagnostique Transfrontalière (ADT) et l’identification des sites de projets pilotes de démonstration. Ce travail sera organisé au niveau des cinq pays riverains qui se partagent le cours principal du fleuve Niger (Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Bénin, Guinée).

OKACOM is an initiative of the three Okavango River Basin states, Angola, Botswana and Namibia. The Commission has the functions of advising the respective governments on the sustainable development of the basin and of co-ordinating investigation and research activities. A Preparatory Assistance Project funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) is nearing completion and has had the aim of providing support for the implementation of a basin-wide Environmental Assessment, and the development of an Integrated Basin Management Plan. The aims of the preparatory project include the execution of a Diagnostic Study of the Okavango River Basin in all three countries, in order that an outline Strategic Action Programme and detailed GEF funding proposal can be drawn up. In order to carry out the diagnostic study the inputs of a number of specialists were required in all three countries and their inputs have contributed in a major way to the compilation of this document, the “Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA)”. This TDA has been divided in to two sections, Section A which describes the data available and an overview of the subject and Section B which attempts to highlight data deficiencies and to outline work that is required in the proposed Environmental Assessment. (p. 7)

The San Juan River basin and its coastal zone is located in the area that drains into the Caribbean Sea and covers a large part of the territory of Costa Rica and Nicaragua and constitutes an important part of the natural capital of both countries. It contains a variety of ecosystems and highly valuable water resources. This transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA) is the result of studies conducted within the SJRB using funds provided in part through a Project Preparation and Development Facility (PDF) Block B grant of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The TDA is designed to identify and evaluate the major environmental problems that face, or may face, the SJRB and to determine their root causes. In addition, the TDA seeks to identify the cause-effect chain underlying the identified problems, and to determine their relationship with the deterioration of the basin’s water resources. The TDA emphasizes the transboundary aspect of the SJRB, and represents a potential contribution to the development of the GEF’s operational strategy in international waters. (p. 4)

The national transboundary diagnostic analysis reports of seven countries participating in the Global Environment Facility South China Sea Project were analysed and summarised to prepare this report. The countries concerned are Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. For only two of these, Viet Nam and Cambodia, are the entire coastlines used in the report. For the others, only the coast that borders the South China Sea is included. Ideally, the country reports from which this report was compiled were prepared under the same guidelines, for some countries this was not so easily done nor rigidly adhered to, the result being lack of data or inconsistent data. The national TDAs are available from UNEP EAS/RCU. (p. 4)

Zip file contains appendices of Preliminary TDA of Volta River Basin.

In summary, this TDA follows the GEF TDA Guidelines for International Waters projects. However, an additional step was achieved, that is, the use of EQOs to facilitate consensus on the desired state of the Volta River Basin after the next pentade or decade. The EQOs naturally led to the identification of specific targets to be met within the desired time frame, which then led to the identification of specific interventions and actions that can be considered in the framework of the NAPs and SAP. (p. 1)

In summary, this TDA follows the general GEF TDA Guidelines for International Waters projects. However, an additional step was achieved, that is, use of Environmental Quality Objectives, in order to facilitate consensus on the desired state of WIO after the next pentade or decade. The EQOs naturally led to identification of specific targets to be met within the desired time frame, and from there identification of specific interventions and actions that can be considered in the framework of the NAPs and SAP. (p. 6)

This Preliminary Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (PTDA) was prepared as part of the Project Preparation exercise under the PDF-B for the Yellow Sea LME Project (YSLME). The full TDA will be prepared under the auspices of the GEF project for the YSLME, once the full GEF project is implemented. The purposes of preparing a Preliminary TDA as part of the Project Preparation activities are multi-fold: • To provide background materials for the Project Brief and Project Document, illustrating the environmental context for the GEF project. • To provide a forum for consensus-building on the environmental issues of highest priority in the Yellow Sea • To decide on the data requirements for completing the TDA early in the GEF process, to guide the Project Implementation. This PTDA summarizes the results from National Reports prepared by experts from ROK and PRC, as well as results from a First Regional Workshop held 26-28 October 1999 in Seoul, ROK and Second National Workshop held 18-19 January in Beijing, PRC. (pp. 9-10)

The Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis for Yellow Sea LME by the UNDP/GEF YSLME project is a principal output/deliverable for the project. The TDA was prepared from August to December 2006, and is based on studies and evaluations conducted within the project to September 2006.