The 2012 World Water Week, zooming in on Water and Food Security, generated extraordinary media interest and spread SIWI’s findings on issues such as food waste reduction, early warning systems against natural disasters, transboundary water implications of international land acquisitions, and much more.

The 2012 World Water Week, zooming in on Water and Food Security, generated extraordinary media interest and spread SIWI’s findings on issues such as food waste reduction, early warning systems against natural disasters, transboundary water implications of international land acquisitions, and much more.

Download the 2012 Annual Report to read the full story about last year’s accomplishments!

Now available in French!

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The project is implemented by SIWI in partnership with the Northern Dimension Foundation (Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia), the Institute of Economy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia), Global Water Partnership (Poland and Lithuania) and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (Sweden), with support from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

The health of the entire Baltic Sea ecosystem is severely degraded. Pressure from agriculture, energy production, industries and maritime sectors have severely compromised the sea’s health, with most areas now affected by eutrophication, hazardous substances, and degraded biodiversity. Collaboration between the EU member states and Russia on its shared river basins is critical to tackle the deteriorating state of the common Baltic Sea, but collective action in this part of the Baltic is lagging behind.

The transboundary Neman (Poland, Lithuania, RF Kaliningrad Oblast, and Belarus) and Pregola (Poland and RF Kaliningrad Oblast) are two river systems draining into the Baltic Sea where multilateral cooperation is poor and investment in their management limited. In previous work undertaken by the partners (2009-2011) the need for improved water management in this part of the Baltic region was clearly identified. There is scope to achieve major economic gains in multiple sectors, improve ecosystem services while also reaching regional cooperative gains.

Civic action through NGOs and academic institutions can play a major role in building the political commitment for collective action. NGOs and academic institutions can bring skills and knowledge into pre-planning processes and provide a safe space for dialogue together with government officials. Such dialogue is non-committing and non-binding and should be based on sound knowledge and expertise.

This project aims to build an informal and professional partnership to formulate water and environmental management priorities and investments into an economic framework, recognising green and smart growth potential.

The intention is to facilitate official dialogue, cooperation and investment on the shared river basin systems between the Kaliningrad Oblast, Poland, Lithuania and the broader Baltic Sea community of actors, providing incentives for stakeholders to seek more information on how to transform degraded water resources into opportunities. Both EU and Russian regulations offer opportunities for joint management. Further arguments and clear investment frameworks need to be developed to stimulate formal cooperation based on best practice and good data.

The project “Building a framework for collective action in the management of the transboundary waters in Kaliningrad, Russia, Lithuania and Poland (Baltic Sea region)” is funded by the Swedish Institute and will be implemented over three years (2012-2015).

Related publications

• Managing and Development the Water Resources Assets in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, in Support of Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability. Granit et al., 2011.
• Collective Action in the Baltic Sea Region – Options for Strengthening Implementation of the Environmental Pillar of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Granit and Walline, 2011.

For more information, contact:
Ms Birgitta Liss Lymer
Programme Manager
Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
Email: birgitta.liss.lymer@siwi.org
Phone: +46 8 121 360 89

A preliminary review of progress against the Compact commitments was made in September 2011. This second review was conducted by WaterAid and the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI in October 2012. This review concludes that while the Compact has increased coordination and dialogue within the sector, it is clear that concrete progress against the majority of Compact commitments has been undermined by significant challenges. Renewed lobbying will be required to generate the political will needed to drive forward progress in outstanding areas, particularly among higher levels of Government. Donors and NGOs must also take responsibility for ensuring their support is aligned behind the priorities laid out in the Compact and the Sector Strategic Plan, and  should utilise national and international opportunities to encourage progress against the Compact commitments.

See the report here.

Corruption continues to undermine investments in various sectors. The water sector in East Africa is no exception.

Worldwide, 2012 has been the year of drought. From the Midwest of the USA to the granaries of the Black Sea, from South Asia to the Sahel region of Africa, producers the world over have had to find ways to farm their land in the face of ravaging droughts or feeble monsoons. Both largeholders in food exporting regions and small-holders in poor countries have been hit by these droughts, which have had significant impacts on local and global food prices and thus on food security throughout the world, with potentially more impacts still to come.

As we wrap up the work of the past year and approach the new year, we are looking forward to 2013 with much enthusiasm. Next year is the “International Year of Water Cooperation” as declared by the United Nations. We believe that the way forward is paved by collaboration, and that no actor can achieve desirable impact without close cooperation with others. We need to complement each other’s work, bridge policy and practice, and connect across different sectors, nationally, regionally and globally. Water cross-cuts into all aspects of development on our shared planet, and should be given the prominence it deserves. Cooperation has been one of the core founding stones of SIWI, and we will continue to build upon it in our five core themes: Water Governance, Transboundary Water Management; Water Economics; Water and Climate Change and the Water, Energy and Food Nexus. In this issue of the Stockholm Water Front we explain why we believe those areas are important. We also summarise the thematic scope of the 2013 World Water Week and its focus on Water Cooperation. We hope to meet you all here in Stockholm on September 1-6, 2013 at the week. So please, go ahead, book your calendars, submit your abstracts, and proposals for seminars and side-events and other meetings. In the following pages, you will find articles about the recent drought in USA, the fight against corruption in East Africa, and cooperation over issues related to the Baltic Sea. You will also find news about SIWI and other developments taking place in 2013.

Report published in 2012.