Background
This is the 7th meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management in Moldova. This meeting marks further development of the reforms in the water sector: development of secondary legislation to the Water Law and of the Information System on Water (Water Cadastre). NPD facilitates policy discussions where stakeholders meet to advance water policy reforms. NPDs are driven by the demand from the host countries and are usually chaired by heads of respective government agencies. A variety of stakeholders participate in the meetings, such as ministries and government agencies and institutions, as well as non-governmental organisations, the business community, parliamentary bodies, academia. Participants typically include international organisations and EU Member States active in water policy reforms in each country. Under the EU-funded EU4Environment Water Resources and Environmental Data Programme, NPDs are supported in the five Eastern Partner countries.
Meeting objectives, expected outputs and outcomes
- to provide and update on recent developments in the area of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and policy development;
- to provide an update on the implementation of the road map of 5 EU Water Directives in Moldova under the Moldova–European Union Association Agreement;
- to discuss progress and next steps in implementing the EU4Environment – Water and Data programme in Moldova and to receive feedback from the national stakeholders;
- to provide a platform for coordination of donor activities in the water sector in Moldova and to enhance the international cooperation with partner organisations;
- to strengthen dialogue on Nature Based Solutions (NbS) and potential application and benefits in Moldova;
- to discuss remaining challenges in the area of IWRM and next steps
Participants
The meeting will gather over 40 participants from ministries, agencies, donors and international projects with an interest in water management in Moldova.
NbS thematic workshop
There is an increasing interest in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across the world, as an approach to contribute to multiple sustainability objectives, including water resource management, climate change adaptation and mitigation, food security and land use management. In 2022 at the 5th Meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly countries adopted a resolution on nature-based solutions (UNEP/EA.5/Res.5) which includes a multilaterally agreed definition and framing of the concept. UNEA decided that ‘nature-based solutions are actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services, resilience and biodiversity benefits. This multilaterally agreed definition builds on earlier ones including the definition coined by the European Commission which defined NbS as “solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions. (European Commission, 2021)”. In so doing, NbS will contribute to protecting, sustainably managing or restoring nature, with the goal of maintaining or enhancing ecosystem services to address a variety of social, environmental and economic challenges (OECD 2020).
NbS align with the overall objectives of the EU4Environment – Water Resources and Environmental Data programme, the different mandates and expertise of the implementing partners. NbS have a great potential to have a positive impact on water quality and quantity in Moldova, slowing down runoff and increasing infiltration, favouring natural retention and clean up and creating or improving habitats, supporting biodiversity. However, there remains several gaps in Moldova to fully recognising the potential and applicability of NbS, implementing and financing them and evaluating their effectiveness.
This session aims to:
- Provide explanation (including criteria and standards), overview and benefits of what are different types of NbS compared to other water management solutions in river basins
- Exchange experience and views among Moldovan stakeholders and development partners on:
- What existing and potential Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for river basin management exist in Moldova.
- How existing NbS in the country have been developed and implemented.
- Enhance understanding of definition, benefits and challenges of NbS for Moldova’s climate and biodiversity related targets and sustainable river basin management in terms of:
- How NbS can be further scaled up in Moldova.
- What challenges to scaling up are.
Identify key priorities (e.g. types of NbS, regions, landscape) that can potentially be included in the “roadmap” to be developed under the EU4Environment Project.
About EU4Environment – Water Resources and Environmental Data
This programme aims at improving people’s wellbeing in EU’s Eastern Partner Countries and enabling their green transformation in line with the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme’s activities are clustered around two specific objectives: 1) support a more sustainable use of water resources and 2) improve the use of sound environmental data and their availability for policy-makers and citizens. It ensures continuity of the Shared Environmental Information System Phase II and the EU Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership programmes.
The programme is implemented by five Partner organisations: Environment Agency Austria (UBA), Austrian Development Agency (ADA), International Office for Water (OiEau) (France), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The action is principally funded by the European Union, and co-funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation and the French Artois-Picardie Water Agency based on a budget of EUR 12,75 million (EUR 12 million EU contribution). The implementation period is 2021-2024.
