2012 – “Raising awareness about the UNECE Water Convention and its Protocol on Water and Health and strengthening the role of the civil society organizations in their promotion and implementation”
The public and NGOs have a vital role to play in the development, implementation and support of the Water Convention and the Protocol. It is recognized in the Article 5(i) of the Protocol: “Access to information and public participation in decision-making concerning water and health are needed, inter alia, in order to enhance the quality and the implementation of the decisions, to build public awareness of issues, to give the public the opportunity to express its concerns and to enable public authorities to take due account of such concerns”. The aim of the project is to draw the attention of civil society organisations to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (hereafter referred to as “Water Convention”) and its Protocol on Water and Health (hereafter referred to as “Protocol”) and to mobilize non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on promotion and implementation of these legal instruments at local, national and transboundary context.
The communication materials/newsletters are developed by the partner organizations.
Yerevan, 09 November 2012
Regional workshop: “Raising awareness about the UNECE Water Convention and its Protocol on Water and Health and strengthening the role of the civil society organizations in their promotion and implementation”
The regional workshop on “Raising awareness about the UNECE Water Convention and its Protocol on Water and Health and strengthening the role of the civil society organizations in their promotion and implementation” financed by UNECE and currently being implemented in partnership with Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) took place on 09 November 2012.
The Protocol was adopted on 17 June 1999 on the occasion of the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health held in London, and on the same day Armenia became a Signatory to the Protocol.
The regional workshop aimed to increase awareness and involve a wide group of NGOs in the activities under the Water Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health with the view to giving the public the opportunity to express its concerns and enabling public authorities to take due account of public concerns.
Among the participants of the workshop were 30 representatives from different organizations, ministries and programs from Armenia and Georgia: the ministries of Nature Protection of Armenia and Georgia, the Ministry of Health of Armenia, Ministry of Territorial Administration of Armenia, the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health of Georgia, Office of Economic Growth – USAID Armenia, UNDP Climate Change Program, UNDP/GEF Project Transboundary Degradation in the Kura- Araks River Basin, Environmental Protection of International River Basins project, Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of NAS Armenia, Armenian NGOs, the International Center for Environmental Research Georgia, WECF, and Caucasus Environmental NGO Network.
The presentations focused on the issues and problems related to the implementation of the Water Convention on Transboundary Watercourses and the Protocol on Water and Health. The workshop covered several issues: National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) under the EU Water Initiative in Armenia; USAID input in sustainable water management; monitoring of the surface waters in Armenia; transboundary degradation in the Kura – Araks River Basin; integrated assessment of the quality of water resources of Armenia, particularly of Lake Sevan; IWRM and problems of the responsibility. Also was highlighted the situation on water-related health problems, target setting process in Armenia and Georgia, and experience exchange with the Georgian colleagues on the process of setting targets.
Agenda
08:45 – 09:15 Registration of participants
09:15 – 09:30 Opening of the workshop, welcome speech
Elena Manvelyan, President of the “Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment” (AWHHE) NGO
Volodya Narimanyan, Head of the Water Resources Management Agency, RA Ministry of Nature Protection
Nune Bakunts, Head of Legal Instruments and Document Flow Management Division of the State Hygiene and Anti-Epidemic Inspectorate of the RA Ministry of Health
Alexander Mindorashvili, Main Specialist of the Water Resources Management Division of the Ministry of Environment Protection of Georgia
Nana Gabriadze, Senior Specialist of the Department of the Non-Communicable Diseases of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health of Georgia
Viktor Martirosyan, Head of the “Environmental project implementation unit” SA
Chair: Elena Manvelyan, President of the AWHHE
09:30 – 13:00 Session 1: Water Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health
Introduction of the Water Convention and Protocol
Emma Anakhasyan, Head of the Environmental Health Department, AWHHE
National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management under the EU Water Initiative in Armenia
Armine Arushanyan, Chief specialist of Water Use Permits Division, Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia
USAID Input in Sustainable Water Management
Marina Vardanyan, Energy, Water and Environment Adviser, Mission Environmental Officer, Office of Economic Growth – USAID Armenia
Monitoring of the surface waters in Armenia and its further developments
Seyran Minasyan, Deputy Director, Environmental Effect Monitoring Center of the RA Ministry of Nature Protection
UNDP/GEF Project Transboundary Degradation in the Kura – Araks River Basin
Tamar Gugushvili, National Coordinator for Georgia
Tigran Kalantaryan, National Coordinator for Armenia
Discussions
11:00 – 11:20 Coffee break
Environmental Protection of International River Basins project activities in Armenia
Vahagn Tonoyan, Country Water Management Expert of the EC funded project
Integrated assessment of the quality of water resources of Armenia
Knarik Hovhannisyan, Expert of the Association “For Sustainable Human Development”
Integrated Water Resource Management and problems of the responsibility
Inga Zarafyan, President of the “Ecolur” informational NGO
Integrated assessment of Lake Sevan: Environmental Conditions
Bardukh Gabrielyan – Director at Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of NAS Armenia
Discussion
13:00-14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 18:00 Session 2: Protocol on Water and Health: Targets for progress
Water-related health problems, Introduction of target setting project in Armenia
Nune Bakunts, Head of Legal Instruments and Document Flow Management Division of the State Hygiene and Anti-Epidemic Inspectorate of the RA Ministry of Health
Water and Health Issues in the Context of Risks under Climate Change
Diana Harutyunyan, UNDP Climate Change Program Coordinator
Target setting process in Georgia
Alexander Mindorashvili, Main Specialist of the Water Resources Management Division of the Ministry of Environment Protection of Georgia
Nana Gabriadze, Senior Specialist of the Department of the Non-Communicable Diseases of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health of Georgia
Drinking water and sanitation challenges in Armenia
Harutyun Khachatryan, Head of Economics Division of the Financial Economic Department, State Committee of Water System of the Ministry of Territorial Administration of Armenia
Water supply and sanitation problems and ways of solutions in Armenian settlements
Arevik Hovsepyan – President of the Country Water Partnership NGO, Armenia
New perspectives of Georgia towards target setting process under the Protocol on Water and Health
Grigol Abramia, Director & CEO of the International Center for Environmental Research
Water safety plans
Anna Samwel, Coordinator, Women in Europe for a Common Future
The contribution of civil society organizations on the example of the
solution of problems of water supply and sanitation
Lilik Simonyan, Head of Department of Hygiene and Ecological Risks, AWHHE
Final discussion; recommendations
18:00 Closure
STATEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN NGOs
working on water related problems in CEE and EECCA countries,
presented at the Meeting of the Parties to
THE CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION AND USE OF
TRANSBOUNDARY WATERCOURSES AND INTERNATIONALLAKES
Sixth session, Rome, 28-30 November 2012
