Europe - UNEP

Narva hydroelectric station on the Narva River, Estonia, shining in sunlight with thunderclouds in the background. Photo credit:
Hannu, via Wikimedia Commons.
countries and faces major pollution problems
from anthropogenic activities that need to be
addressed; therefore, increased institutional
capacity to address pollution and transboundary
problems is needed in the Dnieper basin in order
to mitigate conflict. The Danube River basin
encompasses diverse countries that have
engaged in heavy use of the water resources,
which has led to water pollution. However, in this
basin, significant steps have been taken to offset
pollution problems in the transboundary water;
basin-wide approaches have been taken with an
international commission (ICPDR) as well as an
international project that functions to protect the
water resources as well as reduce the pollution of
the Danube basin’s water resources. The third
basin discussed in this chapter, Narva River basin,
faces water pollution from forestry and
agricultural practices that have led to
eutrophication, particularly in Lake Peipsi;
industrial activities also have a negative impact
on the basin’s water resources. While the Narva
basin is a relatively new transboundary basin,
significant transboundary activities have
occurred, i.e. an intergovernmental commission
between Estonia and Russia. In sum, the Dnieper
River basin is the most vulnerable of the three
basins discussed in this chapter because the
heavy agricultural and industrial use as well as
transboundary pollution may lead to
transboundary conflicts as no basin-wide
agreement has been implemented.
Chapter 5. Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience Case Studies — 79