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TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENTEfficient and effective cooperation inthe River Rhine catchmentDr J. Cullman, Federal Institute of Hydrology, Germany and Chairperson of UNESCO International Hydrology Programme;Eric Sprokkereef and Ute Menke, Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, Rijkswaterstaat-CHR Secretariat, The NetherlandsThe International Commission for the Hydrology of theRhine Basin (CHR) 1 was founded in 1970 by the NationalCommittees of Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France,Luxembourg and the Netherlands in the framework of the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) International Hydrological Decade. It is responsiblefor carrying out the UNESCO recommendation to strengthenand to support cooperation in the Rhine catchment area andother river catchments.CHR’s mission is to foster knowledge about the hydrology of theRhine river basin and to contribute to the solution of transboundaryhydrological problems. The commission coordinates diversejoint researches and often functions as a feedback group. An importantaspect is the exchange of data, methods and information aswell as the development of standards. CHR has no connections topolitics in the various member states. As a relatively small group,it can act quite fast, contributing to decision-making processes.CHR involves mainly scientific institutes focused on the developmentand implementation of hydrological measures to ensure sustainable developmentof the Rhine basin. Activities take place within the frameworkof the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and theThe Rhine fall near the city of Schaffhausen at high discharge, 11 June, 2006Image: CHRHydrological and the World Meteorological Organization(WMO) Water Resources Programme. Working alliancesundertake research on various themes such as:• hydrological interests in water economy andflood control• sediment management• hydrological forecasts and models• comparison of methods and measuring equipment• studies on climatic changes and their possible effects• registration of the interactive relationships betweeninfluencing factors on the hydrological regime ofthe Rhine basin.CHR creates synergy through cooperation in variousstudies in the catchment. Its two publication seriesfocus on the findings of the official CHR workinggroups (Series I) and CHR-related work or researchincorporating financial contribution only (Series II).The Rhine catchment areaThe Rhine’s catchment 2 of 185,000 km 2 is home to around60 million people and comprises nine states includinga small tip of Italian territory north of Chiavenna,Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France,Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Of the 1,230km course of the river, a stretch of about 800 km fromBasel to Rotterdam is navigable. This stretch is one of thebusiest waterways in the world, playing a vital role for itsriparians in terms of transporting goods.The main river and its tributaries supply countlessindustrial plants with process water and provide coolingwater for numerous thermal power stations, both nuclearand fossil-fuel driven. In water-operated power plants orpower plants on reservoirs of the catchment, however,the power of the streaming water produces a substantialamount of electricity. Furthermore, the Rhine is a majorsupplier of drinking and process water. Stuttgart and othermunicipalities in the Neckar region are supplied throughlines from Lake Constance, while numerous other citiesand communities are provided with river bank filtrate. Inthe end, the river has to absorb all sewage, albeit cleaned.Despite these strains imposed by civilization, ‘the romanticRhine’ continues to attract tourists from across the world.For all these reasons, it is crucial to know whether andhow the water levels of the Rhine will change in future. But[ 57 ]