Presentation delivered by Dejan Komatina during the transboundary commission session during the 6th GEF Biennial International Waters Conference in 2011 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

1. Dejan Komatina, Ph.D. Civ. Eng.,
Secretary, ISRBC
Transboundary cooperation in the Sava river basin
for sustainable development of the region

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Overview
• Introduction on the basin
• Main points
• Summary (added value / challenges)
• Contact information

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Sava River Basin

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Sava River Basin
– Area: 97 713 km2
(the second largest Danube sub-basin; share: 12%)
– Average flow at the mouth: 1722 m3
/s (the
largest Danube tributary; contribution: 25%)
– River length: 940 km (594 km of which is the waterway)
– Population: approx. 8.5 million
Country Share of the
basin (%)
Share of the
territory (%)
Albania 0.2 0.6
Bosnia & Herzegovina 39.2 75.8
Croatia 26.0 45.2
Montenegro 7.1 49.6
Serbia 15.5 17.4
Slovenia 12.0 52.8

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Sava River Basin
• High environmental and socio-economic value
– Natural beauty

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Sava River Basin
• High environmental and socio-economic value
– High landscape diversity

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Sava River Basin
• High environmental and socio-economic value
– High biological diversity (natural wetlands, parks, protected areas)

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Sava River Basin
• High environmental and socio-economic value
– Large retention areas

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Sava River Basin
• High environmental and socio-economic value
– High potential for transport of cargo and passengers

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Sava River Basin
• High environmental and socio-economic value
– High potential for tourism and recreation

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Main points
• WRM: from national to transboundary management
• Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin
(FASRB)
– The first development-oriented multilateral agreement in
the region signed after the Agreement on Succession
– Integrated nature (sustainability and development) – it provides
the ISRBC with the broadest scope of work among European
basin organizations
– High legal capacity (decision making in the field of navigation)
• International Sava River Basin Commission (ISRBC)
– Protection and development of economic activities
(navigation, tourism) simultaneously

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Main points
• All the projects agreed upon by the four countries
– New Strategy on Implementation of the FASRB
– Action Plan for the Period 2011-2015
• Full conformity with the EU standards
– EU directives (WFD, Flood Directive, INSPIRE, RIS)
– EU strategies (EU Strategy for the Danube Region, EU 2020
Strategy)
• Cooperation (EU, Danube, Sava levels),
public participation and stakeholder involvement
• High-level commitment of the Parties

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Added value
• Key features of the approach
– Cohesive, providing conditions for:
• Cooperation of the countries after the conflict
• Implementation of joint, basin-wide projects
• Harmonization of national regulation, methodologies, procedures, …
– Integrated (whole basin; sustainability and development)
– Transparent (public participation)
– Aligned with the EU and UNECE regulation
(EU Directives, UNECE Water Convention, ...)
– Subregional (results complementary to those obtained on a regional
scale)
– Pragmatic and practical (offering concrete “products” to the Parties)

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Key challenges
• Differences between the countries
– Status with respect to EU & eligibility for approaching funds
– Level of economic development (financial resources)
– Organizational structure in decision-making process
– Environmental awareness of the public
• Financing priority projects / strategic studies, establishment of
integrated systems
• Resolving conflicts of interests of different users of water
(within a country / between countries / climate change)

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Contact information
International Sava River Basin Commission
Kneza Branimira 29
10000 Zagreb
Croatia
www.savacommission.org