The Governments of Moldova and Ukraine have launched the Strategic Framework for Adaptation to Climate Change for the Dniester Basin, which will help the two countries mitigate climate change impacts, enhance transboundary cooperation and facilitate sustainable development.
Having endorsed the Strategic Framework, the countries will develop an Implementation Plan, supported by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
23 April 2015: The Governments of Moldova and Ukraine have launched the Strategic Framework for Adaptation to Climate Change for the Dniester Basin, which will help the two countries mitigate climate change impacts, enhance transboundary cooperation and facilitate sustainable development. Having endorsed the Strategic Framework, the countries will develop an Implementation Plan, supported by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Speaking at the launch event, Lazar Chirica, Deputy Minister of Environment of Moldova, and Serhiy Kurykin, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, stressed the importance of the successful implementation of the Strategic Framework. They noted that it will support: joint action to manage the negative consequences of climate change; fulfillment of obligations under other international agreements; and overall cross-border cooperation between the two countries.
The launch was held in Kiev, Ukraine, at the UNECE and OSCE High-Level Event on Climate Change and Transboundary Cooperation as part of the Tenth Meeting of the Working Group on Flood Management and Climate Change Adaptation, which was held on 22-23 April 2015. UNECE and OSCE are assisting the countries’ adaptation efforts in the Dniester Basin as part of the project ‘Climate change and Security in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus,’ as well as through the climate change adaptation programme in transboundary basins under the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention).
As the Dniester Basin is expected to experience more extreme flooding and drought periods as a result of climate change, UNECE has undertaken a number of other activities in 2014 to strengthen resilience, such as data collection, creation of a preliminary reservoir model, field work and training and activities to educate youth. [UNECE Press Release] [UNECE Climate Change Work Webpage]