INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR
ON WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN WATER DIRECTIVE

FINAL RESOLUTIONS

123 delegates of the governmental administrations responsible for managing water resources, of the basin organizations and non governmental organizations coming from Albania, Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Morocco, Moldavia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Swiss, Ukrainia, united Kingdom and the European commission, met in Valencia, on 11 and 12 November 2003, under the auspices of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), of the Mediterranean Network of basin organizations (MENBO) and of the Central and Eastern Europe Network of Basin Organizations (CEENBO), at the invitation of the Hydrological Confederation of the Jucar and Spanish Authorities.

Many organizations here represented are already members of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), currently present in 52 Countries. INBO was created in 1994 in Aix-les-Bains to enable the mobilization of the real and practical experience of decision-makers and professionals of the administrations and organizations concerned, directly responsible for the effective implementation of integrated water resource management at the level of river basins or wishing to implement it in their countries or regions.

INBO now relies on Regional Networks in Central and Eastern Europe (CEENBO) and in the Mediterranean (MENBO) and on the Network of international commissions and transboundary basins organizations.

As remembered, INBO is open to:

n International Commissions and to organizations responsible for promoting and implementing integrated management of national or transboundary river basins and aquifers,

n Governmental administrations in charge of integrated water resource management in their country at basins and aquifers level,

n Bi or multilateral cooperation organizations supporting activities to establish institutional structures at the level of river basins or aquifers.

Non Governmental Organizations may participate in the Network activities as Observers.

• As the new European water framework Directive aims at a good ecological statute for surface and underground waters with 2015 as deadline,

• As it is based on an implementation at basins or water districts level,

• As, after the first step of its transposition in each national legal framework, the WFD is now entering in its active and operational phase of implementation by basin organizations , existing or in a creating process, or water district authorities,

• As this implementation might be complex and will be based on new concepts and methods for water sound management,

• Taking into account the very ambitious objectives to reach and important tasks to be achieved,

They decided to set up, within INBO framework and without any other new structure, a "group of european basin organizations for implementing the WFD" (Europ-INBO), open to all other water bodies interested in the European Union and bordering counties whishing to be associated.

This Group is fixing as its objective to facilitate the implementation of the WFD by basin organizations involved in the enlarged European Union, in candidate States and other interested Eastern Europe and Mediterranean Counties

Its objectives are to assist with common activities, aiming in particular:

l to strengthen cooperation between the countries bordering transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers,

l to participate in the local, national and international discussions on integrated management of water resources and sound and sustainable development of river basins and aquifers,

l to develop exchanges of information, experiences and expertise between basin organizations interested,

l to evaluate the activities undertaken and to disseminate their results, especially through publications and appropriate training programs,

l to design and promote common projects for achieving these objectives,

l to facilitate the development of useful tools and models,

l to promote the exchange of information and data essential for knowledge of the resources, uses and pollution and required for forecasting natural hazards and accidents, for defining multi-year plans for joint and consistent actions and for evaluating the common policies implemented,

l to assist with the establishment of financing systems, based on the "user-polluter-pays" principles and on common cause in the basin,

l to promote training programs for the managers, executives and technicians of the member organizations and, more generally, for all stakeholders in water management,

l to promote the participation of the populations concerned in planning processes and sustainable water resource management.

All the interested partner organizations agreed to meet again within 12 months and after at least for all interesting steps of implementation of the European water framework Directive.

Poland proposed to host the next plenary meeting and will jointly choose the place and dates with INBO PTSecretary, with the assistance of a provisional steering Committee,
composed of Messrs.:

• OSTOJSKI (Poland),
• GABOR (Romania),
• PAPP (Hungary),
• ROUSSEL and KACZMARECK (France),
• ESTRELA and PIÑERO (Spain),
• MARRAZZA (Italy),
• SERRA (Portugal),
• BOND (United Kingdom),
• LORANSKIY (Ukrainia),
• DAVY (European Commission),
• BIDOGLIO (JRC),

and also the secretaries of INBO, CEENBO and MENBO.

The steering Committee will be chair by the representative of the

organization inviting for the last meeting, the Hydrological Confederation of the Jucar

for the coming period.

INBO Permanent Technical Secretariat will handle the secretariat of the provisional steering Committee.

The participants of the Valencia meeting wished that their resolutions be presented at the next european water directors committee meeting and at the European Commission.

They thanked the Jucar hydrological Confederation for having initiated this first constitutive meeting and the Spanish Authorities for their welcome in Valencia.

Towards the invitation of the seminar

Permanent Technical Secretariat
21, rue de Madrid - 75008 PARIS - FRANCE
Tel. : (33) 1 44 90 88 60 - Fax : (33) 1 40 08 01 45 -Email : riob2@wanadoo.fr