Caucasus – Information Assessment and Exchange for Transboundary Water Management

The Kura-Aras River originates in Turkey and flows through Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea. It is the major watercourse in the South Caucasus area and all countries must share its water for multiple uses. Water scarcity, however, is an issue at many points in the river system, and the river is seriously degraded and threatened with agricultural runoff, industrial water discharges, and municipal sewage. Water quantity and quality constraints may increasingly lead to serious disputes among the water users.

The Kura River in Tbilisi, Georgia

Riverside Technology, inc. (RTi) worked under a sub-contract with Development Alternatives, Inc., to assist USAID in the design and implementation of a program for improved water resources management in the South Caucasus’ Kura-Aras River Basin. RTi focused on developing local capacity for water resources data collection and exchange. All three countries lack basic and reliable water resources data in a modern electronic format. The infrastructure for data collection, training for data management, and systems for data exchange all require substantial financial resources and professional attention. RTi recommended developing databases and implementing training programs for the local technicians, while also addressing the longer-term training and absorptive capacity of the local agencies.

The Kura-Auras River Basin

RTi participated in the development of a plan for expanded water resources data monitoring and exchange. The plan outlines national programs for water resources quantity and quality data collection at strategic locations for national and regional water management; and a regionally focused information management system (IMS) with appropriate tools for data entry, exchange, and analysis. The plan also includes a program for educating stakeholders about potential applications of the data and the creation of subsequent services related to the exchange of information.

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