Experiencing innovations and new cooperation perspectives in water management at WASSER BERLIN INTERNATIONAL

Cooperation under the framework of international project PRESTO has accelerated recently. After successful Water Management Policy Forum organized in March 2013 in Minsk (Belarus), PRESTO partners visited “Wasser Berlin International” Congress and Trade Fair in Berlin (Germany) on 23 April 2013. This world-leading exhibition on innovative technology in water supply and treatment is attended biennially by 28 000 visitors and creates perfect platform for discussions with international experts on a variety of water-related topics. Congress helps specialists to improve their expertise, learn how other countries address water management challenges and provide networking opportunities in highly dynamic water market. Using this opportunity, PRESTO partners not only visited the Congress but also organised a Belarusian Country Forum open for external visitors.

Among invited speakers there was a representative of Ministry of Housing and Communal Services of the Republic of Belarus, Mr. Siarhei Tsimoshkin; Mr. Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Head of Department Training and International Cooperation from DWA - German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste and Mr. Bernd Zacharias, Head of Regional Section Russia of German Water Partnership.  

Speakers at the Forum: Siarhei Tsimoshkin, Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Vladimir Anoufriev, Bernd Zacharias; facilitation: Matthias Barjenbruch, Technical University of Berlin.
Photo by Agnieszka Ilola, UBC EnvCom.

  

Mr. Tsimoshkin in his speech highlighted the importance of public-private collaboration and stated that currently, based on a call from the Belarusian government, a new law on public-private partnerships is being developed, and that in the future it will foster investments in the water sector. Moreover, he admitted that the Ministry of Communal Services and Housing of Belarus is elaborating further ways of cooperation in reducing nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea. For that the Ministry, together with the regional Departments of housing and communal services, searches for water and sewage utilities that directly affect the state of the Baltic Sea drainage area, to encourage their participation in the new projects with international investments for the advanced treatment technologies. ”It is evident that exchanging of experiences and knowledge in the projects like PRESTO can contribute to mutual understanding and accelerate the future cooperation process” Mr. Tsimoshkin said.

Mr. Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Head of Department Training and International Cooperation from DWA - German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (Hennef) presented international activities of DWA and invited PRESTO partners to collaboration with other leading European water alliances as IWA (International Water Association), EWA (European Water Association) or GWP (German Water Partnership).

After the Forum all partners had a chance to participate in the guided tour at the Trade Fair organized by the Technical University of Berlin and get familiar with the latest trends in pipeline engineering, water construction machinery, measuring and analysis technology and equipment.

For more information please visit our website at www.prestobalticsea.eu.

PRESTO partners visiting fair's stand of Grundfos, one of the world's leading pump manufacturers.
Photo by Agnieszka Ilola, UBC EnvCom.

Text by: Agnieszka Ilola, UBC EnvCom, Project Officer, PRESTO Project

Mobilizing political will and commitment to address water issues in Belarus

"Joint actions for clean water" was the title of the Water Management Policy Forum that was organized on 27 March 2013 in Minsk, Belarus. After the Environmental and Technological forums, it  was the third  bilingual event organized by the international technical assistance project PRESTO (Project on Reduction of the Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea Today) lead by UBC Commission on Environment. PRESTO project develops joint actions between the EU and Belarus to combat transnational pollution risk and eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. The project has been officially registered in Belarus in May 2012 and supports the goals of both the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the National strategy for sustainable development and Water strategy of the Republic of Belarus for the period to 2020. Project supports Belarusian cities in their attempt to reach the HELCOM recommendation in nutrient removal from their wastewaters.

"It is impossible to solve the Baltic Sea’s challenges without the holistic approach to its entire basin. EU cannot achieve a healthy status of the Baltic Sea alone and thus cooperation with Russia and Belarus are of great importance" said Mikhail Durkin from Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, HELCOM.

Water Management Forum participants. Photo by Tuuli Ojala, John Nurminen Foundation

More than 100 invited guests from Belarus and Baltic Sea Region including representatives of Ministries, research experts and NGO’s attended the Forum. Intention of the Policy Forum in Minsk was to accelerate cooperation, investments and funding possibilities between EU member states and Belarus by drawing together different experts across the water management sector. The Forum provided a platform for policy dialogue and promoted best practices in sustainable management of water resources.

“Sustainable water management is essential for our future and requires international cooperation. Year 2013 is officially recognized by UN General Assembly as International Year of Water Cooperation. We hope to intensify the cooperation in the Baltic Sea region to increase cost effectiveness of our common actions towards better water management and better state of environment” stated Björn Grönholm from UBC (Union of the Baltic Cities) Commission on Environment which is responsible for overall management of the project.

Laura Saijonmaa from the Ministry of Environment of Finland spoke at the Forum and highlighted the importance of communication across the borders and common goals in the framework of HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). “It has been calculated that in a long term, benefits of BSAP implementation will significantly exceed the costs thus more action from all stakeholders in the region is needed. New innovative approaches, capacity building and alignment of funding lies in the core of the future success” said Ms. Saijonmaa.

According to Sergei Zavyalov from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus “Much has been done recently in the field of water resources management in Belarus but much more is ahead. We are actively working on implementation of objectives of the Water Strategy for the period up to 2020 which foresees among others harmonization of EU and Belarus water legislation, revision of Water Code of the Republic of Belarus and increased public participation in decision-making”. Belarus has signed two transnational agreements regarding river basin management: trilateral agreement Belarus-Lithuania-Russia and bilateral intergovernmental agreement with the Russian Federation.  

In the afternoon session the possibilities of investments in water sector in Belarus and available financing instruments in the Baltic Sea Region were presented to all participants. Invited speakers shared their experiences on public-private partnerships and presented examples of successful investments in Belarus.

Panel discussion lead by prof. Dr-Ing Matthias Barjenbruch from Technical University of Berlin.
Photo by Tuuli Ojala, John Nurminen Foundation

The Forum concluded with the panel discussion where not only successful stories but also challenges in water sector were discussed. It became clear that overcoming these challenges requires sustained commitment, cooperation and investment of all stakeholders. Involvement and active communication is crucial for developing and implementing new opportunities and solutions for more sustainable water management policies and practices in future.

For further information please contact:

Pekka Salminen
Project Manager

Union of the Baltic Cities Commission on Environment Secretariat

Phone: +358 44 9075999

e-mail: firstname.lastname@ubc.net

Check the Forum newsflash from the local media coverage.

Text by: Agnieszka Ilola, UBC EnvCom, Project Officer, PRESTO Project

Investments in four wastewater treatment plants in Belarus are accelerating!

PRESTO project aims at decreasing excess load of nutrients to the water bodies by carrying out investments in enhanced nutrient removal at four wastewater treatment plants in Belarus: Baranovichi, Grodno, Molodechno and Vitebsk. 

Preparation of investments started in 2012 with the technical audits at each of the wastewater treatment plant. The technical audits were carried out by Pöyry Finland Oy, hired by John Nurminen Foundation which is in charge of investment part in PRESTO. 

The work included gathering of needed baseline data on the current technical processes, planning of the most cost effective and feasible solutions for improved nutrient removal as well as preparing tender documentation for the investments that are going to be realized. The necessary technology to decrease the concentration of phosphorus in purified wastewater in order to achieve HELCOM recommendation was selected.

Technical reports became the solid basis for further work and showcase the diverse challenges to be addressed in each of the four waste water treatment plants. The four wastewater treatment plants are now about to complete their first tender procedure in PRESTO for the local design to adjust the technical designs into Belarusian local context. 

As a next step, tenders for construction works, equipment supply and installation will be launched.

All four PRESTO investing partners are discharging their waters to Neman and Daugava rivers which belong to Baltic Sea catchment area. As a consequence, reducing trans boundary nutrient load from Belarus will improve not only water quality of European rivers but also the state of the Baltic Sea. More information on PRESTO project at: www.prestobalticsea.eu

Investing partner Baranovichi WWTP

Text by: Agnieszka Ilola, UBC Environmental Commission, Project Officer, PRESTO Project