21 Mar 2011

UNDP/ RESTORATION DANUBE

UNDP’s Global Environment Facility has helped restore the Danube river and the Black Sea, bringing back to life ecosystems and environment that where virtually extinct. UNDP

Posted at: March 21, 2011 4:09 pm

Duration: 03:41

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: UNDP / RESTORATION DANUBE
TRT: 3:41
SOURCE: UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS 
 
DATELINE: RECENT SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA / VIENNA, AUSTRIA / VOJVODINA, SERBIA / BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA

SHOTLIST:

RECENT -  SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

1. Various shots, spring that flows into the Danube river 
2. Med shot, Danube River 
3. Med shot, map of Danube River
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Hudson, Director of UNDP's Water Management Project: "One of the biggest problems faced by the Danube is the excessive input of nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus into the system really over about the last 50 years. This really began with the Green Revolution that took place in the sixties and seventies."

RECENT - VOJVODINA, SERBIA

5. Various shots, farmer driving tractor
6. Various shots, farmer with cattle 
7. Med shot, manure pit funded by project 
8. Various shots, fields with beets

RECENT - VIENNA, AUSTRIA

9.Various shots, boat removing plankton from the water 
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Philip Weller, Executive Secretary of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River:
"The Danube River Basin is the most international river basin in the world. There is no other river basin with so many countries. Without the UNDP-GEF support it is clear that the countries of the region would not have been able to come together and organize themselves in the framework of the convention, the Danube River Protection Convention, and in particular to have the kind of commitment that exists to this institution, which is worldwide recognized as one of the best examples of trans-boundary water cooperation."

RECENT - SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

11. Various shots, view of Sarajevo
12. Various shots, waste water flowing into Danube
13. Various shots, people in streets in Sarajevo 
14. Various shots, river 
15. Various shots, detergent products 
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Rijad Tikvesa, environmental activist:
"We shared 20,000 leaflets in front of shopping centers to ladies when they go inside and we created a list of detergents, which is environmentally-friendly which is not."
17. Various shots, people shopping 
18, Various shots, Danube River

STORYLINE:

Starting in Southern Germany and flowing for over 2800 Km to the Black Sea the Danube River is the most international river basin in worlds that includes 19 countries.

Over the past 150 years, agricultural, industrial and municipal pollution severely damaged the ecosystems in the basin and the quality and quantity of water.

The impact on the environment was so massive that a 'dead zone' caused by oxygen depletion formed in the western part of the Black Sea.

When marine ecosystems receive excessive quantities of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus, these often lead to major blooms of marine plankton (plants), the 'forests' of the ocean.

When these plankton die and decay, this can consume much of the oxygen available in the water, leading to conditions of 'hypoxia', or very low oxygen, with associated negative impacts on all oxygen-requiring species in the ecosystem.

This phenomenon is known as 'eutrophication' and has been increasing globally at a geometric pace due to the massive increase over the last 50 years in the use of fertilizers on farm land as well as run-off from poorly managed manure in large livestock facilities, and the release of poorly or untreated sewage from wastewater plants.

The Black Sea is just one of hundreds of global 'hot spots' that have suffered from eutrophication and hypoxia.

Andrew Hudson, Director of UNDP's Water Management Project  says that this is the leading cause for the dead zone in the Danube and Black sea. "One of the biggest problems faced by the Danube is the excessive input of nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus into the system really over about the last 50 years. This really began with the Green Revolution that took place in the sixties and seventies." Hudson said.

An international plan, with support of UNDP, helped to restore the river basin and revive the Black Sea ecosystem upon which millions depend for their livelihood.

UNDP identified the major sources of pollution, developed an investment strategy and strengthened institutions that govern the Danube River basin. The UNDP-GEF 49,5 million USD programme helped to catalyze 3,5 billion USD investments into reforms of governing institutions and systems, and into new agricultural and industrial practices.

Philip Weller, Executive Secretary of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River said that it was hard to get all the countries to work together.

"The Danube River Basin is the most international river basin in the world. There is no other river basin with so many countries. Without the UNDP-GEF support it is clear that the countries of the region would not have been able to come together and organize themselves in the framework of the convention, the Danube River Protection Convention, and in particular to have the kind of commitment that exists to this institution, which is worldwide recognized as one of the best examples of trans-boundary water cooperation." Weller added.
One of the programs in the portfolio helped a local NGO in Sarajevo in a public awareness campaign explain to people that some of the detergents they were using included phosphates and where harmful to the rivers.

Rijad Tikvesa an environmental activist said that they could change people's behaviours easily using pamphlets and advertising on the Radio. "We shared 20,000 leaflets in front of shopping centers to ladies when they go inside and we created a list of detergents, which is environmentally-friendly which is not." Tikvesa said.

Another program gave small grants to farmers in Serbia to build manure pits that on one helped collect the manure in one place rather than dumping it in the river basin, and on the other give the farmers natural organic fertilizers.

As a result, an effective trans-boundary waters management programme was implemented during the 1990's.

The strategic plan and incoming funding enabled the countries along the Danube to monitor and improve water quality and quantity by establishing 75 water quality monitoring stations throughout the basin.

With the support of the programme, the governments instituted a damage control system to minimize accidental chemical spills and agreed to reduce nutrient pollution.

Through these reforms and investments, industrial, municipal and agricultural pollution was reduced, virtually eliminating the dead zone in the Black Sea and leading to a significant eco-system recovery.

UNDP works with over 100 countries to modify agriculture, industry, mining, fishing and wastewater management to lessen ecological damage to the water systems. In this way, conflicts can be prevented, security and livelihoods improved, habitats protected and health risks minimized.