Co-operation of the Slovak Republic with the neighbouring countries in boundary rivers is performed under the international treaty and inter-governmental agreements. Bilateral commissions for boundary waters were established under the agreements and the treaty, which are chaired by governmental representatives for water management issues in boundary rivers.

The boundary rivers are those sections of rivers and other natural creeks, as well as channels through which leads a state border, or any surface and sub-surface waters and rivers in the profiles where they are crossed by the state border.

The co-operation in international organisations has the following forms:

• work in international organisations, arising mainly from multilateral agreements. Under the convention on the navigation regime in the Danube, a Danube Commission was established with its seat in Budapest,
• performing tasks arising from the recommendations of the Danube Commission and the Commissions for Boundary Waters,
• foreign projects and programs,
• membership in the international non-governmental organisations (ICOLD – International Commission of Large Dams, IWA – International Water Association, IAHR – International Association for Hydraulic Research, IAHS – International Association for Hydrologic Science, IAD – International Association for Research of Danube, ISO – International Organisation for Standardisation, CEN – Commission for European Standardisation, IAALD – International Association of Experts in Information Technology)
• co-operation in solution of international programs
• Convention on Protection and Exploitation of Boundary Rivers and International Lakes
• Convention on Protection of Wetlands of International Importance
• International Hydrologic Program at UNESCO

• AWACSS (Automated equipment for measurement of contamination on the basis of biosensors)
• DANUBS (Management of nutrients in the Danube basin and the effect thereof on the Black Sea)
• Implementation of the European Directive 98/83 EC on drinking water in Slovakia
• Forecast hydrological and hydraulic model in the Bodrog river network within the project „Management of Floods in Slovakia and Ukraine“
• NATO-Ukraine Project – preparedness for floods and response thereto in the Carpathian region
• River Tisa Project – integrated modelling of the river basin
• Co-operation of the Danube countries in hydrology
• Updating of the monography of Danube
• Hornad Hernad – trilateral project of Slovakia, Hungary, NL – Application of the WFD in partial international river basin
• ANFAS – System data collection for analysis of basins and support of decision-making process – 5th EU framework program.

The Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 2000, which stipulates the framework for the activities of the society in water policy, shortly named Water Framework Directive (WFD), has in the hierarchy of legal acts of the European Union character of the law. Thus, the individual countries are liable to transform to their national systems of legally binding regulations particularly those provisions of the WFD, which express the basic objectives and clearly defined obligations arising form the implementation thereof. They should be implemented in the national laws.

By adopting the WFD, the communitarian law in the European Union reached its top in the area of waters, the former solution of individual problems regulated by the relevant directives has changed into to complex approach in protection and exploitation of waters.

The first requirement of the WFD implementation strategy is the implementation in the whole river basin – from the spring up to the mouth to the sea. In the Slovak conditions, it is the basin of river Danube (96% of the territory) and Wisla (4% of the territory).

Information and Contact:

Association of Employees in Water Management of the Slovak Republic
Nabr. arm. gen. L. Svobodu 5, Bratislava
www.vuvh.sk
simkova@vuvh.sk

In: Water in the Slovak Republic, p. 23 - 24.