Better water quality for Moldova - EU4Environment Water Resources and Environmental Data

Environmental and climate resilience are among the key objectives of the European Union's Eastern Partnership agenda. The EU therefore supports Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to use their water resources in a sustainable and trans-regional manner. Specifically, the EU4Environment - Water Resources and Environmental Data programme aims to reduce adverse impacts of human activities on water and aquatic ecosystems. It also aims to expand and improve the use of sound environmental statistics for policy-relevant decisions.

The programme runs from 2021 to 2024 and is mainly funded by the European Union. Austrian Development Cooperation and the French water agency Artois-Picardie co-finance the programme. The total budget is 12.75 million euros, Austria contributes 600,000 euros. Five partner organisations implement the programme: the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the International Office for Water (OiEau), as well as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

Austrian know-how for Moldova

Within the programme, ADA is exclusively active in Moldova, where we coordinate the respective measures. In a first phase, we are developing river basin management plans – against the background of Moldova's aspired EU accession, these are aligned with EU and international law, in particular the EU Water Framework Directive. A newly developed water strategy will also support a more sustainable use of drinking water resources and contain concrete climate protection measures to protect Moldova's water resources from extreme events such as droughts and floods.

Finally, the programme will better involve water suppliers, the private sector and the general public in water resource management: All relevant regional, national and local stakeholders participate in the meetings of the so-called River Basin Committee. In the long term, EU4Environment should enable the Moldovan Ministry of Environment to independently manage the country's water resources according to EU standards.

Supra-regional water strategy for Eastern Partnership

EU4Environment - Water Resources and Environmental Data is part of the umbrella programme EU4Environment. Several international organisations and EU member states implement the programme through a Team Europe Initiative (TEI). EU4Environment supports the six partner countries of the Eastern Partnership in conserving their natural capital and improving the environmental well-being of their people. Environment-related measures and strengthened environmental and climate resilience are intended to enable a green transformation. The programme thus contributes to the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).