On Friday, October the 24th, in Lithuania, Palanga, Estonian Minister of the Environment Villu Reiljan and his Latvian colleague Raimonds Vejonis sign a treaty between the Estonian and Latvian Ministries of the Environment to sustainably use and protect transboundary water bodies. Purpose of the treaty is to co-operate in drawing up a water management plan of Gauja/Koiva international hydrosphere. Most of the hydrosphere remains on the territory of Latvia. In Estonia, the hydrosphere partially covers Valga and Vőru counties. The coordinator of the water management plan of Koiva sub-hydrosphere Mariina Hiiob says that its Estonian part is little affected by human activity. „There lives sparsely about 7700 inhabitants in the area, and there are very few enterprises. It is an area that is most suitable for development of wildlife protection and tourism,“ Hiiob noted. The reason for drawing up the water management plan is to arrange a water management integrated with other types of economy and secure qualified drinking-water. Hydrosphere-based water management system is aimed at protecting the water body, taking into account its entirety and all factors that have an impact on it. This would avoid a problem still common in Estonia – one county pollutes the river’s springs and another drinks its water. Signing of the treaty takes place at the meeting of Ministers of the Environment of three Baltic Republics. For additional information please contact: Mr. Harry Liiv Ms. Mariina Hiiob |
