Component 1

Outcome 1. Countries recognize the karst aquifer system as a shared and highly vulnerable resource, and agree to take steps to deal with its transboundary implications.

Component 1 involves the improvement the understanding of the resource and of its environmental status and it anticipates a better recognition of the karst aquifer system as a shared and highly vulnerable resource by the Aquifer sharing countries and their agreement to take steps to deal with its transboundary implications.

Under Component 1 the first Output is a Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) prepared and approved by countries. In the TDA the transboundary problems and root causes are identified. Furthermore, different options are proposed for the implementation of interventions to address national and trans-boundary problems expressed and developed in a Strategic Action Programme.

The TDA will lead to the identification of priority interventions for inclusion in the SAP, which are needed to address underlying/root causes; filling of knowledge gaps; legal, policy, and institutional reforms; investments; economic instruments; and awareness raising and stakeholder involvement. The TDA will also identify the gaps in the baseline information necessary for the establishment of the SAP monitoring and evaluation framework.

The production of the TDA will require five main Activities.

The second Output of Component 1 will include the identification of the baseline conditions, and the agreement and adoption of a set of environmental status indicators.  These will be included in a Shared Vision for the DIKTAS, agreed by the Countries, which will join forces in a long term monitoring effort. This common goal of the countries will represent the conceptual background and informing principle of the SAP elaboration process.

Having achieved an acceptable and shared knowledge of the present baseline conditions of the DIKTAS, and taking into consideration the Shared Vision, the project will work to identify feasible indicators that will allow the countries to monitor in an harmonized way and in the long term the evolution of the system and its reaction to the various stress reduction measures and interventions that countries may undertake in the future within the SAP implementation context or otherwise. These indicators are the Environmental Status Indicators recommended by the International Waters focal area of the GEF. They must be simple, comprehensive and feasible given the socio-economic and technical contexts in the countries.