Danube: A River Basin in Transition

Tensions in parts of the Danube River Basin, the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and elsewhere demonstrate the need for international agreements which should help stabilize and improve economies, governments, and environmental management within the countries in transition and across national borders. An instrument of peace, a convention which establishes a commission to oversee natural resource protection among all basin countries, is about to be adopted and implemented. This book covers in detail the readiness of the countries to participate and the programmes funded by international agencies, and suggests ways to stimulate the slow and uneven government and investor response to conflicts. It reviews the approach and successes and failures of current programmes funded by the European Commission, the Global Environment Facility, and US AID, and suggests ways to improve such assistance for maximum effect within the countries themselves.The book has equal value to two sets of audiences: specialists in many disciplines, scientists and technicians, and their colleagues in public and private sector policy-making who deal full-time with transboundary natural resource problems at a practical level in the Danube region or in regions elsewhere; and those concerned about the future economic and political stability of the east European and CIS countries and their ability to meet EU environmental and other criteria, including investors in public and private projects.