The HD-led project Environmental Protection of International River Basins (EPIRB) is among the EU’s priority regional projects implemented in the Eastern Partnership countries. Its objective is improved environmental protection and water quality in the trans-boundary river basins of the wider Black Sea region and Belarus.
Recognising the achievements of our Team with EPIRB, the EU has granted an extension of 9 months to solidify and further embed the work done so far. The project has been underway since January 2012; it is now expected to conclude in October 2016 (57 months total).
This extension will allow our team to build further on three years of quality work and to widen the impact of this project. It also allows us more time to deeply embed systems to guarantee the legacy of what we have achieved.
— Ivelina Dilovska, EPIRB Project Director
The project has made advanced progress toward the main target results, namely: (1) increased capacities of the respective national authorities for hydro-biological, chemical and hydro-morphological monitoring of water quality including groundwater; and (2) increased technical capacities by means of development and implementation of River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) for the selected pilot rivers.
We are proud to share some of our successes so far.
This extension provides the opportunity for the project to explore further areas to deepen capacity. Among other areas, our project team will work on:
The extension of the project allows to: maintain momentum of the project which has been generated in all countries; ensure the sustainability of the projected outputs/achievements (ecological status classification system and adopted RBMP); and guarantee a smooth transition from the existing project to any a follow-on project, avoiding damaging implementation gaps.
— Tim Turner, EPIRB project Team Leader