(Helsinki, 17 March 1992)
Preamble
The Parties to this Convention,
Mindful that the protection and use of
transboundary watercourses and international lakes are important
and urgent tasks, the effective accomplishment of which can only
be ensured by enhanced cooperation,
Concerned over the existence and threats
of adverse effects, in the short or long term, of changes in the
conditions of transboundary watercourses and international lakes
on the environment, economies and well-being of the member
countries of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE),
Emphasizing the need for strengthened
national and international measures to prevent, control and
reduce the release of hazardous substances into the aquatic
environment and to abate eutrophication and acidification, as
well as pollution of the marine environment, in particular
coastal areas, from land-based sources,
Commending the efforts already undertaken
by the ECE Governments to strengthen cooperation, on bilateral
and multilateral levels, for the prevention, control and
reduction of transboundary pollution, sustainable water
management, conservation of water resources and environmental
protection,
Recalling the pertinent provisions and
principles of the Declaration of the Stockholm Conference on the
Human Environment, the Final Act of the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), the Concluding Documents of
the Madrid and Vienna Meetings of Representatives of the
Participating States of the CSCE, and the Regional Strategy for
Environmental Protection and Rational Use of Natural Resources
in ECE Member Countries covering the Period up to the Year 2000
and Beyond, Conscious of the role of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe in promoting international cooperation for
the prevention, control and reduction of transboundary water
pollution and sustainable use of transboundary waters, and in
this regard recalling the ECE Declaration of Policy on
Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, including
Transboundary Pollution; the ECE Declaration of Policy on the
Rational Use of Water; the ECE Principles Regarding Cooperation
in the Field of Transboundary Waters; the ECE Charter on
Groundwater Management; and the Code of Conduct on Accidental
Pollution of Transboundary Inland Waters,
Referring to decisions I (42) and I (44)
adopted by the Economic Commission for Europe at its
forty-second and forty-fourth sessions, respectively, and the
outcome of the CSCE Meeting on the Protection of the Environment
(Sofia, Bulgaria, 16 October - 3 November 1989),
Emphasizing that cooperation between
member countries in regard to the protection and use of
transboundary waters shall be implemented primarily through the
elaboration of agreements between countries bordering the same
waters, especially where no such agreements have yet been
reached,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of this Convention,
1. "Transboundary waters" means any
surface or ground waters which mark, cross or are located on
boundaries between two or more States; wherever transboundary
waters flow directly into the sea, these transboundary waters
end at a straight line across their respective mouths between
points on the low-water line of their banks;
2. "Transboundary impact" means any
significant adverse effect on the environment resulting from a
change in the conditions of transboundary waters caused by a
human activity, the physical origin of which is situated wholly
or in part within an area under the jurisdiction of a Party,
within an area under the jurisdiction of another Party. Such
effects on the environment include effects on human health and
safety, flora, fauna, soil, air, water, climate, landscape and
historical monuments or other physical structures or the
interaction among these factors; they also include effects on
the cultural heritage or socio-economic conditions resulting
from alterations to those factors;
3. "Party" means, unless the text
otherwise indicates, a Contracting Party to this Convention;
4. "Riparian Parties" means the Parties
bordering the same transboundary waters;
5. "Joint body" means any bilateral or
multilateral commission or other appropriate institutional
arrangements for cooperation between the Riparian Parties;
6. "Hazardous substances" means substances
which are toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic or
bioaccumulative, especially when they are persistent;
7. "Best available technology" (the
definition is contained in Annex I to this Convention).
PART I
PROVISIONS RELATING TO ALL PARTIES
Article 2
General Provisions
1. The Parties shall take all appropriate
measures to prevent, control and reduce any transboundary
impact.
2. The Parties shall, in particular, take
all appropriate measures:
(a) To prevent, control and reduce
pollution of waters causing or likely to cause transboundary
impact;
(b) To ensure that transboundary waters
are used with the aim of ecologically sound and rational water
management, conservation of water resources and environmental
protection;
(c) To ensure that transboundary waters
are used in a reasonable and equitable way, taking into
particular account their transboundary character, in the case of
activities which cause or are likely to cause transboundary
impact;
(d) To ensure conservation and, where
necessary, restoration of ecosystems.
3. Measures for the prevention, control
and reduction of water pollution shall be taken, where possible,
at source.
4. These measures shall not directly or
indirectly result in a transfer of pollution to other parts of
the environment.
5. In taking the measures referred to in
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article, the Parties shall be guided
by the following principles:
(a) The precautionary principle, by virtue
of which action to avoid the potential transboundary impact of
the release of hazardous substances shall not be postponed on
the ground that scientific research has not fully proved a
causal link between those substances, on the one hand, and the
potential transboundary impact, on the other hand;
(b) The polluter-pays principle, by virtue
of which costs of pollution prevention, control and reduction
measures shall be borne by the polluter;
(c) Water resources shall be managed so
that the needs of the present generation are met without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.
6. The Riparian Parties shall cooperate on
the basis of equality and reciprocity, in particular through
bilateral and multilateral agreements, in order to develop
harmonized policies, programmes and strategies covering the
relevant catchment areas, or parts thereof, aimed at the
prevention, control and reduction of transboundary impact and
aimed at the protection of the environment of transboundary
waters or the environment influenced by such waters, including
the marine environment.
7. The application of this Convention
shall not lead to the deterioration of environmental conditions
nor lead to increased transboundary impact.
8. The provisions of this Convention shall
not affect the right of Parties individually or jointly to adopt
and implement more stringent measures than those set down in
this Convention.
Article 3
Prevention, Control and
Reduction
1. To prevent, control and reduce
transboundary impact, the Parties shall develop, adopt,
implement and, as far as possible, render compatible relevant
legal, administrative, economic, financial and technical
measures, in order to ensure, inter alia, that:
(a) The emission of pollutants is
prevented, controlled and reduced at source through the
application of, inter alia, low- and non-waste technology;
(b) Transboundary waters are protected
against pollution from point sources through the prior licensing
of wastewater discharges by the competent national authorities,
and that the authorized discharges are monitored and controlled;
(c) Limits for waste-water discharges
stated in permits are based on the best available technology for
discharges of hazardous substances;
(d) Stricter requirements, even leading to
prohibition in individual cases, are imposed when the quality of
the receiving water or the ecosystem so requires;
(e) At least biological treatment or
equivalent processes are applied to municipal waste water, where
necessary in a step-by-step approach;
(f) Appropriate measures are taken, such
as the application of the best available technology, in order to
reduce nutrient inputs from industrial and municipal sources;
(g) Appropriate measures and best
environmental practices are developed and implemented for the
reduction of inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances from
diffuse sources, especially where the main sources are from
agriculture (guidelines for developing best environmental
practices are given in Annex II to this Convention);
(h) Environmental impact assessment and
other means of assessment are applied;
(i) Sustainable water-resources
management, including the application of the ecosystems
approach, is promoted;
(j) Contingency planning is developed;
(k) Additional specific measures are taken
to prevent the pollution of groundwaters;
(l) The risk of accidental pollution is
minimized.
2. To this end, each Party shall set
emission limits for discharges from point sources into surface
waters based on the best available technology, which are
specifically applicable to individual industrial sectors or
industries from which hazardous substances derive. The
appropriate measures mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article to
prevent, control and reduce the input of hazardous substances
from point and diffuse sources into waters, may, inter alia,
include total or partial prohibition of the production or use of
such substances. Existing lists of such industrial sectors or
industries and of such hazardous substances in international
conventions or regulations, which are applicable in the area
covered by this Convention, shall be taken into account.
3. In addition, each Party shall define,
where appropriate, water-quality objectives and adopt
waterquality criteria for the purpose of preventing, controlling
and reducing transboundary impact. General guidance for
developing such objectives and criteria is given in Annex III to
this Convention. When necessary, the Parties shall endeavour to
update this annex.
Article 4
Monitoring
The Parties shall establish programmes for
monitoring the conditions of transboundary waters.
Article 5
Research and Development
The Parties shall cooperate in the conduct
of research into and development of effective techniques for the
prevention, control and reduction of transboundary impact. To
this effect, the Parties shall, on a bilateral and/or
multilateral basis, taking into account research activities
pursued in relevant international forums, endeavour to initiate
or intensify specific research programmes, where necessary,
aimed, inter alia, at:
(a) Methods for the assessment of the
toxicity of hazardous substances and the noxiousness of
pollutants;
(b) Improved knowledge on the occurrence,
distribution and environmental effects of pollutants and the
processes involved;
(c) The development and application of
environmentally sound technologies, production and consumption
patterns;
(d) The phasing out and/or substitution of
substances likely to have transboundary impact;
(e) Environmentally sound methods of
disposal of hazardous substances;
(f) Special methods for improving the
conditions of transboundary waters;
(g) The development of environmentally
sound waterconstruction works and water-regulation techniques;
(h) The physical and financial assessment
of damage resulting from transboundary impact.
The results of these research programmes
shall be exchanged among the Parties in accordance with Article
6 of this Convention.
Article 6
Exchange of Information
The Parties shall provide for the widest
exchange of information, as early as possible, on issues covered
by the provisions of this Convention.
Article 7
Responsibility and
Liability
The Parties shall support appropriate
international efforts to elaborate rules, criteria and
procedures in the field of responsibility and liability.
Article 8
Protection of Information
The provisions of this Convention shall
not affect the rights or the obligations of Parties in
accordance with their national legal systems and applicable
supranational regulations to protect information related to
industrial and commercial secrecy, including intellectual
property, or national security.
PART II
PROVISIONS RELATING TO RIPARIAN PARTIES
Article 9
Bilateral and Multilateral
Cooperation
1. The Riparian Parties shall on the basis
of equality and reciprocity enter into bilateral or multilateral
agreements or other arrangements, where these do not yet exist,
or adapt existing ones, where necessary to eliminate the
contradictions with the basic principles of this Convention, in
order to define their mutual relations and conduct regarding the
prevention, control and reduction of transboundary impact. The
Riparian Parties shall specify the catchment area, or part(s)
thereof, subject to cooperation. These agreements or
arrangements shall embrace relevant issues covered by this
Convention, as well as any other issues on which the Riparian
Parties may deem it necessary to cooperate.
2. The agreements or arrangements
mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article shall provide for the
establishment of joint bodies. The tasks of these joint bodies
shall be, inter alia, and without prejudice to relevant existing
agreements or arrangements, the following:
(a) To collect, compile and evaluate data
in order to identify pollution sources likely to cause
transboundary impact;
(b) To elaborate joint monitoring
programmes concerning water quality and quantity;
(c) To draw up inventories and exchange
information on the pollution sources mentioned in paragraph 2
(a) of this article;
(d) To elaborate emission limits for waste
water and evaluate the effectiveness of control programmes;
(e) To elaborate joint water-quality
objectives and criteria having regard to the provisions of
Article 3, paragraph 3 of this Convention, and to propose
relevant measures for maintaining and, where necessary,
improving the existing water quality;
(f) To develop concerted action programmes
for the reduction of pollution loads from both point sources
(e.g. municipal and industrial sources) and diffuse sources
(particularly from agriculture);
(g) To establish warning and alarm
procedures;
(h) To serve as a forum for the exchange
of information on existing and planned uses of water and related
installations that are likely to cause transboundary impact;
(i) To promote cooperation and exchange of
information on the best available technology in accordance with
the provisions of Article 13 of this Convention, as well as to
encourage cooperation in scientific research programmes;
(j) To participate in the implementation
of environmental impact assessments relating to transboundary
waters, in accordance with appropriate international
regulations.
3. In cases where a coastal State, being
Party to this Convention, is directly and significantly affected
by transboundary impact, the Riparian Parties can, if they all
so agree, invite that coastal State to be involved in an
appropriate manner in the activities of multilateral joint
bodies established by Parties riparian to such transboundary
waters.
4. Joint bodies according to this
Convention shall invite joint bodies, established by coastal
States for the protection of the marine environment directly
affected by transboundary impact, to cooperate in order to
harmonize their work and to prevent, control and reduce the
transboundary impact.
5. Where two or more joint bodies exist in
the same catchment area, they shall endeavour to coordinate
their activities in order to strengthen the prevention, control
and reduction of transboundary impact within that catchment
area.
Article 10
Consultations
Consultations shall be held between the
Riparian Parties on the basis of reciprocity, good faith and
goodneighbourliness, at the request of any such Party. Such
consultations shall aim at cooperation regarding the issues
covered by the provisions of this Convention. Any such
consultations shall be conducted through a joint body
established under Article 9 of this Convention, where one
exists.
Article 11
Joint Monitoring and
Assessment
1. In the framework of general cooperation
mentioned in Article 9 of this Convention, or specific
arrangements, the Riparian Parties shall establish and implement
joint programmes for monitoring the conditions of transboundary
waters, including floods and ice drifts, as well as
transboundary impact.
2. The Riparian Parties shall agree upon
pollution parameters and pollutants whose discharges and
concentration in transboundary waters shall be regularly
monitored.
3. The Riparian Parties shall, at regular
intervals, carry out joint or coordinated assessments of the
conditions of transboundary waters and the effectiveness of
measures taken for the prevention, control and reduction of
transboundary impact. The results of these assessments shall be
made available to the public in accordance with the provisions
set out in Article 16 of this Convention.
4. For these purposes, the Riparian
Parties shall harmonize rules for the setting up and operation
of monitoring programmes, measurement systems, devices,
analytical techniques, data processing and evaluation
procedures, and methods for the registration of pollutants
discharged.
Article 12
Common Research and Development
In the framework of general cooperation
mentioned in Article 9 of this Convention, or specific
arrangements, the Riparian Parties shall undertake specific
research and development activities in support of achieving and
maintaining the water-quality objectives and criteria which they
have agreed to set and adopt.
Article 13
Exchange of Information
between Riparian Parties
1. The Riparian Parties shall, within the
framework of relevant agreements or other arrangements according
to Article 9 of this Convention, exchange reasonably available
data, inter alia, on:
(a) Environmental conditions of
transboundary waters;
(b) Experience gained in the application
and operation of best available technology and results of
research and development;
(c) Emission and monitoring data;
(d) Measures taken and planned to be taken
to prevent, control and reduce transboundary impact;
(e) Permits or regulations for waste-water
discharges issued by the competent authority or appropriate
body.
2. In order to harmonize emission limits,
the Riparian Parties shall undertake the exchange of information
on their national regulations.
3. If a Riparian Party is requested by
another Riparian Party to provide data or information that is
not available, the former shall endeavour to comply with the
request but may condition its compliance upon the payment, by
the requesting Party, of reasonable charges for collecting and,
where appropriate, processing such data or information.
4. For the purposes of the implementation
of this Convention, the Riparian Parties shall facilitate the
exchange of best available technology, particularly through the
promotion of: the commercial exchange of available technology;
direct industrial contacts and cooperation, including joint
ventures; the exchange of information and experience; and the
provision of technical assistance. The Riparian Parties shall
also undertake joint training programmes and the organization of
relevant seminars and meetings.
Article 14
Warning and Alarm Systems
The Riparian Parties shall without delay
inform each other about any critical situation that may have
transboundary impact. The Riparian Parties shall set up, where
appropriate, and operate coordinated or joint communication,
warning and alarm systems with the aim of obtaining and
transmitting information. These systems shall operate on the
basis of compatible data transmission and treatment procedures
and facilities to be agreed upon by the Riparian Parties. The
Riparian Parties shall inform each other about competent
authorities or points of contact designated for this purpose.
Article 15
Mutual Assistance
1. If a critical situation should arise,
the Riparian Parties shall provide mutual assistance upon
request, following procedures to be established in accordance
with paragraph 2 of this article.
2. The Riparian Parties shall elaborate
and agree upon procedures for mutual assistance addressing,
inter alia, the following issues: (a) The direction, control,
coordination and supervision of assistance;
(b) Local facilities and services to be
rendered by the Party requesting assistance, including, where
necessary, the facilitation of border-crossing formalities;
(c) Arrangements for holding harmless,
indemnifying and/or compensating the assisting Party and/or its
personnel, as well as for transit through territories of third
Parties, where necessary;
(d) Methods of reimbursing assistance
services.
Article 16
Public Information
1. The Riparian Parties shall ensure that
information on the conditions of transboundary waters, measures
taken or planned to be taken to prevent, control and reduce
transboundary impact, and the effectiveness of those measures,
is made available to the public. For this purpose, the Riparian
Parties shall ensure that the following information is made
available to the public:
(a) Water-quality objectives;
(b) Permits issued and the conditions
required to be met;
(c) Results of water and effluent sampling
carried out for the purposes of monitoring and assessment, as
well as results of checking compliance with the water-quality
objectives or the permit conditions.
The Riparian Parties shall ensure that
this information shall be available to the public at all
reasonable times for inspection free of charge, and shall
provide members of the public with reasonable facilities for
obtaining from the Riparian Parties, on payment of reasonable
charges, copies of such information.
PART III
INSTITUTIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 17
Meeting of Parties
1. The first meeting of the Parties shall
be convened no later than one year after the date of the entry
into force of this Convention. Thereafter, ordinary meetings
shall be held every three years, or at shorter intervals as laid
down in the rules of procedure. The Parties shall hold an
extraordinary meeting if they so decide in the course of an
ordinary meeting or at the written request of any Party,
provided that, within six months of it being communicated to all
Parties, the said request is supported by at least one third of
the Parties.
2. At their meetings, the Parties shall
keep under continuous review the implementation of this
Convention, and, with this purpose in mind, shall:
(a) Review the policies for and
methodological approaches to the protection and use of
transboundary waters of the Parties with a view to further
improving the protection and use of transboundary waters;
(b) Exchange information regarding
experience gained in concluding and implementing bilateral and
multilateral agreements or other arrangements regarding the
protection and use of transboundary waters to which one or more
of the Parties are party;
(c) Seek, where appropriate, the services
of relevant ECE bodies as well as other competent international
bodies and specific committees in all aspects pertinent to the
achievement of the purposes of this Convention;
(d) At their first meeting, consider and
by consensus adopt rules of procedure for their meetings;
(e) Consider and adopt proposals for
amendments to this Convention;
(f) Consider and undertake any additional
action that may be required for the achievement of the purposes
of this Convention.
Article 18
Right to Vote
1. Except as provided for in paragraph 2
of this article, each Party to this Convention shall have one
vote.
2. Regional economic integration
organizations, in matters within their competence, shall
exercise their right to vote with a number of votes equal to the
number of their member States which are Parties to this
Convention. Such organizations shall not exercise their right to
vote if their member States exercise theirs, and vice versa.
Article 19
Secretariat
The Executive Secretary of the Economic
Commission for Europe shall carry out the following secretariat
functions:
(a) The convening and preparing of
meetings of the Parties;
(b) The transmission to the Parties of
reports and other information received in accordance with the
provisions of this Convention;
(c) The performance of such other
functions as may be determined by the Parties.
Article 20
Annexes
Annexes to this Convention shall
constitute an integral part thereof.
Article 21
Amendments to the
Convention
1. Any Party may propose amendments to
this Convention.
2. Proposals for amendments to this
Convention shall be considered at a meeting of the Parties.
3. The text of any proposed amendment to
this Convention shall be submitted in writing to the Executive
Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, who shall
communicate it to all Parties at least ninety days before the
meeting at which it is proposed for adoption.
4. An amendment to the present Convention
shall be adopted by consensus of the representatives of the
Parties to this Convention present at a meeting of the Parties,
and shall enter into force for the Parties to the Convention
which have accepted it on the ninetieth day after the date on
which two thirds of those Parties have deposited with the
Depositary their instruments of acceptance of the amendment. The
amendment shall enter into force for any other Party on the
ninetieth day after the date on which that Party deposits its
instrument of acceptance of the amendment.
Article 22
Settlement of Disputes
1. If a dispute arises between two or more
Parties about the interpretation or application of this
Convention, they shall seek a solution by negotiation or by any
other means of dispute settlement acceptable to the parties to
the dispute.
2. When signing, ratifying, accepting,
approving or acceding to this Convention, or at any time
thereafter, a Party may declare in writing to the Depositary
that, for a dispute not resolved in accordance with paragraph 1
of this article, it accepts one or both of the following means
of dispute settlement as compulsory in relation to any Party
accepting, the same obligation:
(a) Submission of the dispute to the
International Court of Justice; (b) Arbitration in accordance
with the procedure set out in Annex IV.
3. If the parties to the dispute have
accepted both means of dispute settlement referred to in
paragraph 2 of this article, the dispute may be submitted only
to the International Court of Justice, unless the parties agree
otherwise.
Article 23
Signature
This Convention shall be open for
signature at Helsinki from 17 to 18 March 1992 inclusive, and
thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 18
September 1992, by States members of the Economic Commission for
Europe as well as States having consultative status with the
Economic Commission for Europe pursuant to paragraph 8 of
Economic and Social Council resolution 36 (IV) of 28 March 1947,
and by regional economic integration organizations constituted
by sovereign States members of the Economic Commission for
Europe to which their member States have transferred competence
over matters governed by this Convention, including the
competence to enter into treaties in respect of these matters.
Article 24
Depositary
The Secretary-General of the United
Nations shall act as the Depositary of this Convention.
Article 25
Ratification, Acceptance,
Approval and Accession
1. This Convention shall be subject to
ratification, acceptance or approval by signatory States and
regional economic integration organizations.
2. This Convention shall be open for
accession by the States and organizations referred to in Article
23.
3. Any organization referred to in Article
23 which becomes a Party to this Convention without any of its
member States being a Party shall be bound by all the
obligations under this Convention. In the case of such
organizations, one or more of whose member States is a Party to
this Convention, the organization and its member States shall
decide on their respective responsibilities for the performance
of their obligations under this Convention. In such cases, the
organization and the member States shall not be entitled to
exercise rights under this Convention concurrently.
4. In their instruments of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession, the regional economic
integration organizations referred to in Article 23 shall
declare the extent of their competence with respect to the
matters governed by this Convention. These organizations shall
also inform the Depositary of any substantial modification to
the extent of their competence.
Article 26
Entry into Force
1. This Convention shall enter into force
on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the sixteenth
instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this
article, any instrument deposited by a regional economic
integration organization shall not be counted as additional to
those deposited by States members of such an organization.
3. For each State or organization referred
to in Article 23 which ratifies, accepts or approves this
Convention or accedes thereto after the deposit of the sixteenth
instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
the Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after
the date of deposit by such State or organization of its
instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
Article 27
Withdrawal
At any time after three years from the
date on which this Convention has come into force with respect
to a Party, that Party may withdraw from the Convention by
giving written notification to the Depositary. Any such
withdrawal shall take effect on the ninetieth day after the date
of its receipt by the Depositary.
Article 28
Authentic Texts
The original of this Convention, of which
the English, French and Russian texts are equally authentic,
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
Annex I - Definition of the Term
"Best Available Technology" omissis
Annex II - Guidelines for
Developing Best Environmental Practices omissis
Annex III - Guidelines for
Developing Water-Quality Objectives and Criteria omissis
Annex IV - Arbitration omissis
