Over 40 stakeholders from the Uzh River basin took part in a workshop in Uzhgorod on February 27, 2018, to discuss the Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan (ITRBMP).

Representatives of governmental organisations in the water and forestry sectors, local businesses and ecological organisations discussed the significant water pressures on the Uzh River basin, a sub-basin of the Tisza River. The workshop was opened by Volodymir Chipak, director of the Tisza River Basin Water Resources Management Unit, who outlined the challenges encountered in the Tisza River basin and stressed the importance of stakeholder involvement: “Without the participation of all sectors, the local government and the public, we would be not able to create an efficient Integrated Tisza River Management Plan.”

Mr. Chipak was followed by project consultant Olga Denyshchyk, who also addressed the issue of stakeholder involvement, and by Svitlana Rebryk, head of the GIS and Information Department, and Eduard Osiiskiy, head of the Water Resources Use and Monitoring Department, who presented the process of preparing the ITRBMP and the related implementation challenges.

After the presentations, stakeholders were invited to participate in a world café discussion on:

• significant water pressures;
• additional priority issues that should be reflected in the updated ITRBMP; and
• how stakeholders can contribute to the development and implementation of the updated ITRBMP.

The event was organised by the Tisza River Basin Water Resources Management Unit in Ukraine, an associate partner in the JOINTISZA project.

Further stakeholder events have been held in Ukraine during March 2018 and are also planned for the coming months. For final dates of the events please check the Calendar section of the website.

Photos from the stakeholder event in Mukachevo, Ukraine from March 20, 2018 can be viewed in the Gallery section here.