Science for Peace: Monitoring Water Quality and Quantity in the Kura—Araks Basin of the South Caucasus

Abstract

The Kura-Araks River Basin is an international catchment with fivecountries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey comprisingits watershed. About 65% of the basin area (total area = about 188,200km 2) falls within the South Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan,and Georgia. Both rivers head in Turkey, join in Azerbaijan, anddischarge to the Caspian Sea. The length of the Kura is about 1,515 kmand that of the Araks is approximately 1,070 km. Soviet monitoringprojects from the 1950s through the 1980s collected water quality andquantity data, but these projects do not exist anymore and many of thedata appear to be unavailable. In addition, after the dissolution of theSoviet Union, not only did information exchange collapse but theKura-Arkas also became an international river basin with respect to thethree South Caucasus countries. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia jointlyutilize the Kura and Araks rivers and share common problems related towater quantity, water quality, and water allocation. But there arecurrently no treaties among the three riparians governing water quality,quantity, rights. Monitoring and management of transboundary water arecomplex problems in any region of the world. In the case of theKura-Araks River System, the situation is complicated by ongoingregional conflict. Further conflict could be exacerbated by waterrights, quantity, and quality issues in the basin, so it is imperativethat a culture of cooperation and collaboration be fostered. In November2002 the South Caucasus River Monitoring Project was funded by NATO's(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Science for Peace Programme andOSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). This projectis not a top-down project managed by NATO and OSCE but was conceived,developed, and is managed jointly by individuals from the threecountries. Assistance is provided by experts from Belgium, Norway, andthe USA. The project's overall objective is to establish the social andtechnical infrastructure for international, cooperative, transboundaryriver water quality and quantity monitoring, data sharing, and watershedmanagement among the Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Itsspecific objectives are to: increase technical capabilities (analyticalchemistry and its application to water resources sampling andmonitoring, database management, and communications) among the partnercountries; cooperatively establish standardized common sampling,analytical, and data management techniques for all partner countries andimplement standards for good laboratory practice (GLP), qualityassurance (QA) and quality control (QC); establish database management,GIS, and model-sharing systems accessible to all partners via the WWW;establish a social framework (i.e., annual international meetings) forintegrated water resources management; and involve stakeholders. Monthlymonitoring is conducted for water quantity (discharge) and water qualityparameters at 10 locations in each country. Water quality monitoringconsists of the usual basic parameters plus heavy, metals,radionuclides, and POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants). These data willbe used to construct a simple dynamic simulation model of the watershed,which will form the basis for a more sophisticated management model. TheNATO-OSCE project formally ends in October 2007, although all involvedare anxious to continue the work beyond that date. The project has beena model of collaboration and cooperation in a region where such traitshave at times been in short supply.Notonly have valuable data been collected, but collegial professionalrelationships also have been established among the participants. In thelong run, this latter aspect will likely prove to be the most importantproduct.