Developing a climate-change adaptation strategy for the Nistru basin and a joint response action plan for governments of Moldova and Ukraine are the focus of a new joint three-year project officially launched today at an event in Chisinau by the OSCE and its partners, IPN reports.

According to a press release from the OSCE Mission to Moldova, the project will be implemented by the OSCE and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) as part of the international Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC). The OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine, Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, expressed hope at the opening ceremony that an established teamwork of governments will make communities living across the Dniester/Nistru river basin more resilient to the negative impacts of climate change and extreme weather events.

The project follows up ENVSEC actions from 2010 to 2012, which resulted in the development of models for flooding along the Nistru and an overall assessment of the basin’s vulnerability to climate change.

“Flooding is a major transboundary problem for the Nistru; heavy floods in 2008 led to quite a number of casualties and major financial losses,” said Ambassador Jennifer Brush, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. “Flooding also has a cascading effect on the population of the basin and sectors such as agriculture, energy, recreation and fisheries, as well as the environment”.

The project “Climate Change and Security in the Nistru River Basin” is carried out in partnership with the European Commission Instrument for Stability (EC/IfS) and the Austrian Development Agency.