ORASECOM Prepares for the Joint Basin Survey – 1
ORASECOM will undertake a detailed assessment of the water resources quality state of the Orange Senqu River system in September / October/November 2010. This Joint Basin-wide Survey will provide the first broad understanding of the state of the aquatic ecosystems, Habitats, the presence of Persistent Organic Pollutants, and water quality at river sites throughout the basin. The survey will learn from similar surveys conducted by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). The proposed Orange-Senqu Joint Basin-wide Survey -1 (JBS-1) will set the baseline water resources quality for the system. The planning and execution of JBS-1 will prove to be logistically demanding, and will be actively supported by all the Contracting Parties and the International Cooperating Partners (ICPs) i.e. UNDP-GEF, EU and GTZ(BMZ/UKaid). The first planning workshop was therefore held on 24 May 2010, with participation from the Contracting Parties.
For more information and photos on this workshop, please visit our 2nd newsletter.