OSCE Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Navigation Development

The 1st Preparatory Conference to the 16th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum was held on September 10-11, 2007, in Helsinki (Finland).More than 100 participants of the 56 OSCE member countries, international organizations, NGOs and international financial institutions gathered at the Conference.

Navigation development, matching the environmental protection requirements, was considered at the meeting. The status quo in the OSCE region was presented, and possibilities of the OSCE support to the member countries to maintain the process, were investigated and discussed.

The Sava Commission was represented at the Conference by the Secretary, Mr. Dejan Komatina (Eng. D.). In his intervention within the plenary session on „Cooperation in transboundary water courses and rivers”, Mr. Komatina briefly informed the audience on the work of the Sava Commission, the status of inland navigation in the Sava river basin, as well as the on-going process of development of the Joint Statement on Inland Navigation and Environmental Sustainability in the Danube River Basin, which is the joint effort of the ICPDR, Danube Commission and the Sava Commission. Finally, Mr. Komatina gave a proposal for a possible OSCE support:
  • on a regional scale, providing framework for joint work of (inter)national commissions from the OSCE region on harmonization of legal regulations related to inland navigation, and
  • on the Sava basin scale, promotion of best practices from other OSCE regions in the Sava river basin countries,closelly related to:
  • оn Collection and treatment of the oily waste water and waste originating from inland navigation vessels, and
  • оn Sustainable development of inland waterways infrastructure.