**3. Legal and institutional framework for cooperation**

After the political changes in the region in the early 1990-ies, the Sava river, which was the largest national river in the former country, has become an international river of a recognized importance. The establishment of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe in 1999 provided a solid basis for triggering the cooperation of stakeholders in the region and, gradually, the creation of a new approach to water resources management in the Sava river basin. On these grounds, the four countries of the basin – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later on Serbia & Montenegro, and then Republic of Serbia), Republic of Croatia and Republic of Slovenia, entered into a process of negotiations, with the primary aim to establish an appropriate framework for transboundary cooperation in the water sector, and thus foster sustainable development of the region.

Integrated Water Resources Management as a

navigation in the basin;

the ISRBC:

etc.;

objectives.

body of the ISRBC.

**3.2 International Sava River Basin Commission (ISRBC)** 

international legal capacity necessary for exercising its functions.

basin management plan, flood risk management plan);


general monitoring of the implementation process.

financial issues, hydro-meteorological issues, GIS and RIS.

presenting a vision of the future implementation of the *FASRB*.

**4. Approach to sustainable development of the Sava river basin** 

Basis for Sustainable Development – The Case of the Sava River Basin 31

The ISRBC is a joint institution established as an international organization with the

In order to achieve the main goals of the *FASRB*, the following activities are coordinated by





The ISRBC is given the capacity for making decisions in the field of navigation (obligatory for the Parties) and providing recommendations on all other issues. Additionally, the ISRBC provides recommendations to the Meeting of the Parties, a ministerial-level body which makes decisions relating to strategic issues of the *FASRB* implementation and performs a

The ISRBC is composed of two representatives of each Party to the *FASRB*, one member and one deputy member of each Party, having one vote in the Commission. The Commission has a chairman who represents the ISRBC. The Secretariat is an administrative and executive

In order to foster cooperation and ensure synergy in achieving its goals, the ISRBC has established permanent and *ad-hoc* expert groups, composed of delegated experts from each Party. There are four permanent expert groups, covering the key issues in the basin – river basin management, accident prevention and control, flood prevention, and navigation, as well as five *ad-hoc* expert groups, dealing with specific issues and tasks – legal issues,

Given the broad scope of the *FASRB*, the achievement of its principal objectives requires an integrated and sustainable approach, balancing the needs for development of economic activities such as navigation or tourism, against the needs of other water sub-sectors (i.e. other kinds of water use, protection against detrimental effects of water, and protection of water and aquatic ecosystem). The main features of the approach, as applied by the ISRBC, are illustrated in the following text, by reviewing the achievements and results, and

As a key milestone of the process, the *Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin* (*FASRB*) has been developed, as a unique international agreement integrating all aspects of water resources management and establishing the International Sava River Basin Commission (ISRBC) for implementation of the *FASRB*, with the legal status of an international organization. After signing the *FASRB* in December 2002, at Kranjska Gora (Slovenia), the Interim Sava Commission was formed to prepare all steps necessary for establishment of the permanent commission upon entry of the *FASRB* into force. Following the ratification of the *FASRB* by all Parties, and its entry into force in December 2004, the constitutional session of the ISRBC was held in June 2005, and subsequently, the permanent Secretariat of the ISRBC started to work in January 2006, with the seat in Zagreb (Croatia). Since then, the ISRBC has been a leader of cooperation of the Parties toward the *FASRB* implementation, the status of which is summarized in part 4.1.
