Latvia: ENMaR European Network of Municipalities and Rivers
Its aim is to create a cooperative network between Latvia, Germany, Spain, England and Sweden to support municipalities in implementing a Water Framework Directive (WFD).
?Environmental Projects? Ltd. is one of the partners in a project called ?ENMaR ? EUROPEAN NETWORK OF MUNICIPALITIES AND RIVERS? financed by the INTERREG III C program. Kommunale Umwelt-Aktion U.A.N, the leading organization of the project, in cooperation with its partners from Latvia, Germany, Spain, England and Sweden, developed a project that involves the creation of a cooperative network of municipalities in these countries. The goal of this cooperation network is to support municipalities in implementing a Water Framework Directive (WFD) and facilitate cooperation between the different parties involved in complying with the requirements in the field of water management. By summarizing the best examples of cooperation, guidelines will be prepared and sent to the municipalities and local authorities. Cooperation at the national level will be facilitated within the framework of the project by organizing regional meetings where the role of the municipalities in the implementation of WFD requirements, as well as the influence of EU and the national water management policy approaches on local government activities will be discussed and determined. The results of the discussions and proposals will be summarized in guidelines prepared during the course of project implementation. To facilitate the cooperation at the European level there will be partner meetings and consultations organized which will encourage the exchange of information and understanding about the local governments? activities in the countries. As the project territory in Latvia one of the four river basin territories was chosen ? the Gauja river basin territory which includes the Gauja and Salaca river basins and Riga bay small river basins. The largest and most important lake in this territory is Burtnieku Lake in which seven little rivers flow into but only one river flows out, the Salaca, the fourth most important ?Salmon River? in the Baltic Sea region. The main expected result of implementing this project is an efficiently operating cooperation network with the necessary resources and knowledge. www.enmar.org
