Period: 2003-2005 

In December 2002 the Sava Basin countries signed the International Framework Agreement (IFA) with the objectives to establish safe navigation, to achieve sustainable water resource management and to take measures against floods, ice hazards, droughts and the effects of accidents. These objectives will be achieved trough the establishment of a Sava Basin Commission (SBC) and through the elaboration of an Integrated River Basin Management Plan that meets the requirements of the EU ‘Acquis’ (particularly the Water Framework Directive). The project is designed to provide support to the Sava Basin Countries to help in achieving this goal, by offering the following expertise :

• Organizational knowledge with regards to trans-boundary water management issues;
• Water quality expertise;
• Biodiversity expertise;
• Floodplain valuation expertise (biodiversity, purification, flood retention);
• GIS-expertise;
• Integrated Water Management expertise;
• Hydrological modeling and flood protection.

The project included institutional advice and support at the Commissions' meetings, and the implementation of knowledge transfer and training in the aforementioned fields.

ECORYS was responsible for providing advise to the interim SBC on improved co-operation between the Commission and its working groups, based on the work model of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). Furthermore ECORYS was involved in assisting in the development of an action plan for the SBC particularly to determine the economic and financial feasibility of specific measures for river basin management. ECORYS contributed to an improved quality of the action plan in the sense that it provided better possibilities for international decision making regarding the Sava River Basin Management.