On April 19, 1995 Governments of the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Hungary signed an Agreement concerning certain temporary technical measures and discharges in the Danube and Mosoni branch of the Danube[1] (Appendix A.1) - hereinafter the Agreement. The Agreement prescribes the monitoring of environmental impact of realised measures, increased discharges into the Danube and Mosoni branch of the Danube, and water supply into the right side river branch system. Activities of the Nominated Monitoring Agents connected with the realisation of environmental monitoring in the influenced area are described in the Statute[2], signed on May 29, 1995 in Gabčíkovo (Appendix A.2).

On October 23, 1997 the Slovak Republic, through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, informed the Republic of Hungary of its readiness to prolong the validity of the Agreement from April 19, 1995 until an agreement on implementation of the Judgement of International Court of Justice, declared on September 25, 1997, is reached. The Republic of Hungary accepted the proposed prolongation by the Resolution of Hungarian Government from December 17, 1997.

On April 25, 2007 the Nominated Monitoring Agents agreed on Statute modification (Appendix A.3). The agreed modification reflects changes in water quality monitoring according to Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and defines changes in time schedule for elaboration of National and Joint Reports. There were also agreed changes in monitoring sites, observed parameters and frequency of measurements.

The Slovak Party, according to the intergovernmental Agreement, has undertaken to release an annual average discharge of 400 m³.s^-1 into the Danube downstream the Čunovo dam and 43 m³s^-1 into the Mosoni branch of the Danube and the right side seepage canal, both discharges depending on hydrological and technical conditions described in the Appendices No. 1 and 2 of the Agreement. The Hungarian Party, according to the Agreement, constructed a submerged weir in the common section of the Danube at rkm 1843, and put it into operation in June 1995. This weir enables supply of water (up to 250 m³s^-1) into the river branches in the inundation area on Hungarian side. The water discharged into the Mosoni branch of the Danube ensures the water supply of the Mosoni Danube and branches in the Hungarian flood-protected area.

According to the Article 4 of the intergovernmental Agreement the Parties are obliged to mutually exchange and evaluate data obtained by environmental monitoring on both, Slovak and Hungarian, sides of the Danube, which are necessary to assess the impacts of increased flow rate in the Danube and water supply on the Hungarian side. Technical details of the environmental monitoring on both sides – determination of the influenced area, sampling and measuring points, the frequency of measurements, the list of exchanged parameters, the frequency of data exchange, etc. – are described in the Statute (Appendices A.2 and A.3) and relevant documents.

Observation results and measured data in tabular and graphical forms, together with their evaluation, create the National Annual Reports prepared by the Parties themselves, according to the Article 3 of the Agreement. This Joint Annual Report was elaborated jointly and it is based on the approved and mutually exchanged National Annual Reports.

The present report is the fifteenth Joint Annual Report on the environmental monitoring and gives an evaluation concerning the year 2009. The evaluation of Slovak side is based on the data collected by the Slovak Hydro-meteorological Institute, Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Comenius University, Slovak Academy of Sciences, National Forest Centre, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, West Slovakia’s Waterworks Company, Bratislava’s Waterworks Company, Slovak Water Management Authority, Water Research Institute and Ground Water Consulting Ltd. The data exchange and the evaluation of monitoring under the frame of joint monitoring were co-ordinated by the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for the Construction and Operation of the Gabčíkovo - Nagymaros Project.

The evaluation of Hungarian side is based on the data collected by the North-Transdanubian Inspectorate for the Environment and Nature Protection and Water Management, North-Transdanubian Environment Protection and Water Management Authority, Regional Waterworks Companies, Forest Research Institute, West Hungarian University, Museum of Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Eötvös Lóránd Science University. The data exchange and the evaluation of monitoring were co-ordinated by the Ministry for the Environment Protection and Water management of the Republic of Hungary. 

Goals of Joint Monitoring 

The main goal of the Joint Slovak-Hungarian Monitoring in accordance to the intergovernmental Agreement is to observe, record and jointly evaluate quantitative and qualitative changes of surface and ground water bodies and water dependent natural environment in connection to the realised measures and water supply. The water supply into the river branches on the Hungarian side is assured by the submerged weir, which is increasing the water level in the Danube upstream of weir.

The evaluation includes changes in hydrological regimes of surface and ground water, changes in surface and ground water quality, changes in soil moisture and changes in forest stands and biota.

The goal of mutual data exchange is to provide information on monitoring results, on progress of parameters included in the data exchange, and on environmental changes in the influenced area of respective Parties. The basic condition of data exchange is usage of equal or similar methods of measurements and analysis and the application of agreed interpretation methods.

The final goal of the Joint Annual Report is to submit joint evaluation of monitoring results and joint recommendations for monitoring improvement and environment protection activities to the respective governments. 

Joint monitoring activities in the year 2009 

Monitoring activities in the year 2009 on both sides continued in accordance with the intergovernmental Agreement and the Statute modified on April 25, 2007. These consist of surface and ground water regime observations, surface- and ground- water quality monitoring, and measurements of soil moisture content, forest monitoring, fauna and flora observations.

The Slovak Party provided its monitoring data for the year 2008 on April 27, 2009 in Győr. The Hungarian Party handed over the monitoring data for the year 2008 on June 5, 2009 in Bratislava. The mutual exchange of National Annual Reports on environmental monitoring in 2008 was realized on June 11, 2009 in Budapest. The approval and signing of the Joint Annual Report on environment monitoring in 2008 was done on December 10, 2009 in Gabčíkovo. Concerning the elaboration of the actual Joint Annual Report the whole set of monitoring data for the year 2009 was mutually exchanged on April 30, 2010 in Győr. The mutual exchange of National Annual Reports on environmental monitoring in 2009 was realized on July 22, 2010 in Budapest. 

Fulfilment of recommendations in Joint Annual Report 2008 

1.    Experts on forest monitoring suggest to realize further consultations in order to improve the methodology for processing of aerial survey and for the evaluation of health state of forest stands based on aerial photographs by the date of the next aerial survey in 2011 (e.g. elimination of shadows, exclusion of non-forested areas, settling identical formulas for regression analysis, exact definition of areal distribution of forest units, improving the resolution of photographs, elimination of errors following from different intensity of neighbouring photographs, etc.).

Experts on forest monitoring in the year 2009 have discussed the possibilities for improving the methodology for processing of aerial survey and for the evaluation of health state of forest stands based on aerial photographs. Further consultations are necessary and will be realized during autumn 2010 and at the beginning of 2011.

2.    Both Parties propose expert consultations on preparation of joint evaluation of land-use and land-cover of the affected region based on satellite images.

The question of joint evaluation of land-use and land-cover was discussed by the Slovak Party with participation of experts realising the evaluation of aerial photographs. It was stated that at present it is not recommended to realize the land-use and land-cover evaluation. However, the Slovak Party can reappraise this question if a proposal of the Hungarian Party would be potentially handed over. The Hungarian Party keeps its proposal to make a joint land-use and land-cover evaluation based on satellite images in future.

3.    In the frame of soil monitoring the Slovak Party proposes to consider the possibility of data exchange concerning the surface and width of the soil coverage on the influence area.

A meeting of Slovak and Hungarian experts concerning this point has not been realised yet.