Policy on the exchange of hydrological and meteorological data and information in the Sava River basin
This policy provides the technical and conceptual principles, based on the spirit of WMO Res. 25 (Cg-XIII) and 40 (Cg-XII), required to promote data exchange and interoperability within the Sava River Basin and ensuring freedom to access and disseminate data and information for the purposes of sustainable trans-boundary water management in the basin. While recognizing that, in some cases, the availability and exchange of data may be limited by current extent of the monitoring programmes or by the prevailing national rules, the policy provides the list of stations whose data the signatories are ready to exchange, as well as the list of the measured parameters to be exchanged and their temporal resolution. It builds on the fact that exchange of hydrological (and meteorological) data and information within the Sava River Basin is vital for the sustainable management of water resources and mitigation of water-related hazards.
The policy on the Exchange of Hydrological and Meteorological Data and Information in the Sava River Basin was signed within the 35th Session of the International Sava River Basin Commission (ISRBC), by the representatives of the national hydrological and meteorological services (NHMSs) of the Sava River Basin countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia) met in Ljubljana (Slovenia).
The signature of the Policy represents the final step of the process initiated by the NHMSs and launched in 2013 within the framework of the multi-beneficiary IPA/2012/290552 project “Building resilience to disasters in Western Balkans and Turkey” (implemented by WMO and ISDR with funding from the EU). In this project, through the review of existing practices and the development of enhanced procedures, the improvement of data collection and exchange among the countries of the Sava River Basin was identified as the key target.