Checklist for contingency planning for accidents affecting transboundary waters

This checklist is intended to contribute to the mitigation of the consequences of industrial accidents affecting transboundary watercourses for human health and the environment. 

Potential emergency situations, including industrial accidents with large-scale impacts, can occur during all stages of the life cycle of a complex industrial facility. Use of the best available and least hazardous technologies and equipment, the application of risk assessment during the design and planning stage of a facility, a sound safety culture and a systems approach to process safety management can reduce the potential for a major accident, but does not exclude it completely.

A transboundary contingency plan can be:

• Adopted jointly by countries sharing the same river basin;
• Developed individually by countries sharing the same river basin and be mutually harmonized through a possible separate agreement;
• The subject of a stand-alone agreement specifically dedicated to contingency planning and adopted by riparian countries.

When preparing for accidental water pollution, a contingency plan organizes an effective response in case of emergency situations affecting water quality, the water regime or water related aquatic ecosystems and to facilitate cooperation, where relevant at the transboundary level, throughout all phases of such emergency situations, including prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. 

The checklist aims to mitigate the possibly devastating effects that industrial disasters can have on humans and the environment, both within and across countries.