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Shared Vision Planning Pilot Study in Tisza River Basin

Published March 2, 2018
Tisza River Basin.  Source: International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River.

Tisza River Basin. Source: International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA.   At the request of the U.S. Embassy in Hungary, a team of subject matter experts from the U.S. Army Institute for Water Resources (IWR) International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM) organized a Shared Vision Planning (SVP) Pilot program.  The study is designed to support water management by the JOINTISZA member nations (Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine), all of whom share the waters of the Tisza River Basin which is alternatively subject to severe urban flood risk and drought imperiling critical economic sectors. The uneven distribution and quality of water resources can magnify conflicts, generate population dislocations, and threaten fragile alliances in the region. 

ICIWaRM was established by IWR in 2007 in collaboration with U.S. institutions and organizations sharing an interest in the advancement of the science and practice of integrated water resources management (IWRM) around the globe. It was formalized as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) category 2 water center in October 2009 with the signing of an agreement between the U.S. Government and UNESCO. The designation greatly facilitates ICIWaRM’s ability to engage the UNESCO water family, thus enabling it to support pilot studies such as this.   

Shared Vision Planning is a tool and strategy which provides a structure for stakeholders to solve complex problems, and the basis for legitimizing the resulting solutions. Specifically, the SVP Pilot will help to balance the outcome of prior infrastructure investments in flood risk reduction by individual nations with projected future requirements for withdrawals across the river basin. 

Teammates, including Dr. Hal Cardwell and Mr. Rich Gifaldi, traveled to Hungary in October 2017 to kick start the Shared Vision Planning process via a capacity building workshop with local subject matter experts. They were supported by Drs. Guillermo Mendoza, Jennifer Olszewski, and Kristin Gilroy and lead by Ms. Roselle Henn Stern. 

Learn More

For more information, visit IWR’s website, ICIWaRM’s website, and Shared Vision Planning.

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Institute for Water Resources (IWR) was formed to provide

forward-looking analysis and research in developing planning methodologies to aid the Civil Works program.

IWR is a field operating activity under the supervision of the Director for Civil Works, USACE.