Transboundary River Basins Research Articles

Multiple bias-correction of dynamically downscaled CMIP5 climate models temperature projection: a case study of the transboundary Komadugu-Yobe river basin, Lake Chad region, West Africa

General circulation model projections are inadequate for impact studies due to their coarse resolution and inherent biases. Therefore, there is a need to accurately correct these biases and examine the abilities of these correction techniques in replicating the observed climate change signals. Over the Komadugu-Yobe Basin, this study investigates the performance of univariate empirical and parametric quantile mapping, as well as multivariate bias-correction (BC) techniques, using; N-dimensional probability density function transform (MBCN), Spearman rank correlation dependency (MBCR) and Pearson correlation dependency (MBCP) in correcting the biases in some selected CMIP5-Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment model temperature projections based on the historical period (1975–2005) and the future (2020–2050) for annual, dry and wet periods under two emission scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). The temporal temperature variability of the BC outputs is further assessed. In correcting the temperature distribution, both univariate BC perform well for all seasons, while MBCN performs best during the dry season. The latitudinal-time cross-section result shows that high temperatures are mismatched either by the years of occurrence or by the latitudes at which they occurred. The univariate BC techniques and MBCN performed best in replicating the observed monthly variability. There is a positive temperature trend in most parts of the basin, however, with increased magnitudes in the future. Overall, the bias-corrected model ensemble mean performs better in replicating the trend in temperature, while the multivariate BC methods correct the joint dependence structure between them modelled variables, thereby providing a general-purpose methodology to the climate community.

The Ghosts Around the Coasts: Anarchy and Equity in Transboundary River Basins

Please see attached files for oral presentation.

Cascading adaptation of rural livelihood to changing environment: Conceptual framework and experiment from the Koshi River basin

Rural communities in the Koshi River basin, a trans-boundary river basin in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas, have been experiencing unprecedented difficulties for adapting with the livelihood challenges arising from floods, droughts and other climatic, environmental and socio-economic stresses. The single purpose adaptation approach often fails to address the multiple challenges arises from cascading effects of climate change at different scales and stages. To fill this gap, we developed a multi-dimensional flexible adaptation framework looking at the four dimensions of adaptation, structure, issue, time, and space (SITS). The SITS framework provides a comprehensive approach for cascading adaptation at trans-boundary river basin level and it could effectively enhance the adaptive capacity and transform livelihood outcome if properly implemented. Following the SITS framework, we examined four cascading adaptation pathways for: i) reducing disaster stressors on livelihoods, ii) enhancing access to crucial livelihood capitals, iii) improving equal rights to livelihood, and iv) strengthening synergies and exploiting complementarities at trans-boundary river basin level. The findings revealed that in the context of changing climate, it is necessary to employ different livelihood adaptation strategies and multiple responses simultaneously or sequentially to successfully adapt to the cascading effects of changing climate. The cascading adaptation may provide a sound basis on which to cope with the climate uncertainty through realistic scenarios of structure, issue, time and space. Its implementation, however, has several obstacles, for example, differences in national system, investment capacity, complexity of trans-boundary basin, remained particularly in trans-boundary river basin where managing transnational trade-offs and harness spatial synergies are critically important.

Effectiveness of environmental management institutions in sustainable water resources management in the upper Pungwe River basin, Zimbabwe

The management of environmental resources by separate entities ought to be well coordinated to avoid gaps and overlaps. This study assessed the effectiveness of environmental management institutions and participation processes in water resources management in the Upper Pungwe river basin, a transboundary river basin in Southern Africa. It evaluated interactions between environmental management institutions and how this impacted on the quality of the environment and water resources. A concurrent mixed methods approach was used in the study. Qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques were employed. Twenty self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 17 ward environmental management committee chairpersons and three environmental management practitioners. Three in-depth interviews were held with water resources management practitioners operating in the river basin. Runoff, water quality and sediment load data over a 17 year period were collected and analysed using Mann-Kendal and Regression Analysis Statistics to detect trends and predict future levels. The study revealed a positive linear relationship (r2=0.1718) between runoff and sediment load while sediment load showed a negative linear relationship with pH levels (r2=0.0329). Based on the Mann-Kendal analysis (p>0.05) there were no statistically significant trends detected in the data. The study concluded that water and environmental management institutions lacked effective regular interaction and cooperation at the river basin level. Effective coordination of environmental management institutions remains key to the achievement of sustainable water resources management in the Upper Pungwe river basin.

Impacts of Upstream Structures on Downstream Discharge in the Transboundary Imjin River Basin, Korean Peninsula

The transboundary river basin is a great challenge for water management and disaster reduction due to its specific characteristics. In this study, upstream impacts from natural and artificial sources on the downstream discharge on the Imjin river basin, the well-known transboundary region in the Korean peninsula, were evaluated using a hydrological model integrating a dam operation module at an hourly timescale. The module uses a concept of the AutoROM method as the operational rule to update the dam storage and decide water release. Dam storages were translated into water levels using a water level–storage curve. To quantify the impact of hydraulic structures on the Northern Imjin river basin, change in discharge was analyzed in four flood events (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012). Dam failure scenarios were developed under conditions of the 2010 flood event, in which the releases of 100%, 80%, 50%, and 20% of water storage of Hwanggang dam were simulated. The results indicate that the amount of water released from upstream dams is the main cause of floods in the downstream region. To reduce the risk of floods in the downstream river basin, an optimal dam operation module and information on upstream dams play an important role and contribute to the effective use of water resources.

Assessing Meteorological and Agricultural Drought in Chitral Kabul River Basin Using Multiple Drought Indices

Drought is a complex and poorly understood natural hazard in complex terrain and plains lie in foothills of Hindukush-Himalaya-Karakoram region of Central and South Asia. Few research studied climate change scenarios in the transboundary Chitral Kabul River Basin (CKRB) despite its vulnerability to global warming and importance as a region inhabited with more than 10 million people where no treaty on use of water exists between Afghanistan and Pakistan. This study examines the meteorological and agricultural drought between 2000 and 2018 and their future trends from 2020 to 2030 in the CKRB. To study meteorological and agricultural drought comprehensively, various single drought indices such as Precipitation Condition Index (PCI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI), Soil Moisture Condition Index (SMCI) and Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), and combined drought indices such as Scaled Drought Condition Index (SDCI) and Microwave Integrated Drought Index (MIDI) were utilized. As non-microwave data were used in MIDI, this index was given a new name as Non-Microwave Integrated Drought Index (NMIDI). Our research has found that 2000 was the driest year in the monsoon season followed by 2004 that experienced both meteorological and agricultural drought between 2000 and 2018. Results also indicate that though there exists spatial variation in the agricultural and meteorological drought, but temporally there has been a decreasing trend observed from 2000 to 2018 for both types of droughts. This trend is projected to continue in the future drought projections between 2020 and 2030. The overall study results indicate that drought can be properly assessed by integration of different data sources and therefore management plans can be developed to address the risk and signing new treaties.

Use of bankruptcy methods for resolving interprovincial water conflicts over transboundary river: Case study of Indus River in Pakistan

AbstractSustainable transboundary water governance is often challenged by conflicts between agents, which necessitates the design of cooperative and self‐enforcing alternatives to facilitate equitable water distribution. A pervasive and critical problem related to many transboundary rivers is that the total allocation or demand of riparian states is usually much more than that of the total available water. This problem is a major cause of disputes, both nationally and internationally. A key challenge concerns how to allocate the available water among riparian states with competing and often conflicting needs under an uncertain supply–demand gap. To address this pervasive allocation problem related to transboundary rivers, the bankruptcy method is used. The bankruptcy method distributes water among riparian states when their total demand exceeds the total available water. We investigate the utility of this method in the Indus River – a river that is shared among the four provinces of Pakistan, namely, Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) – using five commonly used bankruptcy rules and the Shapely value. Two new bankruptcy rules namely the “groundwater‐based rule” and “the proposed rule” are also proposed to address the usage of groundwater: the land affected by salinity and the gross domestic product (GDP) of each province. Additionally, this paper introduces a new method to compare and contrast the bankruptcy rules, the Shapely value and the two proposed rules. The findings suggest that the groundwater‐based rule has the lowest dispersion and is the preferred method for water allocation in the Indus River Basin. The use of the bankruptcy rules, the Shapely value and the two proposed methods has the potential to address the supply–demand mismatches of shared rivers. The proposed framework for selecting the best rule is recommended as an effective tool to facilitate negotiation over practical water allocation within transboundary river basins.

Adapting the Index of Watershed Integrity for Watershed Managers in the Western Balkans Region.

Sustainable development supports watershed processes and functions. To aid the sustainable development of the western Balkans' transboundary river and lake basins, the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adapted the EPA's Index of Watershed Integrity (IWI) following the devasting 2014 floods in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. The IWI evaluates six watershed functions based on a suite of anthropogenic stressors (e.g., impervious surfaces, reservoirs). A key feature of the IWI is its ability to accumulate the impact of upstream activities of any specific location in a river network. A novel feature of the IWI, compared with other watershed assessment tools, is its capacity to provide actionable information at the local scale. IWI scores-ranging from 0 (low integrity) to 1 (high integrity)-calculated for the 1084 catchments of the study area indicated highest integrity in the Alpine geographic region (mean = 0.55, standard deviation (SD) = 0.11) and intermediate to lowest integrity within the Mediterranean (mean = 0.49, SD = 0.12) and Continental (mean = 0.40, SD = 0.10) geographic regions. The IWI results are presented hierarchically for data analysts (stressor, functional component, Index of Catchment Integrity and IWI), ecologists (stream/catchment, watershed, basin), and managers (local, national, international). We provide real-world examples for managers, and suggestions for improving the assessment.

Exploring synergies in the water-food-energy nexus by using an integrated hydro-economic optimization model for the Lancang-Mekong River basin

The Water-Food-Energy nexus study identifies developmental challenges and trade-offs present along the transboundary river basins. Intensive reservoir development for hydropower production impacts existing actors in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin. Concerns from these stakeholders highlight three major trade-offs that occur between hydropower and irrigation (HP-AG), hydropower and fisheries (HP-F), and irrigation and fisheries (AG-F). Dam construction has an impact not only on power production but also on ecosystems and ultimately the livelihood of people. In this study, we quantify the effects of reservoir operation on hydropower generation, irrigated crop production and fisheries yield in the Tonle Sap lake through a novel hydro-economic model at the whole basin scale. Our main finding is that trade-offs can be turned into synergetic opportunities. First, the dam operation can increase water availability for irrigation without severely harming hydropower production, raising irrigated crop revenue by 49% and reducing crop losses during droughts by 30%. Second, eco-friendly management increases fisheries yield by up to 75%, but decreases both irrigated crop production (−48%) and power production (−17%). Reservoirs can, therefore, benefit the whole basin by releasing more water in months with high irrigation demand (April and December) and by minimizing the adverse effects of flow fluctuations on the livelihood of farmers and fishers living downstream. Our results also reveal the overlooked trade-off between irrigated agriculture and fisheries. Cross-sectoral and transboundary partnerships should strengthen stakeholder participation in decision-making. Local solutions such as enhanced reservoir operation can respond to the broader global issue of natural resource trade-offs and sharing. Our alternative narrative enhances the dialogue about fair and efficient water use among Mekong riparian countries.

DEVELOPMENT OF A HYBRID MODEL FOR THE EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION OF WATER RESOURCES BASED ON A PREDICTION MODEL

The development of a model for the effective use of water resources is one of the priorities of Kazakhstan. About half of the Republic's surface water (44.9 cubic km) comes from the territory of neighboring countries. According to experts, the increasing water intake by neighboring countries and the deterioration of water quality in the country's rivers can lead to an environmental disaster. In this regard, the analysis and discussion of models for the efficient allocation of water resources in transboundary river basins, which are already successfully used in the world, will be an urgent solution. This article discusses effective models and ways to solve water resources problems in transboundary rivers that have already been applied to transboundary rivers, and based on these models, a hybrid model is built that can be applied to transboundary rivers of the country.

International river basin organizations, science, and hydrodiplomacy

As key venues for interaction and cooperation, international river basin organizations (IRBOs) are significant contributors to hydrodiplomacy in transboundary river basins. As part of their efforts to support hydrodiplomacy, IRBOs engage in the production and use of science. The manner in which that science is produced, and how it contributes to hydrodiplomacy, is not well understood. This paper examines the production and use of science by three IRBOs: the (US – Canada) International Joint Commission, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, and the Mekong River Commission. We find the science produced by the IRBOs to support hydrodiplomacy extends beyond measuring and monitoring to include more advanced and analytical forms of science. In producing science, we observe that the IRBOs balance considerations of capacity, ownership, and how the politics of the basin will influence the production and use of the science. Given the challenge of balancing across these considerations, future research is needed to determine what mechanisms and processes for producing science can best facilitate its use in hydrodiplomacy.

The economic impacts of water supply restrictions due to climate and policy change: A transboundary river basin supply-side input-output analysis

Finding sustainable pathways to efficiently allocate limited available water resources among increasingly competing water uses has become crucial due to climate-change-induced water shortages and increasing water demand. This has led to an urgent need for the inclusion of economic principles, models, and methods in water resources management. Although several studies have developed macro-economic models to evaluate the economic impacts of alternative water allocation strategies, many if not most ignore the hydrological boundaries of transboundary river basins. Furthermore, of those using input-output (IO) models, only a handful have applied supply-side IO models. In this paper, we present one of the first attempts to develop an inter-regional, supply-side IO modelling framework for a multi-jurisdictional, transboundary river basin to assess the direct and indirect economic impacts of water supply restrictions due to climate and policy change. Applying this framework to the Saskatchewan River Basin in Canada encompassing three provinces, we investigate the economic impacts of two different water supply restriction scenarios on the entire river basin and its sub-basins individually. We find that in the face of climate-change-induced water shortage, economic losses can be reduced by almost 50% by adopting appropriate management practices, including prioritization of water allocation, using alternative water sources, and water re-use technologies.

Precipitation variations recorded in tree rings from the upper Salween and Brahmaputra River valleys, China

Abstract The spatio-temporal variations of precipitation in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) have vital impacts on fresh water resources, and therefore the sustainable development, over a large part of Asia. Extending instrumental records of precipitation in the regional trans-boundary river basins is critical for resource managers and policy-makers to manage finite water resources in the region under climate change. Here we reconstruct precipitation variations from prior September to current June (r2 = 42.9%, 1600–2016 CE) in the upper Salween River valley and from prior July to current April (r2 = 44.1%, 1650–2016 CE) in the upper Brahmaputra River valley based on tree ring width variations in conifer tree rings from the Salween and Brahmaputra River basins. Correlation analysis reveals precipitation variations in the two river basins to co-vary over the past 367 years, and a wetting trend is revealed from the 1970s. Spatial correlation analyses with gridded precipitation data extends the reconstruction across the southern Tibetan Plateau. The first eigenvector of our ring width chronologies, and that of other precipitation-sensitive tree ring records from nearby areas successfully captures instrumental streamflow variability in the two river basins. Over the past 3 decades, rapid socio-economic development and population growth in southern and southeastern Asia has pressured the water resource supply of the Tibetan Plateau. Our precipitation reconstructions provide valuable insight for strategies to manage these vital regional water resources.

Projections of climatic extremes in a data poor transboundary river basin of India and Pakistan

AbstractThis study aims to project and characterize the climate extremes in Ravi River Basin (RRB) which is considered as a data poor transboundary basin located in India and Pakistan. Performance of the three GCDs against observation data was evaluated at three stations. A quantile mapping technique was used to correct the biases of four regional climate models (RCMs) and climate extremes were analysed for future period (2020–2095). Seven temperature and rainfall based indices that represent warm and wet characteristics of climate were chosen. Four statistical parameters and spatial maps were evaluated for the base period 1982–2005. The CPC‐NOAA and PU had the best performance for temperature and rainfall data regarding the time series analysis. The quantile mapping improved three important aspects of the climate cycle; the transitions from dry to wet and wet to dry seasons and peaks as well. At spatial scale, quantile mapping well captured the spatial distribution of the eleven indices other than RX1Day, CWD and FD0. The results show that warm and wet extremes will increase in future at 5% significance level across the entire basin with large changes in north east. The changes will be large for RCP8.5 scenario compare to RCP4.5 scenario and choice of the scenarios has dominant contribution in uncertainty than choice of the models.

Representative general circulation models selection and downscaling of climate data for the transboundary Koshi river basin in China and Nepal

AbstractThe selection of general circulation models (GCMs) with high capability to represent the past and likely future climate for a specific geographical location is a crucial step to assess impacts of climate change on different sectors. This study included pool of 105 and 78 GCMs for representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5, respectively, from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project—Phase 5, applied an advanced envelope‐based selection approach to select representative GCMs for the Koshi river basin in China and Nepal at short‐term (2016–2045), mid‐century (2036–2065) and end‐of‐century (2071–2100) periods, and developed range of possible future precipitation and temperature scenarios with high resolution downscaled data (10 × 10 km2), which is the novelty contribution of the study. Considering RCP4.5, average annual precipitation is expected to increase by 0–16%, 4–23% and 4–24% in the short‐term, mid‐century and end‐of‐century periods, respectively. Using RCP8.5, equivalent predictions are 6–20%, 6–36% and 13–49% in the short‐term, mid‐century and end‐of‐century periods, respectively. Average annual temperature is expected to increase, but with higher increases during winter than in the monsoon period. Considering RCP4.5, average annual temperature is expected to increase by 1–1.4°C, 1.3–1.9°C and 1.6–2.8°C in the short‐term, mid‐century and end‐of‐century periods, respectively. Similarly, using RCP8.5, equivalent predictions are 1–1.6°C, 1.8–2.9°C and 3.1–5.6°C in the short‐term, mid‐century and end‐of‐century periods, respectively. The ensemble mean of absolute change in average precipitation and temperature projects that High Himalaya and Tibet regions are more sensitive to climate change considering precipitation and temperature, respectively. The results also suggest that GCMs selection for a catchment varies with climate scenarios and specific future time periods.

ГИДРОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ ОБОСНОВАНИЕ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ВОДНЫМИ РЕСУРСАМИ В ВЕРХНЕЙ ЧАСТИ БАССЕЙНА ДНЕПРА

The Dnieper river is one of the largest rivers in Europe. It is the fourth largest river in terms of basin area and length after the Volga, Danube and Ural, and the second largest of the rivers that flow into the Black sea, after the Danube. From the point of view of territorial distribution of water resources, the Dnieper basin can be divided into two zones. The first zone includes the Russian and Belarusian parts of the basin, which is a zone of river flow formation. It is characterized by an insufficiently high level of water resources use. The second zone, which is a part of the Ukrainian part of the river basin, is characterized by a small inflow of water from tributaries and a high level of water resources use. Rivers, watercourses of which run through the territory of two or more states, are called as transboundary. Different sections of the same river are used by different states, and the use of water resources and catchment area in the upper reaches of the river will affect the quantitative and qualitative parameters of water downstream. This means that the unified environmental system is divided by a state border and is managed in each individual state at its discretion. This affects the river and surrounding areas. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the problem of transboundary water bodies became very relevant for Russia. Neighboring countries have faced a number of environmental problems in border territories and transboundary river basins, where environmental problems have persisted and often worsened, but the institutional framework for their effective solution has been lost

Irrigation cooling effect: opportunities in task of estimation of international irrigation water usage in transboundary River Syrdarya basin, Central Asia

The aim of this research was the analysis of long-term and seasonal dynamics of Irrigation Cooling Effect (ICE) of irrigated arable lands in test sites of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in agriculture province “Golodnaya stepp”, located in transboundary River Syrdarya basin. The Land Surface Temperature (LST) FEWS NET (Famine early Warning System Network) product was used for calculation and monitoring (2002- 2019) ICE values. The amount and efficiency of irrigation water usage significantly affects the ICE values. Therefore, long-term (2002-2019) ICE monitoring on arable land Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in “Golodnaya stepp” is important as an objective characteristic of irrigation parameters and their changes during the observation period. Analysis of data from 2002-2019 showed that in the key period (May-June) Uzbekistan's arable land is in a better position. Review of two eras 2003-2010 and 2011-2019 it showed that changes in ICE values are directed at: an increase in May, approximately 2.5° in Uzbekistan and 1.3° in Kazakhstan; an increase in July, 1.3° in Uzbekistan and 2.5° degrees in Kazakhstan; and a decrease in September, approximately 1.5° in Kazakhstan, with stable values in Uzbekistan. Thus, ICE monitoring in arid climates is a useful tool for diagnosing water consumption on arable land in various countries, which is especially important in transboundary river basins.

Emergency water supply decision-making of transboundary river basin considering government–public perceived satisfaction

The emergency supply of transboundary water resources is a prominent problem affecting the social and economic development of basin countries. However, current water supply decisions on transboundary water resources may ignore the psychological perception of multi-stakeholders, and the evolution of emergencies increases the uncertainty of decision making. Both factors would lead to the low acceptance of water-related decisions. Utility satisfaction, perceived losses, and quantity satisfaction were selected in this paper to identify the perceived satisfaction of upstream governments, downstream governments, and the public, respectively, over multiple decision-making stages. A modeling framework combining prospect theory and the multi-stage multi-objective programming methodology was then developed to measure the perceived satisfaction of different stakeholders in a watershed under emergency. A two-stage NSGA-II and TOPSIS based approach was adopted to find the optimal compromise solution to solve the model. The framework was applied in the Lancang–Mekong River basin to provide suggestions to decision makers. Upstream decision makers must choose a moderate proportional fairness degree when making emergency decisions to maximize the perceived satisfaction of all stakeholders. Meanwhile, the perceived loss of downstream countries with low water demand should be considered first in the formulation of emergency water supply plans. Furthermore, although water supply from upstream countries can improve perceived water quantity satisfaction of downstream publics, additional actions must still be taken to change the traditional concepts of the public.

Transboundary water sharing problem; a theoretical analysis using evolutionary game and system dynamics

Water is the backbone of socio-economic and environmental systems. Increasing demand and unpredictable availability due to anthropogenic climate change is making water an extremely scarce resource in different parts of the world, when the resources facing scarcity are shared between different administrative boundaries, conflicts could arise. Transboundary river basins are typical examples. Water sharing problems within these transboundary river basins are very difficult to solve because of the socio-economic and environmental asymmetries among the water claiming stakeholders. In addition, water-sharing problems have a systemic feature that evolves through time. Previous studies did not comprehensively capture these features. This article attempts to fill this research gap by combining the evolutionary game and system dynamic model to predict the equilibrium outcomes of different strategic scenarios. When the riparian states choose polarizing strategies, the equilibrium evolves either quickly, initiated by the countries’ need to avoid the loss that could result from water conflict or very slowly if the countries opt to maintain the benefits that result from their polarized strategies. In the scenario where both choose a tolerance strategy, the equilibrium evolves very slowly. If either of the countries chooses a polarizing strategy irrespective of its neighbor choosing a compromise strategy, the equilibrium evolves much faster. The results depicted that the equilibrium under different scenarios does not always lead to concessions. Therefore, the countries should strengthen the cooperation in water resource management to ensure that a zero-sum game and the inception of a new strategic evolution are prevented.

Удосконалення механізму організації природокористування на території басейну Дніпра

It was proved the priority of choosing the principles of rational use of nature, which activates the search for ways of optimizing the use of natural resources and developing effective mechanisms for their reproduction. It has been established the strengthening of anthropogenic-induced degradation of land and water resources of the transboundary Dnipro river basin, which is a key factor in the formation and organization of political, economic and social life of society. It has been determined that rational using of nature is based on the conceptual model of ecological and rational exploitation of the territory of the transboundary basin. It has been developed a methodology of integrated assessment, analysis and forecasting of the ecological state of the catchment area and optimization of land using in rivers basins, which contains six logical and sequential blocks of research organization that provide systematic use of complementary general, adapted and authorial methods. In addition to optimizing the use of natural resources, support should be given to mechanisms for their reproduction through the search of optimal nature using scenarios, which will ensure the effective development of the territories and the restoration of the Dnipro river ecosystem. The principles of activity of the Interstate Basin Council of the Dnipro River and the mechanism of nature protection organization of the territory of the transboundary basin on the basis of improved methodology and author's methods with the use of GIS and Remote sensing of Earth technologies are offered. It was established that the result of the study is the formation of a unified system of parameters of control of the current state of the whole Dnipro river basin, with the obligatory determination of the risks of violations of ecological parameters of the basin landscape structures and determination of their consequences. It was determined that the organization of the catchment area of the Dnipro River requires the transfer to the scientific and legal plane of using the nature with the necessary development of appropriate soil and water conservation measures. The urgency of the planning of the catchment basins on the basis of the balance of environmental sustainability of agricultural landscapes and the intensity of agricultural production in order to maximize profits was determined. The Dnipro river health management system should be based on a comprehensive spatio-temporal analysis of the ecological state of its basin and on the basis of the basin management principle