Interview with Margareta Petrusevschi
Manager for Moldova Water Quality Standards Project
Wednesday, 13th of September 2005
Introduction
Resource Use and Access
Insights from Experience
Interviewee Perspective
Questions, Comments and Feedback
Highlights from the Interview: Needs and Recommendations
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Introduction
The purpose of the interview was twofold. It aimed at mapping Margareta’s access and use of online, and other, resources, to ensure that the WaterWiki, and especially the Moldova page, complies with her needs and online use patterns. Second, the interview aimed at capturing knowledge and lessons learned in relation to the newly initiated project ‘Convergence with ‘EU Water Quality Standards in Moldova’. The interview consisted of four specific sections, the first of which related to Margareta’s general resource use and access. Section two aimed uncovering insights from experience. Section three gave Margareta a chance to give her perspective her own and Moldova’s experience in the area of water governance. The last section asked for questions, comments and feedback on the interview. Many important insights resulted from the interview last section on this report contains a list of Margareta’s needs and recommendations. Since the project is only in it’s initial stage, very little in terms of lessons learned from this specific project were identified, although very important lessons from previous projects were brought out.
Resource Use and Access
Margareta is new to the field of water governance but is supported by knowledgeable colleagues in the National Institute of Ecology of Moldova and members from the Danube Programme who provide information and knowledge on issues related to water governance. Margareta also benefits from good contact with local agencies in Moldova.
Online resources which Margareta is user of are the Energy and Environment Workspace, the UNDP/GEF Workspace, and EU Framework Directive site. The limitations of these workspaces and sites are that information is never sufficient; it is often standardized, not ‘alive’, and not current. The OECD and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River websites both provide very little useful information, limited databases, and poor search functions. Margareta is therefore in favor of the idea of the WaterWiki, which she sees could provide a space for reports and other resources that are often only circulated within country offices or in libraries. While preparing for this project Margareta has had the idea of constructing a tool or a database for water and other environmental issues and has started collecting materials. In terms of other resources, Margareta would contact BRC for specific information from the region as well as use the Env-SURF network if needed.
In preparation for the specific Water Quality Standards Project in Moldova Margareta is finding the TACIS report Support for the Implementation of the Environmental Policies and National Environmental Action Plans in the NIS, published in January 2003, very helpful. This report provides a situation analysis of the environment of Moldova including clearly stated needs in terms of water quality standards and capacity building, as well as useful summaries of roundtable discussions with civil society and government. The government of Moldova approved the use of this report. Cooperation with the government has sometimes been strained but their support for this specific report gave clearance for its use as a basis for assessment and planning.
Insights from Experience
In previous work on a Local Community Development Project in Moldova a National Community of Practitioners was set up. This national CoP proved extremely useful for sharing information and communicating on the ongoing project. The group would meet every month and a half to discuss indicators of progress and lessons learned. Members from outside the UNDP were invited, such as members from civil society and the academic sector. The feeling of a ‘club’ was established to attract members. Margareta has a similar idea for the area of Energy and Environemnt , which would also cover the issues related to the project on water quality standards. She would like to establish an Energy and Environment Community of Practitioners which would have a group focused on this specific project in Moldova but is lacking sources and relevant information on water governance since she is new to the water sub-practice. The formation of such a CoP around the project is a crucial lesson for the water quality, and upcoming, projects.
Margareta cooperated with the Decentralization, Local Governance, Urban /Rural Development Community of Practice with Marcia Kran, Dafina Gercheva and Jurgita Siugzdiniene during her previous project. The cooperation consisted of communication on knowledge management and resulted in the launch of the project “Information and Learning Network” which builds its outputs based on local community development in Moldova. This Community of Practice was, and still is, very successful at knowledge sharing, primarily through e-mail but also yearly gatherings. E-mail is very useful and convenient but it is crucial that the practice group meet at least once every year.
More capacity building and better cooperation with the government and public servants are crucial to the success of the water quality standards project. There is also a need to support local civil society organizations and encourage these to work independently from the government. This will benefit all involved in the project. Improved cooperation and communication within the region is necessary for more efficient work on projects.
Knowledge products are useful and important tools to Margareta and lessons learned need to be captured to avoid replicating mistakes. But few people are aware of how to extract lessons and how to formulate them. Lessons learned, in addition, should be captured during the project, and not at the end when it is too late.
Interviewee Perspective
Margareta would love to see Moldova become a pioneer in changing its country’s water quality standards from the old rigid Soviet system to the new approach of the EU Water Framework Directive. Although she warns this will not be easy, extensive work is still needed improving cooperation and communication with the government, specifically with the Ministry of Environment as well as with other stakeholders who have a stake in the water quality standards’ implementation system.
On the role of the BRC, Margareta regards assistance with project proposals and suggestions of international consultants as key functions. She is aware of other ways, such as for example knowledge management, in which BRC could be of assistance like guidance and methodologies for advocating Water Governance. Staff exchange from other country offices in the region would not be helpful since information and knowledge has to be fresh and different as from the region where almost the same standards are applied , this is the role of Bratislava.
Questions, Comments and Feedback
Margareta asked a couple of questions on where to find methodological approaches and tools for water management. We hope that the WaterWiki will satisfy this need. A second question related to support for translation of important documents and reports relating to water.
The response from Margareta was overall very positive. One encouraging aspect was that she, herself, found the interview very helpful and informative. As did we.
Highlights from the Interview: Needs and Recommendations
Needs:
(Explicit)
· Assistance with translation of reports and other materials.
· Information on specific methodological approaches and tools on water management (the Wiki will hopefully provide this)
· Fresh, up-to-date, information relating to water governance.
(Implicit)
· Guidance on how to extract and formulate lessons learned to be actively promoted/used with the national counterpart
· Information on how Bratislava can be of assistance on issues not relating to project proposals and international consultants, such as for example KM.
Recommendations:
· The establishment of a national community of practitioners around a specific project can help uncover lessons learned and best practice during the project process and thereby improve the chances for success.
· Encouraging local civil society organizations to work independently from the government can be extremely valuable and beneficial for both the project and the general development of the country.
· Lessons learned need to be captured during the project and not at the end.