Protocol on sediment management to the Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin.

This document is a Protocol on Sediment Management to the Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin, agreed upon by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. It establishes procedures for sustainable sediment management in the Sava River Basin to protect water and sediment regimes. The protocol covers quality issues like sediment pollution and quantity issues such as dredging and erosion control. It mandates the development of a joint Sava River Basin Sediment Management Plan and a coordinated sediment monitoring system. The protocol regulates dredging activities, requiring parties to perform only maintenance and environmental remedial dredging, with capital dredging allowed only in designated areas. It establishes institutional arrangements for implementation, including the designation of competent authorities and focal points for communication. The protocol also promotes information exchange, common research, and development in sustainable sediment management. It outlines provisions for dispute settlement, amendments, and termination, and specifies that it does not affect existing international borders. The protocol is subject to ratification and enters into force after the fourth instrument of ratification is deposited. An annex to the protocol lists the main tributaries of the Sava River, providing details on their confluences, basin sizes, lengths, and countries sharing the sub-basins.