The project is supported under the South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme (SEE Programme)

The TICAD project was approved on the 30^th of June, 2009. The entire duration of the project is thirty four months.

The extraordinary feature of the TICAD project is the broad and productive transnational cooperation of local, regional, national authorities, planning and research institutions from all the five countries sharing the territory of the Tisa basin. Owing to this comprehensive and integrated partnership the aims of the EU water management policies and territorial development perspectives will be pursued in an effective and consistent way in the framework of the SEE programme.

The Tisa catchment area is shared by five countries. Their transnational cooperation is mandatory for the solution of the huge and interrelated problems.

The natural features of the area as well as the social and economic problems are interconnected and overarch the administrative borders. 

The creation of a transnational network of integrated territorial planning, involving research institutions, central and local authorities will facilitate mutual learning and support through a joint work process. The common endeavour is to create a viable strategy for the enhancement of the endogenous potential, improvement of social and economic conditions, development of infrastructure.

It is a fundamental aim of the project to pursue transnational cooperation in a consistent manner by way of the construction of a joint data base, regular exchange of ideas, workshops and ultimately the elaboration of a common strategy and recommendations for comprehensive water management. 

Background  

The catchment area of the Tisa covers a territory of almost 158,000 km². The Tisa river basin faces complex challenges of environmental, economic, infrastructure, and social character, which need transnational cooperation for sustainable solutions.  The background of the project has been a transnational CEMAT initiative, which has brought together the representatives – civil servants and professional planners –of all the five partner countries. The project idea has been formed gradually in joint preparatory workshops.

Challenges to be addressed

The river Tisa gained international attention from 2000 when several serious hazard events were experienced like pollution, floods and droughts, persistent inland water with long term impact upon an extended area. All these proved the need for transnational cooperation.

Like in other large European cross-border catchment areas, in the Tisa basin the anthropogenic interventions affect the land-use, water use, micro climate, ecosystems and may compromise the development potential of the whole catchment area.

Climate change may cause serious problems of water management and land-use. Adaptation to climate change requires common responses.  

There are national plans to handle some of the issues. There are several transnational programs too, but they are focused on separate sectors and a restricted area. Therefore it is essential to enter a higher level cooperation to tackle these challenges. It is important to involve policy makers and deepen their awareness and commitment. 

Objectives of the project  

The project will contribute to the sustainable integrated territorial development of the Tisa area and will help to attain a sustainable economic system, optimal use of pooled natural and cultural resources, balanced distribution of competitive growth areas and enhancement of the internal and external functional relations in the settlement system. The strategy will be formulated on the basis of mutually shared awareness of processes and will serve for the implementation of the EU water directives and territorial development objectives.

The project shall focus on the following specific issues:

• To reduce vulnerability (reasonable use of water resources, appropriate land use, adaptation to and mitigation of climate change impacts, attain better understanding of the actual and potential environmental risks)
  
  
• To improve the knowledge of spatial consequences of different measures (mapping of territorial conflicts, tracking the territorial changes in the light of historical processes)
  
  
• To improve the physical and functional communication channels (renewal of traditional social networks, improvement of infrastructure system and settlement structure, development of viable polycentrism, revival the transboundary settlement relations, restoration of road and rail border crossings, strengthening of cross-border cooperation, transnational knowledge exchange)
  
  
• To harmonize the use of natural and cultural assets (sustainable land-use, water management and environmental consciousness, shared responsibility for the Tisa river)
  
  
• To agree on the common development goals and promote the efficient allocation of investment funds.