Report on mapping major issues, stakeholders and processes in water sector in Georgia

National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management in Georgia under the EU Water Initiative.

The National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management (NPD/IWRM) led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Georgia in cooperation with the UNECE and with the support of the Georgian National Water Partnership started in September 2010 with meetings of representatives of the UNECE Water Convention Secretariat with representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources (since March 2011 a new name is the Ministry of Environmental Protection) and other stakeholders.

Based on the discussions at the meetings in Tbilisi in September 2010 and March 2011, it was proposed that the Georgian NPD/IWRM focuses on three major topics:

• Preparation of the National Water Law based on the IWRM principles;
• Setting up the targets for implementation of the UNECE/WHO Protocol on Water and Health of the UNECE Water Convention; and
• Transboundary water cooperation, including accession to the UNECE Water Convention and development of the cooperation with the neighbouring Azerbaijan.

This report gives a very short overview – an express mapping - of ongoing activities in the water sector in Georgia and serves as a tool for planning future activities in the NPD/IWRM. The report is based on the discussions at the March 2011 NPD/IWRM kick off meeting as well as review of relevant reports and documents. The document can be updated as needed.

The report was prepared within the Georgian NPD/IWRM with the support of the ENVSEC programme through Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe - OSCE.