Video interviews on EU Water Initiative National Policy Dialogues on IWRM

The International Conference on “Europe-Asia transboundary water cooperation” was held from 15 to 16 December 2011 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. The main aim of the International Conference on “Europe-Asia transboundary water cooperation” was to promote dialogue and cooperation on the management and protection of transboundary waters along the border of the two continents.

The European Union Water Initiative (EUWI) National Policy Dialogues (NPD) programme on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is one of the tools of promoting such dialogue and cooperation. This programme is being successfully implemented and the process is still ongoing in many countries the region of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. Representatives of Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have been interviewed by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on the progress of the EUWI NPD on IWRM implementation in their countries.

In Kyrgyz Republic, according to Mr. Chyngyzbek UZAKBAEV, Deputy Head, Water and Melioration State Committee, the disunity existing at the time of NPDs' initiation between national water authorities was an obstacle for water resources management. The EUWI NPD programme helped to identify existing in water sector problems, i.e. water-related health issues, implementation of IWRM, monitoring and protection of water resources, etc. The NPD programme gave an opportunity to discuss these problems among water sector authorities. Mr. Uzakbaev also gave information on the progress of ongoing pilot project in the transboundary Chu River Basin.

Mr. Sulton RAHIMOV, the First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Melioration and Water Resources, informed that NPDs made it possible to create a general framework of the water sector reformation programme in Tajikistan, i.e. in IWRM. It also provided for closer cooperation between different water authorities in Tajikistan and establishing of the mechanism of such cooperation. Mr. Rahimov also commented on transboundary water cooperation between Tajikistan and neighbouring countries. There has been a draft agreement between Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan prepared on the use of transboundary rivers. In 2010 an agreement between Afghanistan and Tajikistan on the monitoring of water resources and flood management was signed.

Mr. Kurbangeldy BALLYEV, Representative of Turkmenistan, and Member of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, spoke about the progress of work of the national Expert Working Group which aims to analyse national water legislation and prepare a proposal to the Government of Turkmenistan for accession to the UNECE Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.

Video interviews (in Russian) are available at:

Kyrgyz Republic - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNGFYXFeXes

Tajikistan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoJQpGptp2Q

Turkmenistan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H88djqiEbvE

More information on the EU Water Initiative National Policy Dialogue on IWRM is available at the website www.unece.org/env/water/npd.html