At a roundtable organised by GWP Armenia in June 2011, aimed at drawing attention to the problems of transboundary river basins, participants agreed to work towards the establishment of an independent Aghstev River basin council to implement an integrated basin plan. Issues facing the basin include legal frameworks, deforestation and water quality. The meeting took place in Dilijan City on the banks of the transboundary Aghstev River, a tributary of the Kura-Araks (also a transboundary river).
GWP Armenia organized a roundtable devoted to the Kura-Araks River on June 2, 2011, a day designated as the Kura-Araks Rivers Protection Day. The round table was aimed at attracting the attention of participants to the problems of transboundary river basins. The key message of the roundtable was to apply “Common river – Common Opportunities” approaches.
Recognised as the most appropriate platform in the region, GWP Central Asia and Caucasus (CACENA) was asked by the Uzbek Ministry of Agriculture and Water to co-organize an international conference in Tashkent as part of the process leading up to the 6th World Water Forum in 2012. GWP CACENA also led a session on integrated water resources management.
In December 2010, the National Environmental Strategy of the Ukraine was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament and contains a component on water management. In 2009, Ukraine decided to revise its main water planning document in accordance with European Union laws and the EU’s Water Framework Directive even though the country is not a member of the EU.
GWP CACENA made the first study of water supply and sanitation in the eight CACENA countries from an IWRM perspective.
Key challenges in Central Asia are the degradation of ecosystems and increasing water deficiency. It is a region of scarce water resources, many of which cut across national borders. The intensive use of the limited resources leads to conflicts of interest, making transboundary water resources management crucial to the sustainability of the region’s resources.
Building on the adoption of new water laws by Kazakhstan in 2003, Armenia in 2007 and Uzbekistan in 2009, GWP Central Asia and Caucasus (CACENA) pressed on to help put laws into practice.
With support from GWP and UNDP the Kazakhstan government has drafted an IWRM plan and established river basin councils, realizing that management problems could be helped off by IWRM.
23-25 March 2010, Ashgabat, Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan
Background
GWP representatives from Stockholm were specially invited to participate through an initiative by our partners of the upcoming Country Water Partnership of Turkmenistan. This event was regarded as a strategic opportunity for introducing how IWRM can be a helpful mechanism in a concrete project.
A regional process to save the Aral Sea has resulted in an “Action Plan for the realization of the Decisions of the Presidents” of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.