The eighth meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Policy Dialogue on integrated water resources in management in Kyrgyzstan took place in Bishkek on 24 October 2012. It was organized by the Department of Water Management and Melioration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Melioration of Kyrgyzstan in cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the framework of the European Union Water Initiative.
The Steering Committee discussed the report “Setting targets in the context of the Protocol on Water and Health in Kyrgyzstan” and decided to submit it for review to the ministries, agencies and local authorities. The report analyses key challenges for water supply, sanitation and reducing water-related diseases in Kyrgyzstan and suggests measures and targets aimed to improve the situation through coordinated action of governmental authorities and non-governmental organizations.
The Steering Committee defined the following priority areas for the National Policy Dialogue in 2013:
- Support for implementation of basin management in Kyrgyzstan (basin management plans, basin councils and development of a basin management system for the Chu River Basin).
- Support for the continuation of work on the targets on water and health in the context of the Protocol on Water and Health (implementation and monitoring of the targets).
- Review of subsidies which impact on the state of water resources, water infrastructure and water management.
- Development of an action plan to implement the recommendations designed to improve the use of economic instruments for water management in pilot basins.
- Provision of a platform for the sharing of information and coordination of activities of international organizations and donors in the water sector in Kyrgyzstan.
Representatives of international organizations — the European Union, the German Society for International Cooperation, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Department for International Development (United Kingdom) — also attended the meeting. This provided an opportunity to exchange information on the projects being implemented by international organizations and donors in the area of water resources management and transboundary water cooperation in Kyrgyzstan and other countries of Central Asia, with a view to increasing coordination of international support and assistance in the area.
In addition, representatives of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan took part in the Steering Committee meeting and shared their experiences in conducting the National Policy Dialogues in those countries.
More information is available at: http://www.unece.org/env/water/npd
Contact information:
Ms. Iulia Trombitcaia
Environmental Affairs Officer
UNECE
E-mail: [email protected]
Note for Editors:
National Policy Dialogues on integrated water resources management (IWRM) and water supply and sanitation (WSS) are the main operational instrument of the European Union Water Initiative (EUWI) in the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The EUWI was launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (2002). UNECE is the strategic partner to support the policy dialogue process on IWRM, whereas OECD is the strategic partner for WSS and financial aspects of IWRM. National Policy Dialogues on IWRM are under way in the following countries of the region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. The National Policy Dialogue on IWRM in Kyrgyzstan is supported by the European Commission and the Governments of Finland and Norway.
The UNECE/World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe Protocol on Water and Health to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes is the first international agreement adopted specifically to ensure, by linking water management and health issues, the adequate supply of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Twenty-five States are Parties to the Protocol.