AKIPRESS.COM - An OSCE-supported high-level National Preparatory Meeting to the 23rd Economic and Environmental Forum on Water Governance took place July 2 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The event was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, the Agriculture Ministry and the Ecological Forum of Kazakhstan with support from the Government of Switzerland.

Some 120 participants discussed main challenges and opportunities Central Asia faces in view of climate change, the threat of desertification and proposed sustainable solutions including through the introduction of the green growth principles. The participants included parliamentarians, government officials from the Agriculture, Investment and Development, Energy and Internal Affairs Ministries, the Supreme Court, as well as representatives of civil society, academia, the business community, Aarhus Centres and Water Basin Councils from across the country.

The experts from Denmark, Germany and Switzerland shared their country’s experience in waste water treatment, efficient use of water resources, sustainable land and water management as well as acquainted with advanced technologies in this field. The representatives of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Office of the OSCE Coordinator for Economic and Environmental Activities, the World Bank, the International Foundation for the Aral Sea and the Regional Environmental Centre of Central Asia presented their implemented projects related to water governance in Central Asia. As a result of the discussions a set of recommendations to the state institutions and the Parliament was developed, which included, inter alia, proposals to ratify a number of international legal documents, to improve current national legislation, to enhance the role of the water basin councils and to take steps to strengthen the safety of hydrotechnical installations.

“Water not only divides, but also unites people, and there are many examples of this in the OSCE region. As clearly demonstrated by the experience of co-operation in the basins of the Danube, the Rhine, the Sava and the Chu-Talas, joint management of water resources can lead to better relations between states and communities, enhance safety, promote economic prosperity and environmental protection,” said Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana.

“We need to give more importance to the issue of sustainable use and management of water resources of rivers, sharing them with the neighbouring states on the principles of international law and on the basis of mutual respect and trust as well as constructive co-operation,“ said Kazakhstan Deputy Agriculture Minister Erlan Nysanbayev.

On 3 July, the meeting will be followed by a capacity-building workshop for some 40 representatives of Water Basin Councils, Aarhus Centres and environmental non-governmental organizations on the practicalities of the implementation of the State Programme on Water Management for the Period 2014 - 2040.

The activity is part of the Office’s long-term support of the host country’s plan to transition to a “green” economy and the State Programme on Water Management for the Period 2014 – 2040. It was organized to help promote sustainable management of water resources in national and transboundary contexts and meets the goals of the Year of Water declared in Kazakhstan in 2015.