OSCE supports regional conference on integrated water resources management in Kazakhstan

An OSCE-supported regional conference on transboundary water co-operation in Central Asia took place on 7 September 2017 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 

The event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in partnership with the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), the Kazakh National Agrarian University and the Education and Science Ministry’s Institute of Geography.

Some 100 representatives of Kazakhstan's Parliament, national water authorities from all five Central Asian countries as well as representatives of water basin councils, civil society, academia and international organizations shared their experience in managing water resources, safety issues of hydro facilities and preventive measures to avert emergencies in the context of climate change. Participants reviewed the main challenges and opportunities Central Asia faces in view of sustainable land and water management for irrigation purposes and discussed challenges for co-operation among the stakeholders.

The activity is part of the Office’s long-standing effort to introduce the principles of integrated water resources management into the national water framework and to promote transboundary water co-operation.