The FINANCIAL — ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 12 September 2011 – A workshop on groundwater management organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana, the Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Cluster Office in Almaty and the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), started today in Almaty.
The two-day meeting brings together 35 experts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Canada and the Netherlands to discuss the significance of groundwater resources in Central Asia, review measures to adapt to climate change and the expected increase in water consumption, and address challenges in the management of transboundary aquifers.
“The OSCE helps to provide platforms for dialogue between governmental officials, scientists, and civil society from the Central Asian countries on transboundary groundwater governance. Closer interaction between the countries on the sustainable management of water and water related ecosystems is key to ensuring security and development in the region,” said Jeannette Kloetzer, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana.
The event participants will look at the prerequisites for an improved institutional and legal framework in Central Asia for efficient water management, with a particular focus on groundwater aquifers.
“In dry zones, underground waters are a vital source of life. It is difficult to decide how much water to use and how much to preserve,” said Jose Luis Martin-Bordes, the Project Coordinator of the International Hydrological Programme at UNESCO’s Division of Water Sciences. “This is even more difficult when we deal with transboundary waters belonging to two or more countries, since the necessary data is not always available. Taking into account the complexity and political relevance of the subject, the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme considers it necessary to consolidate the efforts of hydrologists researching the ground aquifers by mapping them for their further sustainable management.”
The project is a follow-up to earlier activities that set out the scale and scope of the transboundary groundwater sites in the region by assessing the quantity and quality of water, as well as the role and value of the sites in case of use. It falls in line with the decision of the Maastricht Ministerial Council (2003) on the OSCE Strategy in transboundary water management and cooperation.
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