42nd MEETING OF THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION FOR WATER COORDINATION
The 42nd regular meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asia (ICWC) was held on 28-29 April 2005, Almaty under the chairmanship of A.D. Ryabtsev, Chairman of the Committee for Water Resources at the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan.
The agenda included the following matters on:
- Implementation of the limit on water intakes in non-vegetation period 2004/2005, confirmation of the limits on water intakes from the Amudarya and Syrdarya river channels for the next vegetation period 2005, and adjustment of the predicted operation mode of reservoir cascades;
- Allocation of the costs to finance the activities of SIC ICWC and BVO “Syrdarya”;
- Development of the production and gauging devices in the interests of ICWC;
- Preparation for the 4th World Water Forum;
- The CAREWIB Project;
- Agenda and venue of the 43rd regular ICWC meeting.
The ICWC members took the activities carried out by BVO “Amudarya” and BVO “Syrdarya” to implement the water intake limits and ensure the adopted operation mode of reservoir cascades for the non-vegetation period 2004/2005 into consideration. The participants of the meeting confirmed the limits on water intakes from the Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers for the vegetation period 2005 and approved the predicted mode plot for reservoir cascades on the Amudarya river. The submitted mode plot for the Syrdarya river was approved as well. This plot will be considered at the meeting of the Working Group of water and energy experts from the basin states.
The ICWC members decided to encourage accelerating the conclusion of an interstate agreement on integrated water-power resources use at the Naryn-Syrdarya reservoir cascade in the current vegetation 2005.
The participants agreed to the submitted suggestions to allocate the costs to maintain SIC ICWC among founder states, taking the share of water intake of each state and share of attracted grants into account. The matter on financing the ICWC Training Center will be discussed at the next ICWC meeting. To implement this decision, the ICWC members will submit concepts of share holding in financing SIC ICWC in 2006 and next years to the Ministries of Finance in their countries. To provide financing SIC ICWC pending decision of the Governments, sources of finance will be discussed along the way. The Provision on ICWC will be submitted to the IFAS Board.
Information of BVO “Syrdarya” on the status of financing its activities was taken into consideration. Keeping in mind the insufficiency of funds allocated for operation and maintenance of interstate facilities, the ICWC members from the Syrdarya river basin states were commissioned to discuss at the governments of their countries the possibility of financing BVO “Syrdarya” in accordance with share holding determined in the 1992 Agreement. At the same time, the possibility of allocating funds for complete overhaul and reconstruction of facilities being on the balance of BVO “Syrdarya” for a certain time will be considered.
The participants noted that the scale of a real need for flow-measuring devices will increase, especially in view of introducing a charge on water services, thus creating an acute need for organizing production of these devices in the region. In this connection, keeping in mind the available production capacity and experience in producing measuring instruments in Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan, it is expedient to develop these organizations as basic ones in the interests of the basin states.
CMC ICWC was charged to make, together with the national metrological organizations, a comparative analysis of measuring instruments, cost parameters of the existing measuring instruments, and working standards to develop a price policy and an interstate program for providing instruments for water measurement and accounting, while attracting necessary investments so that the bases be developed and water users purchase equipment, and submit it to the next ICWC meeting.
With a view to reforming the national metrological services and putting international standards into effect, a training of specialists in water accounting will be organized on the basis of CMC ICWC.
The plan of activities on the preparation for the 4th World Water Forum proposed by SIC ICWC was approved, and it was decided to send that to the EC IFAS for joint action. The membership of the regional working groups to prepare suggestions and reports on the forum subjects was confirmed. SIC ICWC was commissioned to collect opinions for processing and presenting at the virtual forum.
The ICWC members approved the work of the CAREWIB Project, and recognized further continuation of operations in the project directions expedient (taking remarks into account). The significance of the project in part of raising the confidence and transparency of activities of water organizations and water users in the basin, possibility of continually updating information on all the aspects of ICWC’s operation, as well as popularizing the activities of ICWC, was noted. The high level of participation of BVO Amudarya, BVO Syrdarya, national coordinator of Tajikistan and UzHydromet in establishing an information system was particularly underlined.
The participants in the meeting will take feasible measures for removing obstacles to involving Hydromets in the other Aral Sea basin states and the Regional Hydrological Center in the CAREWIB Project activities.
The Agreement on Water Information Exchange among the Aral Sea Basin States will be submitted for consideration and approval at the next regular meeting of the IFAS Board.
The 43rd regular ICWC meting is expected to be held in September 2005 in Tajikistan.
In addition, the ICWC members made a decision on the results of discussions at the round table “Improvement of the mechanism for water resources management and regulation in the Amudarya and Syrdarya river basins”.
In particular, an ADB initiative on maintenance and further development of water cooperation in the Aral Sea basin through joint action of national and regional organizations under the ADB regional protocol RETA 6163 “Improvement of shared water resources management in Central Asia” was approved.
ISC ICWC in association with BVO “Amudarya” and BVO “Syrdarya” was commissioned to prepare within a month a detailed work plan on two project components: (i) to organize regional discussions on water policy in the Aral Sea basin and (ii) organize trainings for representatives from regional and national water organizations in all Central Asian states.
The ICWC members are to prepare suggestions for establishing permanent working groups on regional water policy and improving water resources management within state on an inter-sectoral basis.
Within the framework of the project, an inventory of all operations carried out by the states to maintain joint management of the Amudarya and Syrdarya water resources will be taken.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
The Scientific-Information Center of ICWC has issued:
Publications of the ICWC Training Center, No.11 Climate Change: everyone’s business
Project “Regional Model for Integrated Water Resources Management in Twinning Basins” (Rivertwin)
- Concept of making an integrated Chirchik-Akhangaran-Keles sub-basin model
- Concept of fulfilling the task on work package 7 (WP-7) of the project
- Concept of implementing block “Public participation and awareness” of the project.
Project “Regional model for integrated water resources management in twinning basins” (Rivertwin), Periodical Report (01.03.2004-28.02.2005)
Guide to settling disputes and contradiction arising in water resources management and use
Berlin rules on water resources
Regional information system of the CAREWIB Project (series "CAREWIB Project Publications", issue 3)
Bulletin “European Science News” (based on CORDIS materials) No. 3 (2005)
ICC Bulletin, issue 12 (2005), Building a European Research Area (ERA) for further growth
ICC Bulletin, issue 11 (2005), Open INTAS Call 2005-2006
ICC Bulletin, issue 10 (2005), 2005 Work Program. Guide for proposal makers
ICC Bulletin, issue 9 (2005), Guide for reporting on FP6 projects
Spirit of Kyoto — on the way to Mexico (series "Towards the 4th World Water Forum", issue 3)
All the publications are available at: www.cawater-info.net/library/
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