SIC ICWC PARTICIPATED IN THE 3rd DUSHANBE CONFERENCE
The Third High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028 took place from 10 to 13 June 2024 in Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan. SIC ICWC took an active part in this Conference.
At the Central Asia Forum on Water and Climate Change organized by UNDP and the EU with the support of the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan on June 10, SIC ICWC Director Dinara Ziganshina presented the key report on “Regional water cooperation and climate resilience in Central Asia.” She presented an approach for joint consideration and application of the UN framework on adaptation and climate resilience and for SDG 5 on implementation of IWRM at all levels by 2030. This approach was developed by SIC ICWC and SIC ICSD for the UNDP/GCF Turkmenistan project “Developing a National Adaptation Planning Process in Turkmenistan”. She also emphasized that regional cooperation on water and climate change resilience should be focused on harmonized policies, smart partnerships and strengthened local experience and capacities. Work in this direction will be undertaken by SIC in partnership with OECD and UNECE.
At the Science and Technology Forum organized by USAID Central Asia’s Regional Water and Vulnerable Environment Activity, IWMI, SDC, and the Institute of Water Problems, Hydropower and Ecology at the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan (10 June) the Deputy Director of SIC ICWC spoke in the second session with the key report on “Water security outlook of administrative territories (provinces): methodology and assessment”. He presented the methodology and assessment of water security in administrative territories on the example of three provinces in Uzbekistan. The methodology was developed by SIC ICWC within the framework of a project supported by UNESCO. He also noted that this methodology will be improved and scaled up to the Aral Sea basin under the IKI-supported project “Regional mechanisms for the low-carbon, climate-resilient transformation of the energy-water-land nexus in Central Asia”.
Side event 6 “Towards the One Water Summit” was organized by the Governments of Kazakhstan and France on June 11. The Director of SIC ICWC presented the discussion paper “Rethinking institutional and financial mechanisms on water and energy cooperation in Central Asia”. She noted that the idea of a consortium is already becoming a reality in the region through the joint construction and operation of Sangtuda HPP-1 (Tajikistan-Russia) and Kambarata 1 (Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan).
Side event 7 “Finance and Investment for Water, Energy and Land-use Nexus in Central Asia” was organized by OECD, SIC ICWC and UNECE on June 11. The participants focused on the importance of financing water and energy cooperation and discussed how to get access to increased investments in water and energy sectors jointly with riparian countries. Successful practices of joint maintenance of interstate water infrastructure were cited. The key areas of future activities on financial and economic aspects of water management, including as part of the IKI-Nexus project implemented by OECD, SIC ICWC and UNECE in partnership with the CA countries were outlined.
Side event 10 “Strengthening Benefit Sharing in Central Asia: Role of Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus Approach” was organized by the International Water Management Institute and the Institute of Water Problems, Hydropower and Ecology at the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan on June 12. The Deputy Director Sherzod Muminov presented the key report “Financial and investment support of cooperation on water and energy in Central Asia: history, current status and world best practices”. The participants emphasized the need to meet more regularly with the experts from relevant national ministries and agencies on financing and mobilization of investments in the water sector at national and transboundary levels, with account of water, energy, food and ecosystem nexus.
Interactive dialogue 4. Water for Cooperation: Transboundary and International Water Cooperation, Cross-Sectoral Cooperation, including Scientific Cooperation, and Water Across the 2030 Agenda was organized by Senegal and Switzerland on June 12. The key rapporteurs included the Deputy Executive Secretary of UNECE Dmitriy Mariyasin, the Secretary General of INBO Eric Tardieu, the Director of SIC ICWC Dinara Ziganshina. Ms. Ziganshina focused on the importance of scientific evidence based water cooperation in the region. The key takeaway from Interactive Dialogue 4 is that everything is important to build transboundary cooperation. One never knows what works out: political will or bottom up approaches, multilateralism or bilateralism, intersectional interaction or science-policy interface - or all of these together. We all just have to work on our strengths to contribute our part to joint endeavors towards peace and wellbeing of people.
Deputy Director Sh. Muminov took part in the field trip to the Rogun HPP under construction organized on June 13.
The Rogun HPP is a hydropower project under construction in the Vakhsh cascade. Upon completion, the dam of Rogun HPP will become the highest dam in the world – 335 m, and the hydropower plant will generate 3600 MW (as compared to 3000 MW of Nurek HPP) to become the largest HPP in Central Asia. The construction is to be finished in 2029, and the hydropower plant is to be officially launched in 2031.
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