ASTANA. On May 4 the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia organised a seminar «Qualitative and quantitative status of the transboundary waters in the Shu-Talas river basin and supplementation of the transboundary rivers with gauging stations».
The participants of the seminar were the representatives of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Committee of Water Resources of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazhydromet, the Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Water Economy, Basin inspectorates of Kazakhstan, UNDP, OSCE as well as academic and business community.
Trainers of the seminar were Ms Gulmira Satymkulova - head of the Kyrgyz part of the Chu-Talas commission Secretariat, Ms Indira Akbozova - head of the Kazakh part of the Chu-Talas commission Secretariat and Ms Nuriya Umarbayeva – chief specialist of the water management division of the Chu Basin Water Management Department of Department of Water Resources and Melioration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Melioration of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The successful experience of the Chu-Talas commission on interstate use of water management facilities was noted at the seminar. The Secretariat of the Chu-Talas commission carries out its activities in accordance with the regulation of the Secretariat, approved by the commission on December 22, 2006. The main goal of the secretariat is to ensure the activities of the commission and implement its decisions on bilateral cooperation on the Chu and Talas rivers.
Trainers explained that the commission is a platform for the development and implementation of joint measures for the protection and rational use of water resources, taking into account the needs of the population and economic facilities of the two states. The commission holds meetings 2 times a year alternatively in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
At the end of the seminar, participants from the Basin inspectorates noted the importance of the work of interstate secretariats on transboundary water basins to improve and regulate water disposal.
It is also worth noting that a press briefing with the presentation of the program of the Central Asian International Environmental Forum 2018 was held as part of the seminar. Read more about the press briefing by the link.
Smart Waters project is implemented by CAREC with the support of the United States Agency for International Development USAID during the period 2015-2020. The overall objective of the project is to enhance regional cooperation on shared water resources. Specifically, Smart Waters addresses the knowledge dis-lock in the region in the water sector, builds working relations among water managers and specialists, and demonstrates the potential of the basin management approach and cooperation with the academia.
