3rd World Water Forum: Regional Cooperation for Shared Water Resources Management
Sharing water resources is a challenge at community and river basin levels. Managing scarce water resources among competing uses-such as for drinking water supply, industry, agriculture, and other uses-becomes even more challenging when users live in bordering countries and share the same water resource.
Sharing water resources involves cooperation at various levels
- Among local communities, where water users compete for basic water needs
- Within the river basin, where local governments and administrative units compete for access and use of the water resource (such as for irrigation, industry, drinking water, or domestic use)
- Where waters cross international boundaries and arrangements among riparian countries are necessary to manage water resources for mutual benefit and arrive at collaborative solutions
The experience of the five Central Asian republics (CARs) in sharing the waters of the Aral Sea basin - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan-contributes significantly to the growing knowledge on shared water resources management.
The Aral Sea, billed as the worst ecological disaster in human history, shrunk by half in just 35 years. One major factor for this disaster is the diversion of water from the two major rivers flowing into the Aral Sea-the Amudarya and Syrdarya-for economic purposes. Ninety two percent (92%) of this water is used for irrigation.
The CARs currently face a big dilemma-pursue irrigation to promote and maintain agriculture, or save the Aral Sea. Since their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the CARs have been working hard to develop fair and rational bases for sharing and using their water resources.
ADB organized a thematic session at the 3rd World Water Forum (3WWF) for Shared Water Resources Management. This focused on opportunities and challenges experienced in the management of Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers in the Aral Sea basin.
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- Explore current experience, issues, constraints and opportunities for regional cooperation in shared water resources in central Asia
- Identify policy, legal and institutional issues, constraints and opportunities
- Formulate strategic directions for regional cooperation and define ADB's role in facilitating such cooperation
ADB's partners for this theme were the Interstate Coordination Water Commission and the United Nations University.
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- The CARs' continued efforts at joint water resources management and use in Central Asia have resulted in successful attempts at finding sustainable solutions to water issues. Among these are:
- Establishment of the Interstate Coordination Water Commission
- Establishment of the International Fund for the Aral Sea and the Aral Sea Basin Program
- Prevention of water conflicts
- Developments in cooperation on regional water management, including basin-wide water and energy use agreements
- Among the many issues that remain unresolved and will need continued development are
- Harmonizing water management strategies and codes among the CARs
- Enhancing the roles of regional water management bodies
- Developing new or improving existing agreements on water management and use
- Improving water allocation to account developing economic sectors in the CARs
- Providing adequate financing of water infrastructure
- The linkages of water management with the environment, social development and other economic sectors are essential for the sustainable development of CARs and will require:
- Development of concepts of integrated management relevant to the region
- Development of an approach to water management which embraces the multisectoral nature of the problems in the region
- Connection of water management to market incentives to improve efficiency
- Development og water user associations and other-non-governmental organizations
- Enhancement of regional institutions and organizations engaged in water management
- Among the main recommendations from the session are the following:
- Contribute to environmental stabilization and improved management of transboundary water systems through formulation of coherent national and regional environmental management policies and strategies
- Improve reservoirs and dam management
- Undertake more intensive monitoring of transboundary water flows in terms of quality and quantity
- Raise awareness among the general public on the complex nature of the issues
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Session Report on Regional Cooperation
in Shared Water Resources in Central Asia- Past Experiences and Future Challenges
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