With its strong mining industry, mountainous areas and high seismic hazards, prevention and preparedness for disasters and climate change adaptation are high on Tajikistan’s agenda. In particular, the increasing frequency and severity of weather events due to climate change can undermine the safety of sites storing mining waste (known as “tailings”), both in the country and also across borders. This can lead to disastrous consequences, including accidental water pollution or NATECH accidents (natural hazards triggering technological accidents).
In this context, strengthening the knowledge base on existing risks and considering climate change in issuing permits and siting of tailing management facilities should be key actions for the future. UNECE continues to work with Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries in addressing these challenges to strengthen resilience.
To support these efforts, the third meeting of the Inter-Institutional Working Group on Tailings Safety and the Prevention of Accidental Water Pollution (IIWG) was held in Tajikistan on 15 May 2024. The IIWG is a regular multi-stakeholder policy dialogue between authorities, operators of mine tailings facilities and other interested stakeholders dealing with industrial safety, water management, environmental protection, climate change and disaster risk reduction. Since its official establishment in October 2022, the IIWG has proven to be an effective means to strengthen intersectoral cooperation, coordination, the exchange of information and ensure policy coherence.
The meeting brought together representatives from national authorities, such as the Service of the State Supervision of Safe Work in Industry and Mining Supervision, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, the Ministry of Industry of New Technologies, the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense, Committee for Environmental Protection as well as top managers of mining operators, academia and international organizations. For the first time, representatives from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Population and from the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan also participated.
Mr. Rahim Sanat Aso, Chairman of the Service of the State Supervision of Safe Work in Industry and Mining Supervision under the Government of Tajikistan, stressed the important role of the IIWG as a platform to enhance interinstitutional cooperation between competent authorities and invited participants to exchange ideas and use the meeting as a window of opportunity.
Ms. Sharifa Khudobakhsh, Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources, highlighted the importance of implementing the National Water Resources Strategy of Tajikistan, in particular the need to further work on integrated water resources management and the harmonization of legislation, to ensure an effective transition from policies to actions, including in the areas of industrial safety and the prevention of accidental water pollution.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to review the recent steps taken by Tajikistan towards accession to the UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents. Tajikistan, while not yet a Party to the Convention, has been a beneficiary of the Convention’s Assistance and Cooperation Programme since 2005. Mr. Ardasher Mirzozoda, First Deputy Chairman of the Service of the State Supervision of Safe Work in Industry and Mining Supervision under the Government of Tajikistan informed that the Service has initiated the process of accession by presenting the proposal to the government.
It was also agreed that the recommendations from the legal analysis on the Convention would be shared with all authorities for their review and comments, with a view to take these into consideration when preparing amendments to relevant legislation. Participants stressed the importance of the EW4All Initiative, in which Tajikistan participates as one of 30 priority countries, to consider industrial/tailings facilities as part of the national automated early warning and monitoring system. This was considered a first step towards ensuring the compatibility of the operators’ early warning systems with the national centralized system. To this end, it was also agreed that the Service of the State Supervision of Safe Work in Industry and Mining Supervision under the Government of Tajikistan would join the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and inform them about the results of the work of the IIWG.
The meeting was organized thanks to financing provided by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) under the leadership of the State Supervision of Safe Work in Industry and Mining Supervision under the Government of Tajikistan with the support of UNECE.
Through these multi-stakeholder policy dialogues, Tajikistan is further strengthening its capacity to prevent, prepare for and respond to industrial accidents, including those with transboundary effects. Further information about the 3rd IIWG meeting is available at: https://unece.org/info/Environmental-Policy/Industrial-Accidents/events/390754