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NPD Steering Committee in Turkmenistan adopts principles for a draft Water Code

The development of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Turkmenistan reached a new milestone on 5 April with the adoption of principles for  the draft Water Code. 
The draft Water Code is being developed within the framework of the National Policy Dialogue (NPD) by the Turkmen inter-ministerial expert group with participation of experts from UNECE and UNDP. Following the approval by the NPD Steering Committee, it is expected that the legislative coordination process on the draft Water Code will start soon. The principles in the draft code include Integrated Water Resource Management, saving water, public participation and access to information. Its elaboration was fostered by the recent accession of Turkmenistan to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) on 29 August 2012. 
The meeting was supported by the “Water Management and Basin Organisations in Central Asia” project, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Transboundary Water Management in Central Asia Programme. 
For further information please visit: http://www.unece.org/env/water/npd 
Contact information:
Mr. Peep Mardiste
Regional Coordinator of EUWI National Policy Dialogues
E-mail: [email protected]
 
Note to editors 
The UNECE-led NPD in Turkmenistan was initiated in December 2010 in the framework of the European Union Water Initiative. Co-chaired by Ahmet Muhammedov, Deputy Minister of Water Economy, and Djumamurad Saparmuradov, Deputy Minister of Nature Protection, the policy dialogue enhances inter-sectoral cooperation on water resources management and protection. The NPD Steering Committee brings together over 20 ministries, agencies and stakeholders involved in various aspects of water policy development and implementation. 
National Policy Dialogues on integrated water resources management (IWRM) and water supply and sanitation (WSS) are the main operational instrument of the European Union Water Initiative (EUWI) Component for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The EUWI was launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (2002). UNECE is the strategic partner to support the policy dialogue process on IWRM, whereas the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is the strategic partner for WSS and financial aspects of IWRM. National Policy Dialogues are under way in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. The National Policy Dialogue on IWRM in Turkmenistan is supported by the European Commission and the Government of Norway. Organizational support to this policy dialogue is provided by the United Nations Development Programme in Turkmenistan. 
The 1992 UNECE Water Convention aims to strengthen national measures and transboundary cooperation for the protection and ecologically sound management of transboundary surface waters and groundwaters. Thirty-eight States and the European Union are Parties to the Water Convention. The Convention was amended in 2003 to open it to countries outside the UNECE region (including Afghanistan) to become Parties. The amendment entered into force on 6 February 2013. It is expected that non-UNECE countries would be able to join the Convention as of end 2013 - early 2014.

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