Dushanbe
The Steering Committee of the National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resource Management (NPD/IWRM) met for the second time in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Nineteen policy-makers, including the Minister of Land Reclamation and Water Management and two deputy ministers; representatives of 18 ministries and agencies of Tajikistan involved in water management, international and non-governmental organizations gathered for this important meeting, which was supported by the UNECE Secretariat, the EU, German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Based on a decision of the Government of Tajikistan, the Steering Committee was established in 2010 to advance water reform and to provide for inter-ministerial coordination.
The Steering Committee discussed the progress of water sector reform in Tajikistan and transboundary water issues. The decision was taken to establish an interministerial working group that will meet on a regular basis between the sessions of the committee in order to give continuity to the initiative. For example, it will develop recommendations to improve water legislation. The committee also adopted a roadmap for implementation of the NPD/IWRM in Tajikistan. A mapping of major stakeholders and programmes was also presented.
Other highlights of the meeting included the discussion of transboundary water issues. In particular, the 1992 UNECE Water Convention was analyzed as a potential instrument and forum for dialogue. Several projects on transboundary cooperation of Tajikistan with Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan were presented.
The meeting took place back-to-back with the PrepCom Conference “Towards Rio+20: Water Cooperation Issues”, which was organized by the Government of Tajikistan and UNDESA and will held on 19-20 October 2011.
More information on the EU Water Initiative National Policy Dialogue on IWRM is available at the website www.unece.org/env/water/npd.html
or contact:
Ms. Gulnara Roll, EUWI Coordinator
Environment Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Phone : +41 (0) 22 917 22 57
Fax :    +41 (0) 22 917 06 21
E-mail: [email protected]
Note to Editors:
The UNECE-supported National Policy Dialogues on IWRM programme assist governments of the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucausus and Central Asia in promoting implementation of the IWRM in line with the principles of the UNECE Water Convention, the Protocol on Water and Health, the EU Water Framework Directive and other UNECE and European Union instruments.
National Policy Dialogues on IWRM are the main operational instrument of the European Union Water Initiative (EUWI), an international partnership that aims at contributing to the achievement of the water related Millennium Development Goals. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is the strategic partner to support the policy dialogue process on integrated water resources management. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is the strategic partner for water supply and sanitation.
Implementation of the EUWI National Policy Dialogues on IWRM is supported in 2010 – 2012 by the European Commission, governments of Finland, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland. The National Policy Dialogue in Tajikistan is supported by the funds of the EU, the UNECE, governments of Germany and Denmark.