Third phase
The establishment of a training centre for the safety of hydrotechnical installations in Taraz, Kazakhstan has been facilitated by the project. In February 2013 a seminar “training the trainers” was held with the support of the Diagnostic Centre of Gosvodkhoznadzor of Uzbekistan. Further training for participants from Central Asian countries were supported in 2014.
In cooperation with ESCAP and with support of the Russian Federation a training seminar on the safety of small dams was organised in Moscow 30 June - 2 July 2014.
In the framework of the bilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on dam safety of individual dams and other hydrotechnical installations, work was initiated to establish an automated monitoring system for the Kirov dam on the transboundary Talas river. A safety review was also made in 2013 of the Ortotokoi dam on the transboundary Chu river. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation has made funds available for improving the monitoring system at this dam.
In 2015 efforts to develop national legal and institutional frameworks for dam safety were made in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. In both cases this work was done in cooperation with OSCE. In Tajikistan a strategy was developed for the development of the institution established in 2014 with the responsibility for dam safety. In Kazakhstan contributions were made to the preparation of new legislation on dam safety.
A safety monitoring system on the Ortotokoi dam in Kyrgyzstan was installed in the framework of the project and inaugurated in the autumn of 2015. See report below.The key substantive elements on the regional level in 2015 are: work on low-pressure dams and renewal of “rules for exploitation”. Consultancy reports on these issues are found below. A regional meeting took place in December 2015.
A regional meeting on cooperation on dam safety in Central Asia took place on 1-2 March 2017 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The meeting was organized in cooperation with the Executive Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EB IFAS) in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The primary objective of the event was to review main results of the activities on dam safety in Central Asia and to discuss suggestions on priority areas for further development of cooperation to ensure the safety of hydrotechnical installations at the national and regional levels. In addition, the purpose of the meeting was to facilitate exchange of knowledge, good practices and relevant experience among participants. The meeting was attended by 14 participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Representatives of EB-IFAS, Rostekhnadzor, UNDP, OSCE, the World Bank, the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia, the Training Center for the Safety of Hydraulic Structures, the Center for Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction also attended the meeting. The report of the meeting with a list of participants and agenda of the meeting can be found here.
The next regional meeting on cooperation on dam safety in Central Asia organized in cooperation with the Executive Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in the Republic of Kazakhstan was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 30-31 May 2018. The meeting was attended by 35 participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of IFAS, Rostechnadzor, UNDP, OSCE, World Bank, Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia and Training Center for Safety of Hydraulic Structures. The report of the meeting with a list of participants and a meeting’s agenda is available in English and in Russian.
With the aim to provide institutional and legal strengthening of the Dam Safety Service in Tajikistan, a training seminar on capacity building was held as part of the project on 2 - 4 October 2018 in Nurek, the Republic of Tajikistan.
With support from the project a regional training workshop was conducted in Taraz, Kazakhstan on 16-18 October 2018. The workshop was organized and hosted by the Training Center for the Safety of Hydraulic Structures and aimed to improve the skills of water management specialists in Central Asian countries in the field of hydraulic structures safety.
On 1-3 May 2019 the project supported a number of activities. A regional meeting enabled countries take stock of the results achieved under the project as well as exchange experiences. Two bilateral meetings discussed opportunities for developing transboundary cooperation on dam safety. Finally, the events aimed to raise awareness on the problems of safe management of dams among donor and development organizations, deepen and expand cooperation in the area and mobilize additional support. The events’ programme, proceedings, and outcomes could be obtained here (RUS).
Round table on improving regulatory and institutional frameworks for ensuring the safety of hydraulic structures in Kyrgyzstan was conducted on September 10, 2019, in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan (RUS). The immediate objective of the meeting was to discuss the improvement of national legislation and national regulatory and technical framework for the safety of hydraulic structures. In addition, the event was aimed to discuss cooperation opportunities in the field of dam management in Central Asia, as well as issues of harmonization of the legal frameworks and regulatory documents.
During 7 - 11 October, 2019 the project jointly with the Vodohospodarska vystavba, s. o. e. (VV) organized a study-tour and a workshop for 20 Central Asian dam and water management experts. Participants also included specialists from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Water Resources and Executive Office of President. Established in 1953 the VV has accumulated a wealth of experience in the area of design, construction and management of dams including located on transboundary rivers, as well as in the area of technical safety supervision, monitoring, automated and early warning systems and conflict resolution. Through the site visits, Central Asian experts were exposed to hands-on practices applied by the VV in the operation of dams, measuring equipment, analysis process and non-destructive testing techniques. A particularly relevant and important for Central Asian countries is the experience of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with its riparian states on the dams located on transboundary rivers. The Hungary-Slovakia Danube River (Water Structure System Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project) dispute was presented as the case study demonstrating participants how the competing interests should be balanced to the benefit of all parties involved.
Due to the impact of COVID-19 during 2020, the in-person regional meeting had been cancelled. Instead, countries requested to hold an online meeting that took place on 15 June, 2020. Following the recommendations and decisions of the meeting UNECE shared the draft regional agreement on dam safety in Central Asia with the countries for their consideration and initial comments.
The final regional meeting under the project took place on June 23, 2021. The meeting was conducted on-line and gathered 24 officials from all Central Asian countries. The key items of the meeting’s agenda included a discussion of: the draft regional agreement on dam safety, a publication on the safety of dams in Central Asia, and strengthening the national legal frameworks governing the dams in the countries. The meeting participants have also discussed the possibility of using the existing regional bodies that could serve as a platform to effectively address regional and transboundary challenges associated with the dams.
| Meeting and other reports | ENG | RUS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training workshop on establishment of an international training center for the safety of hydraulic structures in the city of Taraz (Taraz, Kazakhstan, 11-15 February 2013) | |||
| Regional Meeting on Dam Safety Cooperation in Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan, 19-20 November 2013) | |||
| 1st training seminar on safety of hydraulic structures (Taraz, Kazakhstan, 14-18 April 2014) | – | ||
| 2nd training seminar on safety of hydraulic structures (Taraz, Kazakhstan, 26-30 May 2014) | – | ||
| National Roundtable on Dam Safety (Astana, Kazakhstan, 17 September 2014) | – | ||
| Regional Meeting on Dam Safety Cooperation in Central Asia (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 11-12 November 2014) | link to the documents |
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| Training on Dam Safety (Shymkent, Kazakhstan, 19-21 November 2014) | – | ||
| Regional meeting on Dam Safety cooperation in Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan, 3-4 December 2015) | link to the documents | ||
| Report on the Orto-Tokoi safety monitoring | |||
| Guidelines for the preparation of a national programme for safe exploitation of low-pressure hydrotechnical installations for countries in Central Asia | |||
| Instructions for development, consultations and approval of rules for exploitation of hydrotechnical installation in Central Asia | |||
| Modern methods and technology for the safety of hydrotechnical installations | |||
| World Bank publication on dam safety | |||
| International workshop on hydraulic engineering facility safety for participants from central asian countries (St. Petersburg, Russia, 25-28 April 2016) | link to the documents | ||
| Regional meeting on Dam Safety Cooperation in Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan, 1-2 March 2017) | link to the documents | ||
| Bulletins on dam safety provided by Kazgidroproject | link to the brochures | ||
| Report of the regional meeting on cooperation on dam safety in Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan, 30-31 May 2018) | ENG RUS | ||
| Draft model regulations for the conservation and liquidation of hydrotechnical installations in Central Asia (2018) | RUS | ||