Azerbaijan’s National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) was launched on 12 October 2010 in Baku. Representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economy, Public Health, Industry and Energy, as well as water companies, non-governmental organizations and academia, gathered at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources on Tuesday for the first meeting of the Steering Committee of this process.
The main focus of the National Policy Dialogue is the development of a governmental strategy for management of water resources based on the principles outlined in the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) and its Protocol on Water and Health, as well as other United Nations and EU instruments. Transboundary water cooperation with neighbouring Georgia, specifically the preparation of a bilateral agreement on management of shared transboundary waters, is another important issue on the National Policy Dialogue agenda. The policy dialogue in Azerbaijan will also build on recommendations of the recently completed Second UNECE Environmental Performance Review.
The Government of Azerbaijan is committed to the improvement of the country’s environment; in addition to launching of the National Policy Dialogue on water, a comprehensive State programme aimed at improvement of the environmental situation in Azerbaijan for the period 2010–2014 is expected to be adopted in the near future.
The National Policy Dialogue on water is the main operational instrument of the EU Water Initiative (EUWI), an international partnership that aims to contribute to the achievement of the water-related Millennium Development Goals. UNECE is the EUWI strategic partner responsible for coordination of National Policy Dialogues on IWMR in countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Implementation of the EUWI National Policy Dialogues on IWRM is supported in 2010–2012 by the European Commission and the
Governments of Finland, Denmark and Switzerland.
For more information, please visit: www.unece.org/env/water/npd.
Ref: ECE/ENV/10/P31