At a roundtable in Astana on March 6, experts discussed the prospects and priorities of the partnership between the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Kazakhstan in sustainable water resources management and irrigation.
Viorel Gutu, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, spoke of his recent meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, where the official decision to launch a new partnership program between FAO and Kazakhstan was approved, The Caspian Post reports citing Kazakh media.
“This is a landmark event confirming the importance of water issues at the national level and the need for urgent action to ensure sustainable water use,” said Gutu.
In September 2024, FAO conducted a field mission to Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda, Turkistan, and Zhambyl regions to identify program areas related to water management and irrigation in agriculture. The program concept is under development now. Under this partnership, most projects will address transboundary issues, reflecting the interstate nature of water sector problems.
“One of the subtleties highlighted by the regional review, which we cannot ignore today, is that any nationwide assessments of water security can mask important differences within a country. This is particularly true for countries with large territories, such as Kazakhstan,” said Gutu.
“In addition, currently available water data generally do not reflect urban-rural, gender, age or social inequalities. Finally, the impact of climate change on water security is not reflected in the existing SDG 6 water-related indicators used in water security assessments. This is a summary of some of the challenges facing water management. But today, we are here to find solutions,” he added.
This partnership program builds on the cooperation strengthened by last year’s visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to FAO headquarters in Rome, where he met with FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu. Gutu announced that the FAO Director-General will be making a return visit to Astana to participate in the Astana International Forum scheduled to take place on May 29-30.
Zulfiya Suleimenova, the advisor to the President of Kazakhstan - Special Representative of the President on International Environmental Cooperation, said that Kazakhstan, being a landlocked country, is at the forefront of the fight against climate change and its impacts.
“Among the sectors most exposed to the effects of climate change today are agriculture and water resources. In Kazakhstan, around 65% of the total water consumption is used in the domestic sector and just over 30% in the industrial sector. At the same time, significant volumes are lost during transportation. Thus, ensuring sustainability of agricultural production and industrial development is closely interrelated with efficient water consumption,” she said.
Suleimenova also outlined areas where Kazakhstan is actively working and where an enhanced partnership with FAO could bring significant benefits. These include the preservation of inland water bodies, glacier preservation, and transboundary cooperation.
“Kazakhstan is ready to become a center of regional cooperation in the field of water security and climate change, where innovative methods of water resources management, transboundary cooperation and adaptation to climate change will be key topics,” concluded Suleimenova.
Nurlan Aldamzharov, Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, emphasized the need to enhance regional cooperation, highlighting the country’s ongoing efforts in this area.
“Kazakhstan, a country that shares almost half of its hydro resources with its neighbors, is a party to the Water Convention (Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes). For 24 years of membership in it, our country has been able to achieve significant results in promoting cooperation in the use and protection of transboundary water resources. In particular, intergovernmental agreements have been signed with neighboring countries regulating relations on joint use and protection of water resources,” he said.
“Last year, Kazakhstan acceded to the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. This document is a global legal mechanism to promote equitable and sustainable management of transboundary rivers and lakes and associated groundwater around the world,” added Aldamzharov.
