OSCE supports Shu-Talas Water Basin Council meeting in Kazakhstan

An OSCE-supported regular meeting of the Shu-Talas Water Basin Council, followed by a training seminar on climate change adaptation measures, took place on 26 July 2017 in Taraz, southern Kazakhstan.

Some 45 water experts from governmental, private and civil society organizations of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan participated in the event organized by the Programme Office in Astana in co-operation with the Shu-Talas Water Basin Council, the Zhambyl local administration and the non-governmental organization Water Partnership. The participants were familiarized with climate change adaptation measures implemented in Kazakhstan’s part of the Shu-Talas river basin and learned about the instruments of climate financing available from various international institutions. As a result of the discussions, a set of recommendations was developed on the methods of data exchange to ensure better irrigation and efficient transboundary water co-operation.

This project is part of the Programme Office’s long-standing efforts to raise awareness and build capacity of the state institutions in the area of water governance at the basin level. It goes in line with the decision of the Maastricht’s Ministerial Council on the OSCE Strategy Document for the Economic and Environmental Dimension that underlines the importance of water diplomacy in the regional context and public involvement in respective decision-making.