1. Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Kazakhstan
GROUNDWATER
MANAGEMENT
IN
THE
SYR
DARYA
TRANSBOUNDARY
BASIN
THE
PROJECT
BACKGROUND,
JUSTIFICATION
AND
RATIONALE
By
ANDREA
MERLA
PROJECT
PREPARATION
PHASE
INCEPTION
MEETING
Paris
–
February
3-­‐4,
2014

2. HOW
THE
PROJECT
IDENTIFICATION
PROCESS
STARTED
2
workshops:
• UNESCO
–
OSCE
“An
integrated
approach
for
mulWdisciplinary
study
and
governance
of
the
transboundary
aquifers
of
Central
Asia”
September
2011,
Almaty
• UNDP
–
UNECE
“IWRM
implementaWon
in
Central
Asia:
current
pracWces
and
the
way
forward”
December
2011
Almaty
Popula'on
density
Government
nominated
experts
of
the
four
Central
Asian
countries
,
noWng
the
limited
naWonal
capacity
and
lack
of
internaWonal
support
in
groundwater
development
and
protecWon,
expressed
their
strong
desire
and
interest
in
having
a
mulWdisciplinary
groundwater
project
which
will
help
countries
in
these
challenging
and
difficult
issues

3. THE
PROJECT
ENVISIONED
BY
THE
CENTRAL
ASIAN
EXPERTS
INCLUDED:
(I) BUILDING
CAPACITY
ON
GROUNDWATER
POLICY,
TECHNICAL
ASPECTS
AND
INFORMATION
MONITORING
AND
EXCHANGE
ACROSS
BORDERS;
(II)
UTILIZATION
OF
SUBSURFACE
SPACE
IN
ORDER
TO
ADDRESS
CC,
SURFACE
WATER
FLOWS
AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
HAZARDS;
(III)
DIALOGUE
AMONG
STAKEHOLDERS
AND
RAISING
AWARENESS
OF
DECISION
MAKERS
ON
GROUNDWATER
GOVERNANCE
AND
POLICY;
(IV)
ELEMENTS
ON
CONFLICT
PREVENTION

4.
IN
RESPONSE
TO
THE
COUNTRIES
REQUESTS
AND
MANIFESTED
NEEDS,
UNESCO
IHP
AND
UNDP
HAVE
PREPARED
TOGETHER
WITH
THE
COUNTRIES
A
PROJECT
PROPOSAL,
FOR
SUBMISSION
TO
THE
GEF
FOR
FUNDING.
THE
GLOBAL
EMNVIRONMENTAL
BENEFITS
–
KEY
TO
GEF
ELIGIBILITY
-­‐
THAT
THE
PROJECT
WOULD
PRODUCE
FALL
INTO
TWO
CATEGORIES:
1)
ENHANCING
COOPERATION
AMONG
COUNTRIES
2)
DEMONSTRATING
THE
IMPORTANT
ROLE
OF
GROUNDWATER
IN
COPING
WITH
INCREASED
CLIMATE
VARIABILITY
AND
CHANGE,
BALANCING
WATER
USES,
AND
IMPROVING
OVERALL
SUSTAINABILITY
IN
COMPLEX
TRANSBOUNDARY
CONTEXTS.

5. THE
PROJECT
CONCEPT
(PIF),
TITLED
“ENABLING
COUNTRIES
OF
THE
TRANSBOUNDARY
SYR
DARYA
BASIN
TO
MAKE
SUSTAINABLE
USE
OF
THEIR
GROUNDWTER
POTENTIAL
AND
SUBSURFACE
SPACE
WITH
CONSIDERATION
TO
CLIMATE
VARIABILITY
AND
CHANGE”
WAS
ENDORSED
BY
KZAKHSTAN,
KYRGYZSTAN
AND
TAJIKISTAN
AND
SUBMITTED
TO
THE
GEF
COUNCIL
AND
APPROVED
IN
JUNE
2013.
LIMITED
FUNDS
FOR
PROJECT
PREPARATION
WERE
ALSO
GRANTED.

6. THE
SYR
DARYA
BASIN
SHARED
BY
UZBEKISTAN,
KAZAKHSTAN,
TAJIKISTAN
AND
KYRGYZSTAN
INCLUDES
THE
MOST
POPULATED
AREAS
IN
CENTRAL
ASIA
LARGE
HYDROPOWER
RESERVOIRS
WITH
A
TOTAL
VOLUME
OF
40KM3
SHRINKING
GLACIERS
AND
INCREASED
FREQUENCY
OF
EXTREME
EVENTS
With
the
collapse
of
the
Soviet
Union
and
creaWon
of
independent
states,
the
operaWon
regime
of
the
upstream
reservoirs
has
become
an
issue,
since
the
prioriWes
and
naWonal
interests
of
the
new
states
are
not
always
congruent,
determining
winter
downstream
floods
and
water
logging,
and
constraints
to
irrigaWon
in
summer
ISSUES
OF
CONCERN
land
and
water
degradaWon,
loss
of
the
key
environmental
services
provided
by
the
freshwater
ecosystems
of
the
basin.

7. SoluWons
that
focused
almost
exclusively
on
the
equitable
allocaWon
of
surface
water
flows
have
failed
It
has
been
argued
that
any
strategy
for
the
management
of
water
resources
in
the
basin
must
consider
its
huge
and
so
far
largely
disregarded
groundwater
resources.

8. Data
show
that
important
aquifers
occur
in
the
region,
but
their
role
and
regional
strategic
significance
are
not
being
recognized
These
shared
resources
must
be
managed
in
close
cooperaWon
with
neighboring
countries,
and
conjuncWvely
with
surface
water
as
part
of
a
fully
integrated
strategy.

9. Against
this
background,
the
project
will
aiempt
• to
strengthen
the
countries
ability
to
evaluate
the
quality
and
quanWty
of
their
groundwater
resources
(deep
and
shallow)
present
in
the
basin,
• to
assess
the
opportuniWes
for
improved
sustainability
that
groundwater
use
will
present
• to
manage
surface
and
groundwater
in
a
conjuncWve
manner
and
within
a
framework
of
transboudary
cooperaWon

10. GROUNDWATER
MANAGEMENT
IN
THE
SYR
DARYA
TRANSBOUNDARY
BASIN
For
discussion:
Groundwater
resources
are
not
fully
integrated
into
energy
–
water
–
food
–
environment
strategies
in
the
region.
This
is
the
assumpWon
at
the
basis
of
the
project.
Is
it
correct?
Could
increased
consideraWon
of
groundwater
resources
enhance
sustainability
and
ease
water
use
conflicts?
In
which
ways
and
fields
the
capacity
of
countries
in
groundwater
assessments
and
management
could
be
improved?
PROJECT
PREPARATION
PHASE
INCEPTION
MEETING
Paris
–
February
3-­‐4,
2014