The participants of the Central Asian sub-regional Preparatory Conference for the 7th World Water Forum, representing governments, international and regional organizations, various UN agencies, financial institutions, civil society and other stakeholders of the Central Asian sub-region, including the countries of Central Asia, Caucasus and Mongolia,

Considering the timely preparation of coordinated Central Asian sub-regional agenda for the 7th World Water Forum as well as making worthy contribution to this global event important and necessary;

Providing the presence of water, energy and other natural resources in the Central Asian sub-region in order to achieve sustainable development;

Noting the importance of achieving sustainable water management in the sub-region to address the socio-economic and environmental problems;

Stressing the importance of water cooperation, especially at the transboundary level to address water issues, including the measures on adaption to new challenges;

Taking into account the need to take coordinated decisions on the priority themes of the 7th World Water Forum to promote and implement water issues in the sub-region,

discussed the following priority themes of the 7th World Water Forum in the context of existing and potential future water problems of the Central Asian sub-region:

• Enough safe water for all;
• Managing risk and uncertainty for resilience and disaster preparedness;
• SMART implementation of IWRM;
• Green growth, caring for water and industrial development;
• Infrastructure for sustainable water management and water services;
• Co-operation to reduce conflicts and improve the management of transboundary waters

and noted the following:

• Not all of the population of the sub-region has access to safe water and necessary sanitation. Provision of safe water in sufficient quantity for all should be the priority in national development policies and programs;
• The existing problems in the Aral Sea Basin as well as new global and regional challenges require urgent interventions on adaptation measures in the sub-region countries to achieve resilience. Among these challenges, the most provocative and requiring adequate measures include climate change, resulting in an intense melting of glaciers and water loss; ecosystem degradation; and population growth, leading to increased water consumption.
• Integrated water resources management is important tool for linking various types of water use and solving many existing and emerging water issues. Sub-region countries are at the initial path to the transition to IWRM and make every effort for its success based on the successful experiences and best practices from other countries and river basins. Full transition to the IWRM requires adequate resources, including time, human, financial and technical.
• Water resources are a major component of the Green economy. Green development can be promoted by linking economic, social and environmental dimensions of water and enhancing them through new innovative technologies and infrastructure. Water resources can play a special role as a renewable energy source as well as for the socio-economic well-being. At the same time, economic growth and industrial development in the sub-region should be implemented in such a way as to avoid increasing stress on water resources.
• Improvement and modernization of water infrastructure in the sub-region, the introduction of water and energy-saving technologies as well as the construction of new infrastructure are important tasks in order to achieve sustainable water management and provide adequate water services.
• Strengthening dialogue and mutual understanding and developing partnership and cooperation, especially at the transboundary level, play key role in solving many problems. It is necessary to develop specific and effective cooperation tools for effective transboundary water management.

The conference participants, in consideration of the premises, as well as other major points of the discussions in plenary and thematic sessions, address:

• The governments of the sub-region to make further efforts to improve the legal and institutional frameworks, involve and use modern technologies, increase funding and other appropriate tools and approaches as well as strengthen water cooperation to address the above issues and implement the proposed measures;
• The financial institutions, international organizations, donor countries and other development partners to provide sub-region countries the full support, including financial, technical and technological in order to achieve the main objectives of sustainable development, especially related to water resources;
• The private sector in the sub-region to contribute to solving water issues and implementation of "green" technologies through new investments, in particular through public-private partnerships;
• The civil society of the sub-region to participate actively in discussions of water issues and join forces with the government, private sector and international organizations to address them.

The conference participants also:

• Express their solidarity to the efforts of the international community to integrate water resources into the post-2015 development agenda, as a top priority as well as proper reflection of water in the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Call on all stakeholders to continue consultations in the framework of the preparatory process for the 7th World Water Forum and other international formats.
• Approach the Global Water Partnership of Central Asia and Caucasus (GWP CACENA), a sub-regional coordinator of the Central Asia sub-region, to prepare a draft of the consolidated vision of the sub-region on the priority themes of the 7th World Water Forum on the basis of conference discussions; and hold consultations with all stakeholders to prepare its final version with subsequent submission on the Forum in the form of a parallel event; as well as to assist stakeholders to be involved in the thematic and regional processes of the Forum.

Conference participants thank the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Secretariat of ICWC, GWP CACENA and other partners for the excellent organization of the conference and creating the favorable conditions for fruitful work as well as the hosts for their warm hospitality.

Accepted 9 July 2014
Dushanbe, Tajikistan