Preface
Dear readers,
We are pleased to present the fourth edition of our Water Yearbook. The year 2020 has been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdown and self-isolation affected our daily life and changed communications and information flows. Within weeks, work, studies, meetings and communication of most of us have moved to an online space and made the humankind even closer to the information society. Despite the pandemic, the water sector kept functioning in the Central Asian countries and all over the world as reflected in the Yearbook.
The High-Level Conference “Green Central Asia” as part of the implementation of the new EU Strategy for CA and Afghanistan, the Central Asian Conference on Climate Change, the International Conference “Give Life to Aral”, the Symposium “Ecological Restoration and Management of the Aral Sea”, and the Regional Conference “Silk Road of Knowledge” were the important events shown among others in the 2020 Calendar.
In 2020, ICWC members met at its regular meetings in the online format on 10 April and 24 November. New members were appointed to represent Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan in ICWC. The executive bodies of ICWC and ICSD and the regional organizations continued working on water and environmental matters. In late 2020, under the chairmanship of Tajikistan, IFAS set to work on the regional dialogue on institutional and legal improvement of the Fund and the implementation of ASBP-4 (IFAS and Other Regional Organizations in Central Asia).
The Central Asian Presidents exchanged on bilateral or regional partnership via telephone calls. Cooperation was maintained within the framework of the Chu-Talas Water Commission, working groups on water management (Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan), Commission on Environment Protection and Water Quality in the Syr Darya River Basin and other water-related arrangements (Bilateral Water Cooperation between the Countries of Central Asia).
SIC ICWC together with the International Innovation Center for the Aral Region (IICAR) under the President of Uzbekistan conducted the second expedition on the exposed bed of the Aral Sea from 28 May to 26 June 2020. The results of the first and second expeditions (2019-2020) are described in section on Water Management Situation in the Aral Sea Basin.
As usual, the Yearbook presents key water developments in the CA countries, activities of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, international water organizations and initiatives, as well as activities of international partners in the region. Particular attention is paid to water related events in Africa, Asia, America, Australia and Oceania, Europe and Middle East. Such topics as capacity building in the region and activities of leading research institutes in the EECCA countries are updated in the sections dedicated to Water Education and Science and Innovations, respectively.
In addition to annual updates on climate change and SDGs progress, this year Thematic Reviews reflect on global hydropower development in 2020 and the Sardoba dam collapse. The later event had a devastating effect on both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan but also illustrated cohesive work of two countries in dealing with its consequences.
In its final sections, the Yearbook contains information about key publications, Central Asia water awards, risks in 2021 and 2021 water calendar.
We would like to thank for all contributions made to this edition of the Yearbook in response to our requests. Special thanks are due to the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for their financial support.
Last but not the least. When the 2020 edition of the Yearbook was nearing completion, our Leader, Mentor and Visionary Professor Viktor Dukhovniy passed away. He will be forever missed but his legacy will remain strong.