Section 6
United Nations and its specialized agencies

6.4. UN Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region in Uzbekistan

On 27 November, the UN Headquarters in New York hosted a High-Level Event on the launch of the UN Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region in Uzbekistan (MPHSTF).

MPHSTF Activities in 2020

By signing MoU between the UN Participating Organizations (PUNOs) and the UN MPTF Office, WHO on 24 March has joined MPHSTF to successfully address health-related problems within the framework of one of the strategic goals of the Fund - ensuring health security of the population in the Aral Sea region.

On 14 July, the 4th meeting of the Steering Committee of MPHSTF was held to review the results of the evaluation of proposals submitted within the Second Call for Proposals. Representatives of UNICEF and UNDP made a brief presentation on the implementation of joint projects approved in accordance with the decision of the second meeting of the Steering Committee (June 3, 2019). One of the main items on the agenda of the meeting was the discussion and decision on the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Sustainable Development of the Aral Sea region on the platform of the Trust Fund, established per the decision of the Steering Committee of 16 December 2019.

On 1 December, UN in Uzbekistan in cooperation with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan jointly hosted the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Committee in support of sustainable development in the Aral Sea Region. Participants of the Advisory Committee agreed to establish two working groups and a technical-level working group, comprised of the members of the Advisory Committee. Working groups will (1) focus on sustainable investments and will guide and oversee the systems innovation approach for sustainable development of the Aral Sea region, building on Uzbekistan’s sustainable development and poverty reduction strategies, as well as other relevant national and regional development priorities; (2) strengthen the visibility of the Aral Sea region to ensure raising awareness of the international community about the situation in the Aral Sea region as well as effectively communicating the results of joint initiatives. The Technical Group will focus on data and assessments to provide evidence and rationale for portfolio analysis and investments.

Financial Support to MPHSTF. According to the MPTF Office, under standard agreements US $1.5 million, €1 million, and US $5.5 million were allocated by the Governments of Uzbekistan and Finland, and EU, respectively, to MPHSTF. The Government of the Republic of Korea and the UN MPTF Office in New York signed the Standard Administrative Arrangement on the Republic of Korea’s contribution of US $1 million (17 December).

Ongoing Projects. In 2020, the following projects were continued: “Improvement of Quality in Perinatal Care Service to Most Vulnerable Mothers and Newborns” (August 2019-April 2021, US $1.61 million) to support the Ministries of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Karakalpakstan to ensure access of the population to perinatal service by improving infrastructure and provision of essential equipment for secondary level perinatal referral facilities, and to improve quality of maternal and newborn health service; (2) “Addressing the Urgent Human Insecurities in the Aral Sea Region through Promoting Sustainable Rural Development” (September 2019 – February 2021, US $1.46 million) to address the environmental, social and economic insecurities in the most vulnerable communities of the Aral Sea region. Within the framework of the project, autumn (2019) and second (May 28 - June 26, 2020) expeditions were conducted to survey the Aral Sea bed, and a round table was organized on the results of these expeditions (December 16). “Monitoring of the Dried Seabed of the Aral Sea” to be published in 2021 provides the detailed information and conclusions on the conducted expeditions (see Results of Expeditions on the Exposed Bed of the Aral Sea in 2019-2020).

Scheduled Projects. Funding was approved for three new projects amounting to more than US $6 million within the Second Call for Proposals addressing such priority areas as Youth, Innovation and Health Security (2020-2023): (1) “Investing in a Resilient Future of Karakalpakstan by Harnessing the Talents of Youth and Improving Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Nutrition During and After COVID-19”; (2) “Unleashing Young People’s and Vulnerable Citizens’ Creativity and Innovation by Strengthening Their Adaptive Capacity to Address the Economic and Food Insecurities in the Exposed Communities of the Aral Sea Region”; (3) “Towards Universal Health Coverage and Security in Karakalpakstan”.

Source: aral.mptf.uz

6.5. UN-Water

In 2013, the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination established the inter-agency coordination mechanism UN-Water. It coordinates the efforts of UN entities and international organizations working on water and sanitation issues. Over 30 UN organizations carry out water and sanitation programs.

In 2020, UN-Water held:

• 32nd meeting, which included agenda items addressing the work program for the coming biennium, the UN-Water 2030 Strategy, and input to the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which will extend to 2050 (28-29 January, IFAD headquarters). Meeting participants also discussed a proposed SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework in the context of the UN Secretary-General’s recent call for a Decade of Action to deliver the 2030 Agenda. Planning for engaging at the country and regional levels was discussed in light of ongoing UN reforms. UN-Water’s Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 and efforts to update monitoring and reporting were also highlighted. The report on the meeting is available on

• 33rd meeting, which discussed challenges for international water and sanitation policy issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and opportunities to coordinate the work of their respective organizations to advance progress on SDG 6 (29 September, online).

UN-Water presented (1) its UN-Water 2030 Strategy highlighting the UN-Water’s vision, mission and three lines of work, and outlining a Theory of Change through which UN-Water can fully realize its potential during the ten-year period ; (2) Analytical Brief on Unconventional Water Resources during the Dresden Nexus Conference under the theme “Circular Economy in a Sustainable Society” (3-5 June, online).

Source: www.unwater.org

6.6. UN Economic Commission for Europe

UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is one of five regional commissions of the United Nations set up in 1947. Its main scope of work includes environment, transport, statistics, sustainable energy, trade, wood products and forests, housing and land use, population and economic cooperation and integration.

UNECE and Water Convention

UNECE serves as the Secretariat for the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention). In 2019, the Parties to the Convention, together with UNECE, other countries and partners, launched the Program of Work for 2019-2021 consisting of 7 program areas: increasing awareness of and accession to the Convention, monitoring and assessment, promoting an integrated and intersectoral approach to water management, adapting to climate change, facilitating financing, reporting, partnerships and knowledge management. Kazakhstan takes over the chairmanship of the Water Convention for the period of 2019-2021.

Activities in 2020

Under the Water Convention and Protocol on Water and Health, UNECE organized the following events: 2nd and 3rd meeting of the Expert Group on the Transboundary Water Allocation Handbook (30-31 March, 20-21 October); Webinars on SDG indicator 6.5.2: supporting countries in preparing national reports for the 2nd reporting exercise (12 May - 4 June); 23rd and 24th meetings of the Bureau of the Protocol on Water and Health (13-14 May, 4-5 November); 19th and 20th meetings of the Compliance Committee under the Protocol on Water and Health (15 May, 2 November); Webinar “Water Convention and Transboundary Water Cooperation” (26 May); 11th meeting of the Implementation Committee (31 August-2 September); 30th Meeting of the Bureau of the Water Convention (29-30 September); 15th meeting of the Working Group on IWRM (30 September-2 October); 11th meeting of the Task Force on Water and Climate (2 October); Regional Workshop on Equitable and Sustainable Water Allocation (5-6 October); 6th meeting of Task Force on the Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems Nexus (22-23 October); 11th meeting of the Task Force on Target Setting and Reporting (3 November); virtual workshop on financing transboundary water cooperation and basin development (16-17 December). For details

Development of a Handbook on Transboundary Water Allocation

In 2020, the handbook on supporting equitable and sustainable water allocation in the transboundary context has been in the process of development. IWAC is handling this process in Central Asia, addressing such issues as sustainable water allocation in the transboundary context and environmental flow – the basis for conservation of the ecosystem. Two meetings of the Expert Group on the Transboundary Water Allocation Handbook were held to provide strategic advice and inputs (30-31 March and 20-21 October). The drafting team and Water Convention secretariat further developed the main Handbook content chapters in order to complete the first full draft by early 2021.

UNECE Activities in Central Asia

Transboundary cooperation

In 2018, the project “Enhancing Climate Resilience and Adaptive Capacity in the Transboundary Chu-Talas Basin” (September 2015-December 2018), funded by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs under the FinWaterWei II Initiative, was concluded. It was aimed to establish a framework for regular and strategic climate change adaptation action in the Chu-Talas River Basin and enable the Chu-Talas Water Commission and local authorities to facilitate climate change adaptation in the basin. The Annex on climate adaptation to the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and measures for climate change adaptation for the Strategic Action Program (SAP) have been developed. After further refinement and discussion with interdepartmental organizations, SAP was adopted at the 248th session of the Chu-Talas Water Commission (April 15, 2021).

The project also proposed, in consultation with local stakeholders, a set of adaptation measures, covering broad range of issues from water quality to monitoring and education, that were assessed against their cost/effectiveness and prioritized.

Following discussions within the Working Group on Adaptation to Climate Change and Long-term Programs of Action of the Chu-Talas Water Commission, the following measures were selected by the project team for the pilot implementation: (1) Floodplain forest restoration; (2) Training on water efficiency measures for irrigation; (3) Kirov dam safety monitoring system support.

The project teamed up with the local NGOs Kyrgyz Association of Forest and Land Users on implementation of the pilot adaptation measures.

The local NGO BIOM is facilitating awareness raising and information campaign that includes preparation of information materials, trainings for local communities, press-tour and other important activities.

Project results are available on report and in the brochure

National Policy Dialogues

The work to support NPDs under the EU Water Initiative is ongoing in close cooperation with OECD and WECOOP2 project financed by EU. In 2020, the following events were held:

• expert group meeting under NPDs on SDG indicator 6.5.2 (12-13 November, Bishkek). Participants discussed preparation of Kyrgyzstan’s national report under SDG indicator 6.5.2 on transboundary water cooperation;

• 6th meeting of the Inter-agency Coordination Council of NPD in Kazakhstan (20 November, Nur-Sultan). During the meeting, the reports were presented on activities under the WECOOP project, Kazakhstan’s accession to the Protocol on Water and Health, as well as on activities to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation on mine tailings safety and the prevention of accidental water pollution in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Participants discussed Kazakhstan’s cooperation with its neighboring countries on the protection and use of water resources of transboundary rivers, and the direction of the water resources management Program of Kazakhstan until 2030, as well as developed proposals for the NDPs Plan of Work for 2021.

Cooperation on Dam Safety

The third phase of the project “Capacity Building for Cooperation on Dam Safety” in Central Asia was continued. An online meeting was held. The participants expressed their interest in resuming the work on the draft regional agreement on cooperation on dam safety in Central Asia; took note the progress on the implementation of the interstate agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan on the joint use of the Orto-Tokoy (Kasansay) reservoir and on the establishment of the Central Asian Platform on Dam Safety within the SPECA Working Group; encouraged national focal points to discuss and agree on the draft Terms of Reference for the platform at the national level for submission and approval at the regional meeting on dam safety (15 June).

Water quality in Central Asia

Within the framework of the “Water Quality in Central Asia” project, a meeting of the Working Group on Water Quality was held to finalize the mandate of RWG-WQ , and develop and agree upon the Group's Work Plan for 2019-2020 (5 February, Tashkent).

Facilitating the work of EECCA NWO

To facilitate the collection and exchange of information in the water management sector, UNECE supports EECCA NWO (see International Network of Basin Organizations).

SPECA Program

Together with UNESCAP, UNECE leads the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) promoting economic cooperation among the seven participating countries of the Program (see Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific).

Source: UNECE

International Water Assessment Center

The International Water Assessment Center (IWAC) is the center for international cooperation on integrated water resource management, which has been established as a subsidiary body of the Water Convention in Astana in 2017. The main purpose of IWAC is to support the implementation of the Water Convention and its relevant work programs.

IWAC Activities in 2020

IWAC with the official support of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan and in cooperation with the Water Convention Secretariat, as well as with “ECOTERA” LLC and “Kazakhstan Agency of Applied Ecology” LLC organized an online regional meeting on water resource allocation and environmental flow assessment in a transboundary context (22-23 September). The main outcome of the meeting was that the countries of the region came to a consolidated vision, reflected as recommendations to the global Handbook on water allocation in a transboundary context .

IWAC office hosted meetings of S. Akhmetov, IWAC Director, with:

• Mr. Omar Aziz, the Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, to discuss the development of cooperation on joint projects to improve the use and protection of the resources of transboundary rivers in Central Asia (15 October);

• Mr. Ruslan Matkerimov, Counselor of the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Republic of Kazakhstan, to discuss possible areas of cooperation between IWAC and Kyrgyzstan on the protection and use of water resources, exchange views on current efforts to maintain and further improve mechanisms for managing transboundary water resources at the regional level, as well as exchange information on the current policy of Kyrgyzstan on the protection and use of water resources (6 November).

The 2nd meeting of the Working group on Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the Bureau of the UNECE Water Convention was held online on 14 December. The participants discussed the activities carried out within the framework of Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the Bureau of the Water Convention, considered priority areas of the Convention's work program for 2022-2024 and the work plan of the Working group for 2021.

Source: IWAC

6.7. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Established in 1947, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is one of five regional missions of the UN. ESCAP works to overcome some of the region's greatest challenges by providing results oriented projects, technical assistance and capacity building to member States in the following areas: macroeconomic policy and development; trade and investment; transport; social development; environment and sustainable development; information and communications technology and disaster risk reduction; statistics and sub-regional activities for development.

SPECA Program

ESCAP in cooperation with UNECE manages SPECA. In 2020 under SPECA, the following online events were organized: (1) SPECA Economic Forum on “Regional Cooperation to Support Socio-Economic Recovery in the Wake of COVID-19” (18-19 November); (2) 15th Session of the SPECA Governing Council, where the Bishkek Declaration of the SPECA Economic Forum 2020 was adopted and the SPECA Thematic Working Groups reported (20 November). Uzbekistan was elected as the Chair country of SPECA for 2021. The 16th session of the SPECA Governing Council and the 2021 SPECA Economic Forum will be held in Uzbekistan in 2021.

Sources: www.unescap.org, www.unece.org

6.8. United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia

The United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) was established on the initiative of the five Governments of Central Asia in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in 2007 to support national authorities in identifying and addressing existing and potential threats to regional peace and security. In implementing its initiatives, UNRCCA interacts with regional and international organizations. The Centre began operations in 2008 and is led by a Special Representative of the Secretary General.

In 2010, UNRCCA launched its water project to support five CA countries in their search for mutually acceptable water agreements. In 2019-2021, the Center implemented a project in support of regional transboundary water cooperation in Central Asia. UNRCCA promotes dialogues between the Central Asia states on transboundary water resource management and supports initiatives aimed at solving water, environmental and other problems influencing the situation in the Aral Sea basin. UNRCCA assists the Governments of the region in the development of a comprehensive mechanism for the effective use of water and energy resources, on the basis of recognized norms of international law, and taking into consideration the interests and needs of all states. It supports the governments in capacity building for water diplomacy by developing the skills and raising the awareness of civil servants in Central Asia and Afghanistan. The Centre focuses on collecting and sharing data for early warning and on hazards related to glacier melt and climate change, and on identifying the needs of countries in this area.

The 2019-2021 Water Project focuses on the following main areas arising from the preventive mandate of UNRCCA: (1) using preventive and water diplomacy to build confidence; (2) strengthening relevant institutions and legal base in the region; (3) enhancing transparency, cooperation and partnership; (4) encouraging cooperation and interaction between the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan.

UNRCCA Activities in 2020

UNRCCA virtually organized: (1) a capacity building seminar on water diplomacy practices related to international law and international cooperation in the field of safety of dams and other hydraulic facilities in cooperation with UNECE and international experts. Participants have acquainted themselves with the international legal instruments and international experience on the safety dams and other hydraulic facilities, exploring the nexus between the legal and practical problems of cooperation in the given field between the states of Central Asia; discussed potential for improving regional interaction in this field; briefed on their national efforts, respective legislation and actions to address dam safety and knowledge sharing (7 October); (2) two meetings of experts on water and energy cooperation. The participants had an opportunity to discuss the terms of reference of the ad-hoc expert group on legal and institutional aspects of water and energy cooperation in Central Asia and exchanged views on issues related to the systematization and inventory of regional agreements along with other normative acts related to water and energy cooperation between the Central Asian states. This work will be continued in 2021 (10 November and 21-22 December).

In cooperation with SIC ICWC, four early warning bulletins were published on transboundary water management in the Aral Sea basin, as well as the third 2019 edition of the Water Yearbook: Central Asia and around the Globe, which featured key water-related events and developments in Central Asia and beyond.

In cooperation with a group of international water experts, the new web portal of the “Central Asian Water Knowledge Management Platform” has been updated (www.waterunites-ca.org).

Source: UNRCCA