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Kazakhstan: Astana seeking public input for water-management plan [1]

["David O'Byrne", 'Ani Avetisyan', 'Brawley Benson']

Date: 2024-06 

Construction of a lined canal in Turkestan province. The authorities have developed a draft water management plan that seeks to improve water-usage efficiency nationwide. (Photo: gov.kz)

Kazakhstan’s government is seeking input from non-governmental stakeholders as it develops a water resources management plan covering 2024-28.

A draft water management plan was posted on a government portal designed to facilitate input from experts and accredited organizations.

Among measures currently outlined in the draft plan are the construction of new reservoirs and the renovation of existing facilities, as well as steps to automate and digitalize water-management systems. The plan also envisions steps to introduce water-saving technology and modernize drainage networks. It identifies over 5,000 specific projects in need of funding to improve water-usage efficiency nationwide.

The initiative is the outcome of a government decree adopted in February. That decree acknowledged that existing water-usage patterns are unsustainable.

“The situation in the water sector of the economy requires a radical improvement of the state’s water policy and industry management, a review of the existing structure, delimitation of the functions of water management entities, and the development of new mechanisms of economic relations,” the draft plan states.

A major challenge outlined in the draft plan is connected to outdated systems that supply drinking water and irrigation for agriculture. “A full-scale modernization of water infrastructure is required,” the draft plan says. It pinpoints the weakest links in the water-management system at “individual water management facilities that are in municipal and private ownership.”

Input from stakeholders is open until June 18. Among the suggestions received to date is a recommendation from environmental activist Grigory Vingerter for the plan to “take into account safety from chemical pollution.” The widespread use of pesticides within a 2-kilometer range of riverbeds, Vingerter maintained, “threatens chemical pollution of water bodies.”

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[1] Url: https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-astana-seeking-public-input-for-water-management-plan

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