Water Quality in Central Asia

The countries of Central Asia are dependent on each other with regard to the water resources of transboundary rivers, lakes in transboundary river basins and transboundary groundwaters. Water quality is an important aspect of integrated water resources management that needs further efforts on the national as well as regional levels.

The management of water quality in rivers – the focus of this project – in the region is inefficient and insufficient as water quantity and its allocation, mainly for irrigation and hydropower production, is in the centre of the attention. There is a need to improve national policies and regional cooperation with the ultimate aim to improve water quality.

The principles of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and its Protocol on Water and Health as well as the EU Water Framework Directive are important international frameworks guiding the national as well as transboundary developments in this field.

The project «Water Quality in Central Asia» is implemented by UNECE in cooperation with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) and Scientific-Information Center ICWC. It aims at enhancing the development of an efficient and coordinated policy on improvement of water quality in the framework of integrated water resources management in Central Asia. The project was launched in March 2009.

The objective of the project is to contribute to the development of efficient and coordinated national policies with regard to water-quality aspects of integrated water resources management in Central Asia.