Towards a Nexus roadmap for Central Asia
Aiming to learn about the principles and ways to structure a Nexus process as well as the opportunities that stem from Nexus thinking, 15 experts from Central Asian ministries and interstate organisations visited Croatia and Austria in mid-May within a study tour organised by 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 and CAREC.
Applying Nexus thinking may be our last hope as we are rapidly approaching a tipping point of resource scarcity. This scarcity threatens water, energy and food security with great impacts on economic development, social wellbeing and environmental sustainability, according to 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播.
The week-long study tour included a training workshop, an exchange of experiences on the transboundary river basin management with the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and the International Sava River Basin Commission (ISRBC) and two site visits.
聽鈥淚t was extremely useful to learn about the Commissions' firsthand experience and build a network of contacts. The institutional setting of the Danube and Sava River Basins is very relevant to the existing transboundary water cooperation platform in Central Asia," said Batyr Mammedov, Head of Secretariat, Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea.听
鈥淭he multisectoral approach is now getting more recognition worldwide as a useful tool to be applied at best during the planning stage. The training enhanced our knowledge and enabled us to develop the draft Nexus Roadmap for our region. Most importantly, the Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach could help us find the optimal trade-offs between the competing sectors to mitigate the consequences of the Aral Sea catastrophe," said Bolat Bekniyaz, Head of the Executive Board of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the International Fund for Saving Aral Sea.
To provide some practical examples, two guest speakers contributed to the workshop. Nadejda Komendantova from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis presented multi-criteria decision analysis as a tool for structuring discussions on trade-offs within the Nexus. Peter Vajda of the Energy Community Secretariat provided insights into the Energy Community鈥檚 Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Center and gave examples of how to settle disputes over hydropower developments in a transboundary context.
鈥淎s a technical expert, I was interested in environmental monitoring along the river basin. We noted that water quality is of paramount importance to both Commissions. We learnt the specifics of monitoring tools applied and most importantly about the joint responsibility among the riparian countries to conduct such monitoring, which entails substantial data sharing," noted Egamberdi Rustamov, Head of the Centre of Analytical Control of the Committee of the Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe.
While the study tour provided participants with new insights and knowledge, it also created opportunities for an open dialogue, networking and cooperation among Central Asian states. The outcomes of the trip, as well as the Nexus Roadmap providing next steps, will be discussed at the Project鈥檚 Regional Steering Committee in June 2019.
The study tour was organised by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播) with the financial support of the European Union, in the frame of the "Central Asia Nexus Dialogue Project: Fostering Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus Dialogue and Multi-Sector Investment", which is part of the EU Global Nexus Dialogues Programme.