KAZAKHSTAN: UN TRANSBOUNDARY WATER CONFERENCE DISCUSSES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 002437 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB/ESC, OES/PCI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SENV ENRG KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: UN TRANSBOUNDARY WATER CONFERENCE DISCUSSES CHALLENGES TO CENTRAL ASIA WATER COOPERATION ASTANA 00002437 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The UN Trans-boundary Water Conference took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on November 17-18. The key element of the Conference was the presentation of a water management project developed by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) that is an integral part of the European Union's (EU) Central Asia Strategy. The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) Executive Committee (EC) also officially inaugurated its new permanent office in Almaty. The GTZ program is due to begin in 2009 and envisions a number of pilot projects such as developing "national competence centers" for water, climate change, and energy. UN Assistant Secretary General Udovicki referred to the "compound crisis" of food, water, and energy security, and said UNDP can help make national water management frameworks more sustainable, help countries capture the benefits of renewable energy and carbon finance, and help countries respond to the threats posed by uranium tailings. She noted that effective regional solutions to the water management problem can only be built on successful national and local water management initiatives, citing Kazakhstan's successful rescue of the northern part of the Aral Sea as an example. Although climate change hangs like a Damocles sword over Central Asia's long-term development prospects, she said, it also presents development opportunities for attracting carbon financing. The Central Asian regional representatives each commented on the EU program. The Uzbekistan representative stressed international agreements and the trans-boundary nature of the water issue, while Tajikistan insisted that Uzbekistan is the largest consumer of water today because of the inefficient irrigation system built during the 1960s, and rhetorically asked who will compensate Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for the release of their water downstream. This discord caused the EU organizers great discomfort and they finally had to "pull the plug" on the persistent and stubborn Tajikistan representative. END SUMMARY. THE UN TRANS-BOUNDARY CONFERENCE AND EU WATER MANAGEMENT PROJECT ¶3. (SBU) The UN Trans-boundary Water Conference took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on November 17-18, hosted by the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE),the government of Germany, the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS),the UN Development Program (UNDP),and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main objective of the conference, according to the organizers, was to assess short- and long-term challenges in the field of cooperative water management in Central Asia in order to generate more coherent, efficient, and better targeted action to address these challenges. ¶4. (SBU) The key element of the Conference was the presentation of a water management project developed by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ),with support from the German Foreign Ministry and UNECE. Conference participants -- representatives from Central Asian countries and regional experts responsible for water management -- were invited to comment on the project and to indicate their willingness to participate. This project forms a key part of the European Union (EU) Central Asia Strategy and the EU approach to water cooperation in Central Asia. Along with security and energy, water and environment issues formed the third "main pillar" of the EU Central Asian Policy. IFAS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NOW PERMANENTLY IN ALMATY ¶5. (SBU) During the Conference, the inauguration of the IFAS Executive Committee (EC) also took place. The EC and the IFAS chairmanship had previously rotated between Central Asian capitals every two years, most recently in Dushanbe. Now the IFAS EC will be permanently located in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with the government of Kazakhstan agreeing to host and cover most of the EC costs. GTZ PROJECT'S PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS ¶6. (SBU) GTZ's draft proposal for trans-boundary water management in Central Asia contains the main points of the German Water Initiative ASTANA 00002437 002.2 OF 003 that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced in Berlin in April 2008: managing trans-boundary water based on Central Asian proposals; transferring know-how regarding sustainable water management; starting a new course on sustainable water management at the Kazakh-German University in Almaty; networking among water experts from Germany, the EU, and Central Asia; and supporting activities in Central Asia undertaken by Germany's water industry (a world leader, according to GTZ). This program is due to start in 2009 and run until 2011/2012, with a possible extension beyond. The project envisions a number of pilot projects that would address the institutional development of "national competence centers" for water, climate change, and energy; a vulnerability analysis and adaptation strategies for climate change; the development of criteria for hydropower utilization, water reuse, and sanitation; and the efficient use of water for irrigation. ¶7. (SBU) The proposed trans-boundary rivers included in the project are: the Isfara and Chadzhabarkan rivers on the Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border; the Murghab Basin on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border; the Serafshan River on the Uzbekistan-Tajikistan border; and the Aral-Syrdarya basin on the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border. The project would involve creating regional and bilateral agreements as well as guidelines for water monitoring and data exchange, determining river basin objectives and their monitoring and assessment, developing long-term river basin management plans, and creating financing "concepts" for the river basin infrastructure. UNDP: CLIMATE CHANGE CAN PRESENT DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES ¶8. (SBU) During the first session, UN Assistant Secretary General Kori Udovicki referred to the global "compound crisis" of food, water, and energy security and their interconnection, with water at the core of the problem in Central Asia. She said the UNDP can address these security issues in Central Asia by making national water management frameworks more sustainable; helping Central Asia respond to climate change threats by capturing the benefits of renewable energy and carbon finance; and helping Central Asia respond to human security threats posed by uranium tailings and other water-related environmental hot spots. ¶9. (SBU) Udovicki noted that the trans-boundary nature of Central Asia's water resources is a development challenge that requires regional cooperation. Although cooperation has been disappointingly absent in the past, she said the recent decision of the five Central Asian presidents in Bishkek on October 10 represents a positive renewed commitment, and UNDP stands ready to help implement it. She also noted that effective regional solutions to the water management problem can only be built on successful national and local water management initiatives, citing Kazakhstan's successful rescue of the northern part of the Aral Sea as an example, where water levels and fish stocks are rising. With UN support, she said, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are increasingly applying integrated water resource management principles in their national policy contexts. (NOTE: IFAS water scholar Dr. Viktor Dukhovny has said that international organizations are supporting Uzbekistan's claim that regional waters should be treated as trans-boundary and therefore subject to international agreements, and at the same time "contradictorily" supporting Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan's water projects as part of their strategy to treat these rivers as national resources that they can use as they see fit, regardless of the needs of downstream countries. END NOTE.) ¶10. (SBU) Udovicki said that Central Asia is at the heart of Eurasia and its integration, and it can play a bridging role between Europe and Asia. Water is at the top of the process of globalization, she said, and the "New Deal" of the future is a green New Deal. Udovicki also said that climate change hangs like a Damocles sword over Central Asia's long-term development prospects, and global warming is accelerating the melting of Central Asia's glaciers, threatening the region with the "specter" of permanent drought. However, climate change also presents development opportunities for attracting carbon financing to invest in sustainable water and ASTANA 00002437 003.2 OF 003 energy use projects. ¶11. (SBU) UNDP Senior Economist Ben Slay noted that the main problems Central Asia faces are sustainable water, energy, and land use, poverty reduction, and food/energy/water insecurity. He cited Tajikistan's severe 2007-08 winter, subsequent spring drought in the region, and escalating global food prices as examples underscoring the need for better winter contingency planning as well as better coordination among international agencies. This is compounded by the water-energy nexus that results in electricity shortages, food security concerns because food is now too expensive for the poor, and the current global financial crisis that is affecting economies as well as assistance programs. REGIONAL DISSONANCE UPSETS EU ORGANIZERS ¶12. (SBU) Following the formal presentations, regional representatives had a chance to offer their comments. The Kazakhstan representative noted that a more complete risk analysis should include risks to energy supply, especially to downstream countries (e.g., Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan). Because of the threat of reduction of water resources, Kazakhstan needs to re-engineer its canal and irrigation system to be more efficient. He called on all Central Asian countries to adopt a common approach for near- and far-term solutions and to take a regional perspective. By contrast, the Kyrgyzstan representative agreed that the degradation of the water supply infrastructure is a serious problem, but he insisted that water be treated as a national strategic resource. All regional decisions, he maintained, can only be made on the basis of the social, economic, and political situation of all countries in the region. The Tajikistan representative said the people of his country are on the precipice of a great disaster, and the lack of a "rational" and effective management of water is at the core of the problem. He noted three areas of concern: increasing population growth, inefficient use of water storage, and the need for more efficient use of water in downstream countries. ¶13. (SBU) The Uzbekistan representative emphasized the need to regard these waters, in accordance with existing international agreements, as trans-boundary waters. Uzbekistan seeks a regional solution that does not damage the interests of other countries. The Tajikistan representative returned to the microphone and countered, saying that the existing irrigation system to support cotton production, built during the 1960s, is the principle cause of the water problem today. Because of this inefficient cotton production system and wasteful irrigation, Uzbekistan is the largest consumer of water. Who will compensate Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for the release of this water downstream, he asked rhetorically. (NOTE: Tajikistan's outburst caused the EU organizers considerable unease, because they were seeking an EU-style, cooperative solution to the water problem and did not want this discordant tone in the conference. They kept trying to stop him, but he persisted in defending the upstream countries' interests against the "Uzbek Usurper". Realizing that the EU position also supported a trans-boundary perspective, the Uzbekistan representative discretely maintained his silence. END NOTE). MILAS