3 November 2014: An international conference brought together stakeholders to discuss “Development of Cooperation in the Aral Sea Basin to Mitigate Consequences of Environmental Catastrophe.” The meeting was attended by both Global Water Partnership Central Asia and Caucasus (GWP CACENA) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

The Conference took place from 28-29 October 2014, in Urgench, Uzbekistan, under the auspices of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). The meeting addressed ways to mobilize the practical action from the international community to address the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea. Among the sessions, GWP CACENA organized one that addressed the issue of “Improvement of the management system, economical and efficient use of water resources in the Aral Sea Basin.”

Among priorities identified by participants at the conference were the introduction and implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM), use of water-saving technologies, and further development of a regional information system for water management to improve information exchange among basin states. [UNECE Press Release] [GWP Press Release]