31 October 2012: The 8th meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Policy Dialogue on integrated water resources management (IWRM) in Kyrgyzstan was organized by the Department of Water Management and Melioration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Melioration of Kyrgyzstan in cooperation with the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The meeting, which took place on 24 October 2012, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, discussed the report “Setting Targets in the Context of the Protocol on Water and Health in Kyrgyzstan” and decided to submit it for review by stakeholders. The report outlines challenges in the water supply and sanitation sector, including eliminating water-related disease.

The meeting defined priorities to address during the National Policy Dialogue in 2013, including: implementation of basin management; work on targets on water and health related to the Protocol on Water and Health to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of the Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE Watercourses Convention); review of subsidies impacting water resources, infrastructure and management; the development of an action plan to improve the use of economic instruments for water management; and the development of a platform for coordination and sharing information on donor activities in the water sector.

The National Policy Dialogues are the principle element of the EU Water Initiative (EUWI) in Central Asian countries, operationalized in cooperation with UNECE and OECD. [UNECE Press Release]