The lower chamber of Kazakhstan’s Parliament Majilis has ratified a draft bill on Amendments to Articles 25 and 26 of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, Tengrinews reports citing BNews.kz.
The lower chamber of Kazakhstan’s Parliament Majilis has ratified a draft bill on Amendments to Articles 25 and 26 of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, Tengrinews reports citing BNews.kz.
The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes was signed in Helsinki on March 17, 1992. Kazakhstan joined the Water Convention in 2000.
According to UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe), “the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) aims to protect and ensure the quantity, quality and sustainable use of transboundary water resources by facilitating cooperation. It provides an intergovernmental platform for the day-to-day development and advancement of transboundary cooperation.”
The Water Convention is open for all countries joining the UN or member countries.
Kazakhstan shares transboundary watercourses and international lakes with Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China. Meanwhile, Russia and Uzbekistan joined the Water Convention. Russia joined the Convention back on October 6, 1996.
In 2011, China and Kazakhstan signed an Agreement on Water Quality Protection of Transboundary Waters.
Earlier, on December 4, UNECE and Global Water Partnership launch concluded a three-day workshop in Almaty. The workshops addressed managing the Syr Darya River Basin resources shared by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The workshops were aimed at facilitating cooperation and interactions between the countries in managing intersectoral and transboundary waters.
By Gyuzel Kamalova