Climate Sensitive Water Resources Management in Central Asia
On 2-3 December, 2025, in Tashkent, within the framework of the regional programme “Climate-sensitive Water Resources Management in Central Asia, the ‘Third Meeting of the Basin Dialogues in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya River Basins’ and ‘Partner Dialogue’ was held.
The purpose of the meetings was to strengthen partnerships, establish a sustainable platform for the exchange of experiences, coordinate future steps in water resources management and summarise the activities carried out in the region in celebrating of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya River Days.
Representatives from the national ministries of the Central Asian countries, as well as from international organisations and programmes working in the field of water resources management, attended the meetings.
In his welcoming speech Mr. Andreas Unterstaller, Programme Manager, EU Delegation to Uzbekistan noted:
‘The Basin Dialogue remains a vital trust-building platform for addressing shared water challenges in a changing climate. Water, energy and climate are inseparable pillars of Central Asia’s sustainable future, and only through more structured, predictable regional cooperation can we mobilise the scale of public and private investment needed. Through the EU’s Global Gateway, this cooperation is already being translated into concrete projects and strategic investments across the region.’
Mr. Joachim Fritz, the Country Director of GIZ for Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, emphasized the importance of joint efforts in the region:
‘Sustainable water resources management is only possible through close cooperation among all countries in the region. Our shared responsibility is to foster trust, exchange knowledge, and develop long-term solutions together’.
Mr. Andrin Fink, Head of Cooperation / Deputy Head of mission at the Embassy of Switzerland in Uzbekistan underlined:
“The dialogue we are fostering today is essential for identifying solutions, sharing knowledge, and coordinating actions that will ensure water resources are used efficiently, equitably, and sustainably, while also protecting our shared ecosystems for future generations.”
During the event, the following topics were discussed:
Main results of the GIZ|SDC|EU project activities in 2025 and partners proposals for the project action plan for 2026;
Joint efforts to preserve ecosystems in the Amu Darya basin, including runoff formation and dispersion zones;
Collaborative work in the Syr Darya basin within the agreed priority area “Enhancing climate resilience through discussion of possible infrastructure development options (Nexus approach)”;
Issues of economic cooperation/tools/mechanisms in the Amu Darya basin, considering existing agreements and decisions made at the level of Heads of State.
Participants were also introduced to the results of grant projects implemented with the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK Finland) and the State Water Management Enterprise Vodohospodárska výstavba, Slovakia.
As a result of the meetings, participants agreed on further actions for implementing climate-sensitive water management methods and discussed ways to enhance the efficiency of joint projects while reducing risks in their implementation.
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Within the framework of the "Green Central Asia" initiative, in accordance with the regional action plan agreed by the Central Asian countries in November 2021, GIZ in 2023 launched the implementation of the program "Climate-Sensitive Water Resources Management in Central Asia", funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In 2024, GIZ signed a cooperation agreement with the European Union and is implementing the "European Union for a Sustainable Central Asia: Joint Action and Coordination on Water, Energy and Climate Change" programme for the EU, which is an integral part of Team Europe's initiative "Water, Energy and Climate Change in Central Asia" (TEI).
The Team Europe Initiative on Water, Energy and Climate Change in Central Asia (TEI) is a flagship effort within the EU Global Gateway framework, demonstrating the European Union's commitment to addressing the region's critical challenges. Integrating the EU-Central Asia platform on environment and water cooperation, founded back in 2009, TEI includes the European Commission, the EBRD, the EIB and Team Europe member states, namely Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovakia. It aims to create synergies, improve coordination and increase investment for a regionally integrated green transformation.
The main objective of the Joint Water Programme (comprising BMZ, SDC and EU components) is to strengthen the capacity of national and regional institutions responsible for water resources management to implement integrated water resources management (IWRM) at the regional level, considering the impact of climate change, thereby improving regional cooperation and governance for sustainable development in Central Asia.
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