OSCE supports capacity building in Kazakhstan’s water management sector

Promoting international standards in the national water management education was the topic of the OSCE-supported working group meeting for some 20 leading experts from the national water authorities, international organizations, civil society and academia that took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 6 October 2016.

The meeting was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in close co-operation with the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea Executive Directorate, the Education and Agriculture Ministries, the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia and the UNESCO Almaty Cluster Bureau for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The participants reviewed existing educational standards and curricula of universities in the water sector, discussed gaps and needs in the national water management education system and proposed specific steps for improvement.

“Sustainable water governance is among the top priorities for the OSCE in its comprehensive approach to security,” said Rati Japaridze, Economic and Environmental Officer of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana. “Assuring that educational standards on this issue are in line with best international practices will help prepare qualified future water management specialists.”

Bulat Bekniyazov, Head of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea Executive Directorate, said: “We need to give more importance to the education of future water specialists in the area of design, construction, operation and safety of water facilities, which is a basic condition for achieving the target goals of the State Programme on Water Resources Management.”

The activity is part of the Office’s long-standing efforts to introduce integrated water resources management principles in the national water framework and is in line with the OSCE priority of fostering the increased participation of youth in the decision-making process.