OSCE promotes co-operation on water resources between users and local authorities in northern Kyrgyzstan

TALAS, Kyrgyzstan, 5 April 2013 – An OSCE-organized training seminar on managing water resources and resolving related disputes took place today in Talas, northern Kyrgyzstan.

The seminar brought together 35 participants, including representatives of eight water user associations and local self-governance bodies from across Talas province. The participants learned about the legislation related to the activities of these two institutions and ways of promoting their further co-operation on water resource management.

Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said: “Water users and local governance bodies are both involved into resolving water-related tensions if they occur at a local level. Only through good collaboration and mutually complementary activities can these two institutions prevent conflicts and provide local people with equal and transparent access to water resources.”

The seminar is part of a broader project to support water user associations, which was launched in 2011 in the south of the country. It includes training mentors in water user associations, training water distributors on water conservation distribution and irrigation management, as well as providing small competitive grants to address pressing needs. Earlier similar training seminars were organized in Osh, Batken and Jalal-Abad provinces on 26 and 29 March. 

Shaibek Karasartov, the Director of the Center for Training, Consultation and Innovation, a partner in the project, said: “It is very important to expand the project’s positive results from the south to the north, particularly to Talas province, which also experiences localized tensions over availability, use and management of irrigation water.”