OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan supports a roundtable discussion of the new Water Code concept

A roundtable discussion on the concept of the planned Water Code concluded on October 1, 2021 in Aktau, Mangystau province. The two-day event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan in partnership with the Water Resources Committee of the Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources Ministry of Kazakhstan.

Some 14 national water resources experts participated in the roundtable discussion and reviewed the main provisions of the draft concept paper to the new Water Code. Olympex Advisers lawyers, who participated in developing the document, discussed the main areas of the concept paper: integrated water resources management, distribution of regulatory powers, water use payment mechanisms, tariffs formation, water market setting up principles, promoting and introduction of best available technologies.

The work on the new Water Code started in mid-2021, and the development of a concept paper is the first step that will determine the set-up of a main regulatory document. The government plans to pass the Water Code in 2023 to replace the existing one adopted in 2003.

The event is part of the Programme Office’s long-term efforts to enhance national legislation in line with best international practices in the efficient and sustainable management of water resources.