"Support for the Creation of a Transboundary Water
Commission on the Chu and Talas Rivers
between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan"
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In January 2000 the Agreement on the Use of
Water Facilities of Inter-Governmental Use
on the Chu and Talas Rivers was signed
between the Government of the Kyrgyz
Republic and the Government of the Republic
of Kazakhstan. Facilities, such as dams, water
reservoirs and canals, are located in the
territory of Kyrgyzstan. Under the
Agreement, the Parties have agreed that
operation and maintenance costs for the
facilities specified in the Agreement would be
shared on a pro rata basis in accordance with
the water volume received by each Party.
Under Article 5 of this Agreement, the Parties
commit themselves to establish a permanent
commission to determine the operation mode
for water infrastructure and the share of each
Party in funding operation and maintenance
costs. The Agreement became effective in
February 2002 upon the ratification by the
Parliaments of both countries.
At the initiative of the Governments of
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the international
project “Promoting the Creation of the
Commission for the Chu and Talas between
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan” was started in
2003. The project was implemented by the
Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of
Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Agriculture,
Water Resources and Processing Industry of
Kyrgyz Republic, jointly with the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE), the UN Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the
UN Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and Pacific Region (UNESCAP) with
the participation of the Russian-Estonian
Center of Transboundary Co-operation for the
Chudskoye Lake. The project was initiated
following the UN Special Programme for the
Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), which
developed a regional strategy1 for water
management, and called for more practical
and concrete mechanisms for the joint
management of water resources.
It was expected that the implementation of the
project would not only provide for improved
management of the use of water resources of
the Chu and Talas Rivers, but also serve a
good example for the Central Asian countries
in the field of improved co-operation on the
use of transboundary water resources.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The objective of the project was to provide
assistance to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in
implementing the Agreement on Use of Water
Facilities on Inter-Governmental Use on the
Chu and Talas Rivers signed between the
Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the
Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan
on January 21, 2000, through the following:
- Drafting documents that would
define the Commission’s status,
functions, responsibilities and
rights;
- Developing procedures and
preparing basic documents for cofunding
of the repair, maintenance
and operation of multi-purpose
water facilities on both rivers that
are subjects of the Agreement;
- and
Intermediation to reach consensus
between the Governments of both
countries during the development
of the above document.
Another objective of the project was to
provide information to stakeholders and
involve broad public participation into the
management of water resources in the Chu
and Talas River basins.
PROJECT OUTCOMES
Four workshops were held within the
framework of the project: on April 9-10,
2003, in Bishkek; on July 7-8, 2003, in
Almaty; on November 6, 2003, in Bishkek;
and on March 26, 2004, in Almaty. In
addition, two working meetings were held: on
May 5, 2004, in Almaty, and on August 20,
2004, by the Issyk-Kul Lake. Finally, the
international conference “Intergovernmental
Use of the Chu and Talas Rivers: Cooperation
Experience and Development
Outlook” was held in Bishkek on July 26-27,
2006.
The project has been implemented in four
modules:
Module 1: Development of a Statute and
regulations for the Bilateral Commission on
the Chu and Talas rivers
The working groups of Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan, with the assistance of
international experts, drafted the Statute on
the Commission of the Republic of
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic for Use of
Water Facilities of Inter-Governmental Use
on the Chu and Talas Rivers. In November,
2003, the draft Provisions were submitted to
the Governments of Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan for their consideration. The
proposed document provided for broader
powers of the Commission in managing the
water use in the basins of both rivers than
those stipulated by the Agreement as of 2000.
It was decided to adhere to the new document
in the future and to create such an
intergovernmental authority.
In accordance with the comments received, a
new version of the Statute was drafted and
submitted to the Intergovernmental Kyrgyz-
Kazakh Joint Commission for consideration.
During the fourth session of the Joint
Intergovernmental Commission held on July
12, 2004, in Bishkek, it was decided to adopt
the new Provisions. During 2005 the
Provisions were discussed in detail in the
ministries and agencies of Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan. By the beginning of 2006 the
final version was drafted and agreed upon by
both Parties.
During the fifth session of the
Intergovernmental Kyrgyz-Kazakh Joint
Commission for Bilateral Co-operation (held
on July 3, 2006, in Astana), a decision was
made to set up a joint Chu-Talas Commission
between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
As a result, the inauguration of the
Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan
and Kyrgyz Republic for Intergovernmental
Use of Water Facilities on the Chu and Talas
Rivers took place on July 26, 2006, in
Bishkek.
Following the inauguration, the first session
of the Commission was held. This session
prepared the document on Proposals on
Perspective Activities of the Commission.
Module 2: Allocation of costs for operation,
management and rehabilitation of selected
water control projects
International experts, who jointly worked on
the project with the domestic consultants of
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, drafted
Recommendations to Fund Operation and
Repair Costs and Other Measures on the Sites
and Facilities of Intergovernmental Use on
the Chu and Talas Rivers. During joint
consultations, the document was refined and it
was recommended to apply the document to
the activities of the bilateral commission. The
Recommendations were tested during a specialized workshop held on October 26-28,
2005, in Bishkek, which was also attended by
staff of river basin authorities and specialists
in charge of operation and repair plans for the
facilities on the Chu and Talas Rivers.
In addition, international experts of the
project prepared the following project
documents:
- Provisions on the Executive
Secretariat of the Commission of the
Republic of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz
Republic for Use of Water Facilities
of Intergovernmental Use on the Chu
and Talas Rivers; and
- Methodological Recommendations for
Developing and Revising the “Key
Provisions of the Rules of
Comprehensive Use of Water
Resources of Water Reservoirs on the
Chu and Talas Rivers”.
Module 3: Public Participation in
Management of Transboundary Water
Resources of the Chu and Talas Rivers
International experts drafted and submitted
the Program of Public Participation in
Management of Transboundary Water
Resources of the Chu and Talas Rivers. To
develop this Program, a separate project was
established within the framework of Module
3, aimed at promoting public involvement
into decision-making processes concerning
the use of water resources of the rivers. The
outcomes of the project implemented by NGO
Zhalgas-Counterpart, Kazakhstan, and
Counterpart-Sheriktesh, Kyrgyzstan, jointly
with the Center of Transboundary Cooperation
for Chudskoye Lake were submitted
to the Commission for further use.
A special booklet “Establishment of Joint
Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan
and Kyrgyz Republic for Intergovernmental
Use of the Chu and Talas Rivers” was
prepared and published in the following four
languages: Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian and
English.
A study tour to Estonia was organized for
representatives of water authorities of
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in June 18-24,
2004, in order to review the experience of the
Russian-Estonian Commission for
Transboundary Water Resources and to
participate in the International Conference
“UNECE Convention on Transboundary
Water Resources and EU Water Framework
Directive; Performance by Implementing
Joint Participation Approach in Europe and
CIS Countries”.
On February 10-12, 2006, an international
workshop “Transboundary Water Cooperation
between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the
Chu-Talas Region” was held in Almaty. It
was held within the framework of the project
by the Center of Transboundary Cooperation
of the Chudskoye Lake, Estonia, Zhalgas-
Counterpart, Kazakhstan, and Counterpart-
Sheriktesh, Kyrgyzstan. During the workshop
the issues of access to information and public
participation in the management of
transboundary water resources were
discussed.
Module 4: Project Information
In order to provide information on the project
activities and publish the key documents
developed during its implementation, the
web-page www.talaschu.org was created
through support from the Russian-Estonian
Center of Transboundary Co-operation of the
Chudskoye Lake.
In October, 2006, the website was transferred
to the Commission to use it as an official
webpage.
In 2004 a booklet on the project “Supporting
the Establishment of the Commission for the Chu and Talas Rivers between the Republic
of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic” was
prepared and published in four languages:
Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian and English.
For the inauguration of the Commission, a
special video “Channel of Common
Interests” was prepared in English and
Russian. The video illustrates the cooperation
between Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan in joint use of water resources of
the Chu and Talas rivers and was shown to
the participants of the International
Conference held on June 26-27, 2006, in
Bishkek, as well as within the framework of
specialized national TV programs.
In addition, for the inauguration of the
Commission, the following materials were
prepared and published in English and
Russian: a brochure on the “Establishment of
the Commission of the Republic of
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic for the Use
of Water Facilities of Intergovernmental Use
on the Chu and Talas Rivers” and a booklet
on the “Commission of the Republic of
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic for the Use
of Water Facilities of Intergovernmental Use
on the Chu and Talas Rivers”.
Within the framework of the project, the
establishment of the Chu-Talas Commission
was broadly covered by mass media, for
instance a press conference was held on July
31, 2006, in the OSCE Center in Almaty,
where top managers of water authorities of
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan participated.
As an additional contribution to the project to
support the Commission, the project budget balance was allocated for the development
and implementation of the Information
System on the facility of the intergovernmental
use – Chumyshsky Waterworks
Facility on the Chu River. Following the
installation of the Information System,
specific training was conducted for the staff
of the Chumyshsky Waterworks Facility
within the framework of the project.
The project implemented by the OSCE, in cooperation
with the UN and other partners, can
and has become a catalyst for the
development of co-operation in these river
basins. The establishment of the Commission
encouraged other international organizations
(such as the EU and ADB) to provide
assistance to the water authorities operating in
the Chu and Talas basins.
The initial outcomes of the project were
presented during the 36th Session of the
Economic and Environmental Subcommittee
of the OSCE Permanent Council held on
November 26, 2004, in Vienna. This was met
with wide approval, thus providing for further
support of the Commission’s activities by the
OSCE through 2006.
Furthermore, and as mentioned above, the
project was presented in the framework of the
International Conference “Intergovernmental
Use of the Chu and Talas Rivers. Cooperation
Experience and Development
Outlook”, held on July 26-27, 2006, in
Bishkek. The conference participants stated in
their final declaration that the establishment
of the Commission of the Republic of
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic for Use of
Water Facilities of Intergovernmental Use on
the Chu and Talas Rivers was a brilliant
example of successful co-operation between
the countries on the use of water resources of
transboundary rivers.
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