10 November 2014
Groundwater of Pretashkent aquifer is the major source of mineral and drinking water for over six million people from Central Asian republics. The climate change and increased water consumption of a growing population are likely to put additional pressure on the scarce groundwater resources of the region.
On the 6-7 November 2014 UNESCO-IHP and UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office organized a workshop dedicated to the Assessment of the Pretashkent aquifer conducted in the framework of the Governance of Groundwater Resources (GGRETA) project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). During the 2-day workshop national and international experts on hydrogeology, climate change, geography, law presented and discussed a wide range of findings deriving from an innovative aquifer assessment methodology developed by UNESCO.Pretashkent aquifer is a source of water for over 6 million women and men living in two Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, around Syr Darya river valley
Serguei Lazarev, Director, UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office
Syr Darya river valley ©Wikipedia
GGRETA project is aimed to assess the groundwater resources and related issues in order to provide the general public and decision makers with up-to-date information in an accessible non-technical form. The project will continue its work in 2015 by enhancing efficient and sustainable water resource management, provision of directions for gender-transformative actions and recommendation for better water governance’.
Permanent link: http://en.unesco.kz/better-groundwater-governance-for-future-generations-in-central-asia