TURKPA Secretary General: Central Asian countries play important role in water management

Bishkek, June 16, 2020 / Kabar /. On 15 June 2020, a workshop on Protection of Water Resources and Land in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic was held in the framework of the TURKPA Commission on Environment and Natural Resources in an online video conference format, TURKPA Secretariat reported. The main goal of the workshop was to discuss the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the environment, including water resources and land in the member countries, as well as to explore methods of cooperation in the relevant fields. The event was attended by parliamentarians from the TURKPA member countries and the Senate of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, ambassadors and representatives of the embassies of the member countries and Uzbekistan in Azerbaijan, as well as by experts and representatives of related ministries and various bodies of the member countries. Representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Partnership and Liaison Office in Azerbaijan also joined the videoconference. During the videoconference, Secretary General of TURKPA noted that there are various platforms related to water management issues, and on one such site, President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov noted that there is no compensation mechanism for the accumulation of water resources in the upper countries for supplying them to friendly neighboring states for irrigation, although in world practice such mutually beneficial cooperation is being successfully implemented. The workshop consisted of two sessions on the Protection of Water Resources and Land in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic and on discussions on Draft Model Law on Conservational Utilization of Energy Resources and Energy Efficiency.