Draft program on water resources management to be submitted to Government in Sept 2013

"A working group has developed a draft state program on management of the country’s water resources, which will be presented to the Government in September," Kapparov said during the seminar "Management of water resources: "green" scenario of action."

The minister pointed out that the threat of water scarcity and inefficient use can be a major obstacle for sustainable economic growth and national security.

"Of the eight water basins of Kazakhstan only one is formed from internal resources, and the rest are cross-border with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Water security of the country is heavily dependent on water coming from neighboring countries. It is no secret that the intense competition for water resources in transboundary basins poses a threat, especially to the southern regions of our country," Nurlan Kapparov emphasized.

According to the minister, it is possible to avoid a negative scenario through the constructive dialogue, cooperation, sharing and integrated approach to the management of water resources at all levels.