Kazakhstan to expand UNICEF water conservation project to new regions
Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Aslan Abdraimov met with UNICEF Representative in Kazakhstan Rashed Mustafa Sarwar to discuss the expansion of the Water and Education project, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
The project is being implemented jointly with the Information and Analytical Center for Water Resources and the Ministry of Enlightenment.
UNICEF is prepared to support the expansion of the initiative to Turkistan region, with plans to subsequently extend it to Kazakhstan’s Caspian coastal areas, including Aktau and Atyrau.
A key focus of the meeting was the development of a joint concept aimed at fostering a broader culture of water conservation. Officials said the Water and Education project has demonstrated strong results, prompting plans to continue and scale up the initiative over the next two years.
As part of the expansion, UNICEF has proposed involving its volunteer networks and university-based hubs. The initiative will give teenagers and young people opportunities not only to learn about water conservation but also to take part in practical projects, including developing water-related startups and water-saving solutions.
Our task is to turn the experience we have accumulated into systematic and long-term work. By combining the regional structure of the water sector with UNICEF’s volunteer network, we can create a national water conservation movement in which teenagers and young people become the driving force, said Abdraimov.
Earlier, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan held the 3rd round of talks on the Kambar-Ata-1 HPP project.
