FinWaterWEI II aims at reducing water-related risks by supporting Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in managing their national and international water resources in a balanced, equitable and integrated manner. Four interlinked Result Areas have been chosen as the Programme’s main focus:
Result areas
1. Improved application of integrated water resources management (IWRM) and strengthened basis for transboundary water cooperation
The Result Area on IWRM emphasises sustainable water management at the basin level addressing, responding to and balancing the needs of the different water-users, and supporting public participation in water management. Work under this theme supports inter-sectoral policy dialogue and coordination, application of IWRM in practice including improvement of institutional arrangements for water resources management and putting in place the nascent river basin level management. Work in transboundary basins will build on international legal instruments which advocate reasonable and equitable use of shared waters as well as prevention, control and reduction of transboundary impacts from pollution. The Programme will e.g. support the development of methodological advice and tools to assess the impacts of trade-offs between different sectors and best ways to address them.
2. Reinforced capacity of the water, environment and health administrations to monitor the quality and quantity of waters
The activities to support and build the capacity of the authorities include assessing the status of both natural and supplied water; identifying problems and finding appropriate measures to tackle them as well as improving the cooperation between different authorities in the fields of water, health, environment and hydro-meteorology. The design and implementation of strategies and policies (integrating water, environment and health dimensions and having concrete, time-bound and measurable targets) and establishing or maintaining comprehensive national and/or local surveillance and early warning systems all prevent and respond to the increase of water-related diseases.
3. Enhanced adaptive capacity and preparedness towards climate variability and change
Meeting the growing water demand without compromising sustainability is a rising challenge in the context of growing population and under the pressure of climate change impacts. In the growing competition between different water users it will be more and more important for the countries and basins to increase their capacity to adapt to climate change. There are good projects illustrating that benefits of cooperation in adapting to climate change can be up-scaled and are transferable. Promoting their results is deemed crucial. Work under this Result Area comprises also support to development of strategies and implementation of concrete adaptation measures. Knowledge base and capacity are strengthened in the areas such as acquisition, processing and management of data, forecasting and risk management related to hydrological extremes.
4. Improved capacity of rights holders’ – including the poorest and other vulnerable groups – to understand and realise their rights and responsibilities towards water
The fourth Result Area concentrates on population at large, and includes raising public awareness, mobilising citizens for a sustainable water and wastewater management as well as exploring bottom-up approaches to sustainable water management through civil society cooperation. The work under this Result Area aims at improving health and well-being of the population through improved conditions for and access to safe water and sanitation which have direct benefits for public health. The efforts focus in particular on rural areas, benefitting some of the poorest population groups. Support is provided for mobilisation of funds and for developing self-organisation of communities to repair, operate and maintain water supply systems, and handle wastewaters more safely and to set up sanitation facilities. Advising through NGOs to support the communities and improving the capabilities of rural associations in providing drinking water will help empowering rural population. To this end, necessary economic, administrative and technical measures can be supported with targeted training, education and awareness-raising.
Result Areas of the FinWaterWEI II Programme