Second Meeting of the CAREC Water Pillar Working Group

In 2017, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program introduced water as a new pillar under the CAREC 2030 strategy. It aims to provide a conducive and trusted platform to engage CAREC countries in addressing water scarcity and water productivity issues. During a side session of the CAREC Senior Officials’ Meeting (Tashkent, 2019), CAREC partners and ADB agreed that a scoping study, focusing on the Central Asia region, would be an ideal starting point to develop the Water Pillar. This initial work would serve as the basis for a broader CAREC Water Pillar and guide future scaling up to the wider CAREC region. A Small-Scale regional Technical Assistance (SSTA) was approved in 2020 to develop the scope of the CAREC Water Pillar aiming to improve water resources management in the Central Asian region. The initiative was focused on climate change impacts, economic aspects and sustainable financing of water services and resource management. Three thematic papers were prepared based on a series of country consultations and two regional consultation meetings. A scoping study report – summarizing the analysis and presenting the revised Water Pillar framework was published on the CAREC website in January 2022. The framework for the Water Pillar comprises three blocks (i) climate- resilient and productive systems, (ii) sustainable water resources and water services, and (iii) nexus solutions and cross-sector learning.

A draft interim report entitled ‘From Scoping to Implementation’ was prepared in August 2022 with a longlist of potential regional project activities under each of the three blocks of the Water Pillar framework and a mapping summary of development partner projects. After the national consultations in September 2022, the first CAREC Water Pillar Regional Workshop was held in Tashkent on 29-30 November 2022 to prioritize the types of activities for support under the initial phase of implementation of the Water Pillar. Proposals for establishing a working group and thematic expert groups for the Water Pillar to guide its future direction were also discussed.

The first working group meeting was held in Istanbul from 17 to18 June 2024. Each of the five countries from Central Asia presented initial concepts for consideration under the first phase of CAREC Water Pillar support. These concepts can be categorized into the following two groups, (i) climate adaptive infrastructure projects that deliver transboundary benefits such as enhanced water security and irrigation efficiency, and (ii) automated monitoring systems and digital transformation initiatives aimed at promoting more evidence-based management procedures.
The second meeting of the CAREC Water Pillar Working Group will be conducted virtually and aims to share key updates and solicit feedback from participating stakeholders. Specifically, the meeting will (i) report on the progress of the pre-feasibility study for potential regional projects; (ii) present the engagement on Water–Energy Nexus Modelling; and (iii) introduce the proposed technical assistance (TA) under the CAREC Water Pillar. In addition to sharing progress, the meeting will seek participants’ feedback on these core areas to support the design and implementation of future activities.

Participants will include members of the Water Pillar Working Group, focal points from CAREC member countries in Central Asia, regional institutions, the Asian Development Bank, and technical assistance consultants.

To facilitate more in-depth discussions and strengthen regional coordination, a follow-up in-person working group meeting is tentatively planned in Kazakhstan.