The Coordination Council of the National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management has resumed its work in Uzbekistan. Its composition was approved by the order of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated June 16, 2022. This platform discusses issues at the intersection of various sectors: water and health, water and agriculture, water and energy, water and environmental protection, and so on.
The main idea of the National Policy Dialogue is dialogue between government agencies and various partners, including business, science, and international organizations.”
Tamara Kutonova, Manager of the Water National Policy Dialogues Programme, UNECE
On February 12, 2026, the second meeting of the National Coordination Council of this interagency coordination platform was held. The meeting was opened by Zokir Eshkurbonovich Ishpulatov, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources. He reported on some of Uzbekistan’s key achievements in water issues in the country:
The Republic of Uzbekistan is the first country in Central Asia that acceded to the Protocol on Water and Health to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. This international legal instrument entered into force for the country on December 26, 2023. The Protocol provides for the establishment of specific and measurable national targets for water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and health, along with timelines for achieving them. It also serves as the international legal basis for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all),
On July 30, 2025, the Water Code was adopted in the country and entered into force on October 31, 2025. This law provides for the creation of advisory bodies at the national and basin levels, and, if necessary, at the regional level. The Republic of Uzbekistan has achieved significant results in the application of water-saving technologies and increased energy efficiency in water management. For example, the area of irrigated land where water-saving technologies are used now amounts to 2.6 million hectares (60% of the total irrigated area). Before 2018, this amounted to 28,000 hectares (approximately 1% of the total irrigated area).
The main thematic topics of the 2nd meeting of the National Coordination Council included:
Groundwater management and conjunctive management. Groundwater management functions are carried out in Uzbekistan by the Ministry of Mining and Geology, and the ministries of water management, agriculture, construction, and housing and public utilities, as well as local governments, participate in decision-making. A significant change in this area is the introduction of a requirement for groundwater metering devices, effective January 1, 2024. Currently, this does not apply to individuals who withdraw up to 5 cubic meters per day for personal and household needs, as the first stage of digitalization focuses on large water consumers. During the meeting, an agreement was reached on closer cooperation between the hydrological and construction authorities regarding information on water availability at residential construction sites.
Environmental flow. Environmental flow requirements are included in the Water Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan; they ensure the necessary water levels in rivers and lakes to support the corresponding ecosystems. Key environmental flow issues remain regulated by the provisions on sanitary releases in the Sanitary Rules for the Design, Construction, and Operation of Reservoirs (SanPiN 3907-85), adopted during the Soviet time. Approaches to defining environmental flow are still being developed in the country. With this in mind, international and regional experience in regulating environmental flow was reviewed to develop national regulatory and technical documents. A decision was made to establish a working group on this topic within the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change and with the participation of relevant research institutes and international organizations.
Dam safety. Uzbekistan has 71 artificial reservoirs with a total water capacity of 19.4 cubic kilometers. Dam safety is associated with both the risk of emergencies and water losses, which are exacerbated by climate change. With this in mind, the results of several dam safety studies were reviewed, including those conducted by Uzcosmos based on dam inspections and satellite imagery. Soviet regulatory and technical documents are still used to design hydraulic structures. The development of national documents with the support of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) is currently under consideration.
The meeting also presented information about the initiative to establish an online Dam Safety Academy in Central Asia, which is currently undergoing consultations with countries in the region. The National Research University “Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers” is being considered as a potential host institution for its establishment.
The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the substantive support of the Secretariat of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and financial support from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Government.
