Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Baku hosted a stakeholders' consultation workshop on developing water resources sector strategy for Azerbaijan on October 1.

The workshop co-financed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund was held under ADB's technical assistance, ADB said.

The workshop was attended by about 35 participants from the parliament, Ministries of Emergency Situations, Agriculture, Economy and Industry, Ecology and Natural Resources, key state agencies, international development partners, academia, civil society organizations and other stakeholders.

An ADB team led by Akhtar Ali, the bank's Senior Water Resources Specialist, facilitated the discussions.

Azerbaijan is a water short country and more importantly almost 70 percent of its water resources are originated from neighboring countries. The trans-boundary nature of the country's water resources result in low water quality, large variation and decreasing flows in rivers, and serious degradation of water sheds and river habitat.

Proper management of the country's water resources is therefore of critical importance for the Azerbaijan government. ADB's technical assistance aims to help the recently established State Agency for Water Resources to develop water strategy for Azerbaijan.

The workshop is part of a regional program aimed at assisting the governments of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to solve their water problems through the development of a water resources sector strategy in each country to make water use more efficient and productive, and improve agricultural productivity.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members - 48 from the region. In 2013, ADB assistance totaled $21 billion, including co-financing of $6.6 billion.