EDB issues a new publication on water resources
The book analyses water policies in the CIS countries.
Almaty, 19 December 2013. Water resources, which had been deemed inexhaustible for a long time, have quickly become a category of resources, the shortage of which is becoming a serious obstacle to sustainable development in many regions of the world. The consumption of fresh water outpaces in terms of its scale and speed the use of any other resources on the globe and has a deep impact on natural processes and international relations in the basins of trans-boundary rivers. Access to water, in both qualitative and quantitative terms, determines the tone of interstate relationships and regional security. These conclusions are suggested in the new monograph, Managing Water Resources in the CIS Member States, written by Vladimir Yasinsky, Nadezhda Prokhorova, Alexander Mironenkov and Tulegen Sarsembekov.
This is another thematic publication issued by Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), which considers interstate cooperation and interaction in the basins of trans-boundary rivers as an important part of regional integration processes and investment activities in the CIS.
The monograph tells about today’s water policies of the CIS countries, which bear in their core a division of functions relating the management of water resources. The authors state that a comprehensive water management system is still being created in the CIS and the development of the respective legal framework needs to be closely connected to other areas of law governing environmental protection, economy and finance, construction, education, science, international relations and national security. The book analyses tendencies in the development of water management schemes and gives examples of large water management complexes formed in and outside the CIS.
The publication emphasises that the process of water management has its peculiarities in each of the CIS countries; however, the historical humanitarian, economic and political ties between the countries in the region provide the basis for cooperation which can help find effective solutions to trans-boundary water problems in the new geopolitical context.
The deepening of interstate (including multilateral) cooperation will advance the sustainable use of water, the security of water facilities and hydro structures, and will help preserve the environmental potential of river basins. The authors believe that the joint solution of environmental and resource problems in the basins of trans-boundary rivers, the fulfilment of multilateral investment projects, the development of the research and engineering base and professional development should become important areas of work to enhance cooperation in the area of integration and factors that will contribute to the sustainable development of the CIS countries.
In addition, the monograph states that the advancement of the CIS economies and the growing demand for water, as well as the need to tackle environmental problems in the basins of trans-boundary rivers, add importance to this cooperation.
The book is intended for specialists and researchers in the area of water management and can be used as a practical guide for students at universities.
Additional Information
Eurasian Development Bank is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. EDB’s charter capital exceeds US $1.5 billion. The member states of the Bank are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan. Read more at https://www.eabr.org.