EDB publishes a monograph on cooperation and investments in the area of water management
Almaty, 23 June 2015. Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) published the monograph titled International Cooperation and Investment Policies in Water Management. The paper studies important issues related to the strengthening of international relations and the resolution of problems in the area of intersector and interstate water use.
Its authors — Vladimir Yasinsky, Alexander Mironenkov and Tulegen Sarsemberkov — believe that international cooperation in this area is important because access to, and the use of, fresh water are critical and vital problems of the mankind. The overall reserves of fresh water make up slightly more than 2.5% of the total global water reserves. For this reason, river runoffs account for a mere 0.006% in the global reserves of fresh water.
However, the world’s population is mainly concentrated in river basins and many of them encompass several countries. Trans-border river basins include 148 countries, out of which 21 are fully located within them. Over 90% of the world’s population live in countries with shared river basins.
In addition, surface water (rivers in the first place) remains the main source of water supplies for the population and economies. In global agriculture they account for more than 71% of supplies, in industries 87%, and in drinking water supplies 48%.
The world’s consumption of fresh water exceeds 10 cu km a day, which equals the annual production of all types of minerals. The growing consumption of fresh water aggravates the acute shortages of water all over the world, especially in the regions, which already suffer from water deficit.
The authors emphasise that this is the reason why water (primarily, river) management should be comprehensive and should cover issues relating to agriculture, food, energy, trans-border rivers, health and environmental protection, the alleviation of water shortages, and disaster prevention. All countries believe that ensuring everyone’s access to pure drinking water and proper sanitary services is fundamental to solving regional and national problems related to water resources and to fulfilling international cooperation programmes and projects in this area.
In this context, the monograph emphasises the economic and social importance of infrastructure projects involving water resources. Water supply and sanitation projects, for example, are highly efficient: each dollar invested in this sector brings a return of three to four dollars by means of decreasing the incidence of diseases among the population and improving the quality of life and the productivity of labour.
The paper also pays significant attention to the advancement of hydropower, which is closely associated with the use of trans-border rivers. The authors state that the development of hydropower resources requires an effective legislative framework to govern international cooperation and political interaction. One of the conditions to reduce risks in hydropower investment projects is to prepare a comprehensive feasibility study with an objective assessment of the project’s impact on the ecosystem of the river basin and the river’s hydrological conditions.
This task is rather difficult and requires devising new approaches to investment projects, which would influence directly or indirectly the mechanisms of international cooperation. It is a very pressing issue in Central Asian countries. In the Aral Sea basin, for example, total water consumption is 1.1 times higher than available water resources. The wear and tear of existing irrigation infrastructure in the region reaches
The monograph was presented at the High-Level International Conference on the Implementation of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life,” which took place this June in Dushanbe, and was welcomed by experts, practitioners and academia.
International Cooperation and Investment Policies in Water Management should be of interest to specialists in investment planning and water management, researchers and university students.
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. The charter capital of EDB 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.
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