Kyrgyzstan has begun the process of developing a Basin Plan for the Chu River
On 6 February 2025, Bishkek hosted a meeting to review the project “Water Use Permit System in the Kyrgyz Republic” implemented by the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry.
The project is being implemented by the International Office for Water (OiEau) with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Subcontractors for the basin plan development process are Hydrosolition GmbH (Switzerland) and the Branch of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) in the Kyrgyz Republic.
The project has 3 components:
- Water resources accounting and planning;
- Issuance of water use permits and pricing;
- Data management and stakeholder engagement.
The goal of the project is environmental sustainability and rational use of water resources, ensured by regulatory functions in the management of water resources of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Representatives of state bodies, regional and local authorities, representatives of SDC, OiEau and experts from the CAREC Branch in Kyrgyzstan (CAREC CF) participated in today’s meeting.
Participants were presented with a detailed project Roadmap, technical capabilities to support the water resources information system and GIS mapping. The roles of each partner and contractors were also discussed in detail.
The meeting also considered proposals to update the previous composition of the Basin Council, created back in 2021, and to create a Working Group to monitor the project implementation process from among the members of the Basin Council. It was decided that representatives will be nominated from each government agency, as well as from NGOs and local authorities.
Responsibility of CAREC CF – Review and update of the Chu River Basin Management Plan with identification of priority sub-basins.
“The new updated Basin Plan will be developed taking into account the best achievements of European countries, with the principles of the Water Framework Directive and the regulatory documents of the Kyrgyz Republic,” noted the team leader, Pierre Henri de Villeneuve.
The project started back in 2024, but CAREC CF has been acting as a subcontractor for the project since February 2025. The period of responsibility of CAREC CF is 2 years.
Additional information:
Kuban Matraimov – Director of the CAREC CF, kmatraimov@carececo.org
