A landmark international event is taking place in Dushanbe (Republic of Tajikistan) this week – the third high-level international conference on the International Decade of Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018 – 2028.
The Dushanbe Water Process is an initiative of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan to support the implementation of the goals of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028 through a series of conferences held every two years by the Government of Tajikistan in close cooperation with the United Nations. The conferences are co-chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan and the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Head of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Sergey Maslyak heads the Belarusian delegation and takes an active part in this event.
Today, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Belarus made a report on the domestic and international policy of our country in the field of water resources management during the first plenary session.
The Minister stressed that “water resources in every country of the world, including the Republic of Belarus, are a national treasure, which must be carefully treated. Despite their sufficiency in our country, we are carrying out purposeful work to reduce water consumption, while ensuring our economic growth.”
Sergey Maslyak noted that the country’s internal “water” policy is being implemented within the framework of the National Strategy for Water Resources Management in the Context of Climate Change for the period up to 2030, and drew attention to the fact that issues of management, planning and economics of water management in the use of water resources in a changing climate have become particularly important in the republic.
Regarding the foreign “water” policy, according to the head of the Belarusian environmental protection agency, its key aspect “is the development of international cooperation in the field of integrated water management, as well as solving environmental problems of a transboundary nature with the assistance of the international community.”
The Republic of Belarus is a party to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, and the Protocol on Water and Health to this Convention. A number of intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements have been signed in the field of protection and use of transboundary waters with neighboring countries.
At the end of his speech, Minister Sergey Maslyak expressed confidence that “integrated water resources management can be achieved exclusively through the joint efforts of the entire international community, taking into account the interests of each country.”
