ОRGANIZERSPARTNERS

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome Message by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan ..................................................................... 4
Welcome Message by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs ....................... 5
About the Conference ................................................................................................................................................. 6
National Organizing Committee .................................................................................................................................. 9International Advisory Committee ............................................................................................................................ 11
Conference Main Themes ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Conference Programme ............................................................................................................................................ 25
Programme Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 26
Opening Session ........................................................................................................................................................ 29
Plenary Session “Catalyazing water action and partnership at the local, national, regional and global levels” ....... 30
Thematic Panel WHP 1:
Increasing water-health nexus for responding to the challenges of the post-COVID world ...................................... 31
Thematic Panel WEG 1: Promoting IWRM, Water Efficiency and Valuing Water ...................................................... 32
Thematic Panel WEC 1: Promoting Nature-Based Water Solutions, Water Quality and Ecosystems ........................ 33
Thematic Panel WHP 2: Accelerating access to safe WASH conditions, leaving no one behind ............................... 34
Thematic Panel WEG 2: Transboundary water cooperation for Economic Growth and Sustainability ..................... 35
Thematic Panel WEC 2: Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Risk Reduction .......................................................... 36
Plenary Session “Catalyzing water action and partnership at the local, national,
regional and global levels” (continuation) ................................................................................................................ 37
Thematic Panel WHP 3: Advancing Water Sustainability in Urban and Rural Areas ................................................. 38
Thematic Panel WEG 3: Accelerating the water-energy-food nexus in post-COVID recovery ................................... 39
Thematic Panel WEC 3: Water Resources and Climate: Reinforcing the Interlinkages ............................................. 40
Interactive Panel ETAK 1: Improving Knowledge, Education and Communication .................................................... 41
Interactive Panel ETAK 2: Moving out of the Water Box and Promoting Integration at All Levels ............................ 42
Interactive Panel ETAK 3: Promoting Science-Based Water Solutions, Tools and Technology ................................... 43
Closing Session .......................................................................................................................................................... 44
Conference Forums ................................................................................................................................................... 46
Side Events ................................................................................................................................................................ 55
Excursions ................................................................................................................................................................. 59
Exhibition .................................................................................................................................................................. 64
Cultural Program ....................................................................................................................................................... 65
Location of Buildings in the State Complex Kokhi Somon .......................................................................................... 67
Floor Plans of Kokhi Somon ....................................................................................................................................... 68
Map with event locations .......................................................................................................................................... 69
Practical Information ................................................................................................................................................. 70
About Tajikistan ........................................................................................................................................................ 72
About Dushanbe ....................................................................................................................................................... 73

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

WELCOME MESSAGE BY THE CO-CHAIR
Dear Friends,
With great pleasure I
would like to welcome you
to the Second High-Level
International Conference on
the International Decade for
Action “Water for Sustainable
Development”, 2018-2028, tobe held on 6-9 June 2022 in
Dushanbe.
The Water Action Decade reaffirms that in the current
global agenda water is still among the most urgent
issues. Consequently to achieve significant progressin the implementation of internationally agreed
water goals, greater integration of the efforts of all
stakeholders is necessary.
The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan isorganizing this conference in collaboration with
the United Nations and with the support of otherpartners. The conference will serve as a platform
to facilitate an effective preparation for the United
Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive
Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of
the International Water Action Decade “Water for
Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, to be held next
year in New York.
The Conference, as an integral part of the series of
events convened in the framework of the “Dushanbe
Water Process”, will provide an opportunity to trace theprogress and gaps in the implementation of the Water
Action Decade, including initiatives and obligations. It
will focus on how governments and stakeholders canintensify and strengthen partnerships to contribute to
the implementation of water-related goals and targetsof the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development andother internationally agreed documents.

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We hope that representatives of governments,
international and regional organizations, international
financial institutions, scientific and educational entities,
NGOs, river and lake basin authorities, women, children
and youth organizations, as well as private sector,
will take an active part in deliberations and develop
concrete recommendations for implementation ofwater-related Sustainable Development Goals andobjectives.
I am confident that your active participation in theplenary sessions, thematic and interactive panels,
forums and side events will ensure success of theconference and make a valuable contribution to thepromotion of joint efforts in achieving sustainable
development and the efficient use of water resources
for the benefit of the present and future generations.
Sincerely,
Qohir Rasulzoda
Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan
Chairman of the National Organizing Committee

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

WELCOME MESSAGE BY THE CO-CHAIR
Dear Friends,
It is my pleasure to welcome
you to the 2nd Water Action
Decade Conference, held
under the theme “Catalyzingwater action and partnershipat the local, national, regionaland global levels.”
Worldwide, pressure on water resources is rising, while
actions for their sustainable management and use are
lagging. Meeting the water needs of the world’s growing
population is key for sustainable development in all its
dimensions - economic, social and environmental. We
must address water-intensive consumption patterns,
as well as increasing precipitation variability and waterpollution. Furthermore, climate change is exacerbating
extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts,
which impose huge social and economic costs aroundthe world.
Over the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic,
the world has recognized the critical importance ofwater and sanitation. Hand washing has emerged asa major means of protection from infectious diseases.
Yet, statistics show that 1 out of 3 people still lackhandwashing facilities at home and billions more still do
not have access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Despite efforts made, the world is off track to meet
Sustainable Development Goal 6: “Ensure availability
and sustainable management of water and sanitation
for all” by 2030 and other internationally agreed
water-related goals. Therefore, it is imperative that we
accelerate our efforts towards the accomplishment ofthese water-related goals. We must urgently addressthese challenges together, implementing programmes
and projects on integrated and sustainable managementof water and sanitation. Commitment and cooperation
at all levels are essential for mobilizing resources,
capacity-building and technology transfer.

The Second Dushanbe Water Action Decade
Conference provides a timely opportunity to focus on
catalyzing water actions and partnerships to contributeto the achievement of water-related goals and targets
at the global, regional and national levels. Also, theConference will serve as an important meeting toenhance preparations for the United Nations 2023
Water Conference, to be convened from 22 to 24
March 2023 in New York.
The Dushanbe Conference will address the criticalinterlinkages between water and climate change,
health, food, energy, industry and the environment,
and promote respective science-based solutions
and tools. Furthermore, participants will have an
opportunity to showcase successful actions andinnovative partnerships within the Water Action
Decade. I encourage everyone to present ideas forstrengthening cooperation at different levels that will
accelerate implementation on the ground.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs is
pleased to partner with Tajikistan in the organization of
the Dushanbe Conference and stands ready to support
countries and stakeholders in their efforts to ensure
availability and sustainable management of water andsanitation for all.
I look forward to welcoming you in Dushanbe and wish
you all a fruitful Conference.
Thank you,
Liu Zhenmin
Under-Secretary-Generalfor Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

ABOUT THE CONFERENCEBACKGROUND
Today, per capita freshwater availability is diminishing.
Over the past four decades, it dropped by one-third.
According to UN-Water’s World Water Development
Report (2018), by 2050, between 4.8 billion and 5.7
billion people out of 9 billion will live in areas that arewater-scarce for at least one month each year, up from
3.6 billion today, while the number of people at risk offloods will increase to 1.6 billion, up from 1.2 billion
today.
Water is a powerful tool for cooperation and dialogue
in support of sustainable development and safer andresilient societies. However, there is a need for more
effective, integrated and coordinated actions, coupledwith strong political will. All stakeholders, including
those in government, international organizations, civilsociety, the private sector and academia, should beengaged, paying special attention to the livelihoods ofpoor and vulnerable people, leaving no one behind.
To bridge the achievement gap, the United Nations
launched the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework.
The Framework emphasizes that there are many
examples from around the world which prove that
dramatic gains are possible and that some of thesolutions are inexpensive, effective and can be quickly
deployed. The Framework aims at delivering fast results
at an increased scale. Coordinated by UN-Water, theFramework is driven by country demand and will unify
the international community’s support to countries toachieve SDG 6. Action is driven by five accelerators:
financing, data and information, capacity development,
innovation, and governance.
Mobilizing political will and commitments to address
water issues worldwide plays a crucial role. Equallyimportant are forward-thinking and a willingness topromote innovative ways to approach local, national,
regional and international water cooperation in theaftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. Open discussions
about the issues shaping water resources management
today and public participation in decision-making,including, among others, of women, youth, minorities,

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migrants, refugees and persons with disabilities, canstimulate cooperative solutions and actions. Promoting
a culture of consultation and dialogue, increasing
participatory engagement and partnership will help todeliver benefits for all.
WATER ACTION DECADEAND THE DUSHANBE WATER PROCESSIn December 2016, the United Nations General
Assembly declared the period 2018-2028 as theInternational Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable
Development” (hereinafter Water Action Decade),which aims at supporting sustainable development
and integrated management of water resources, while
promoting cooperation and partnerships to support
achieving internationally agreed water-related goals
and targets, including those contained in the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development. On 22 March
2018, the United Nations Secretary General’s Planfor the Water Action Decade was released during a
High-Level Launch Event, convened by the Presidentof the 73rd United Nations General Assembly. The
plan outlines current activities and capabilities of theUN system and international organizations and theoperational setup envisaged to support Member Statesin the implementation of the Water Action Decade.
In this connection, the Government of Tajikistan,committed to continue providing a platform for policy
dialogue, partnership and action at the global, regionaland national level, is organizing, with the support of
the United Nations and other partners, high-levelinternational conferences throughout the Water
Action Decade. This series of events constitutes theso-called “Dushanbe Water Process”. As part of thisprocess, the First High-level International Conference
on the International Decade for Action, “Waterfor Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028 (First
Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference) was heldin Dushanbe on 20-21 June 2018. The outcomes of
the Conference included recommendations to the UN
High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Developmentthat took place in 2018, for its in-depth review of theimplementation of SDG 6.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

The Final Declaration of the First Dushanbe Conference
confirmed the focus of the next conference to be on“Catalyzing water action and partnership at the local,
national, regional and global levels” to achieve thegoals of the Water Action Decade and other waterrelated SDGs and targets. In the wake of the COVID-19
pandemics, the Second Dushanbe Water Action Decade
Conference had to be postponed to 2022. Taking into
account the rapidly evolving development challenges,
and the fact that the coronavirus disease demonstrated
a crucial role of the safe and affordable drinking water,
and adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene
which should be available, accessible, and affordable toall, as well as importance of water for economic recovery
the Conference planned for 2022 will have a renewed
focus on “Catalyzing water action and partnership at
the local, national, regional and global levels” for thewater-smart recovery path in the post-COVID world.
The importance of the Second Dushanbe Water Action
Decade Conference was further reaffirmed at the global
level through the adopted UN GA resolution 75/212,
indicating it as the key preparatory event for the United
Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive
Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of theInternational Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable
Development”, 2018-2028. The Midterm Review
Conference will take place from 22 to 24 March 2023
in New York and will be co-hosted by the Governmentsof Tajikistan and the Netherlands. The resolution callson the offer of the Government of Tajikistan to use theDushanbe Water Action Decade Conference in 2022 asa platform to support an effective preparation for the
Midterm comprehensive review. The Conference inDushanbe shall also ensure linkages with other waterrelated meetings that may serve to provide input for the
preparatory process of the Midterm Conference, e.g.
high-level symposium on water during the UN Ocean
Conference, Bonn Water Dialogue for Results, AsiaPacific Water Summit and the 9th World Water Forum.
The Second Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conferenceis organized by the Government of Tajikistan with thesupport of the United Nations and will be held from 6
to 9 June 2022. The Conference will be co-chaired by
the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan and theUnited Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic
and Social Affairs.

OBJECTIVESThe Second Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference
will focus on how governments, the United Nations
and its entities, other international and regionalorganizations, international financial institutions,the private sector, civil society organizations,academia, communities, local governments and otherstakeholders can catalyze water action and partnerships
to contribute to the implementation of water-related
goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, the Paris Climate Agreement, the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Addis Ababa
Action Agenda on Financing for Development and the
New Urban Agenda at all levels, while supporting the
global response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The Second Dushanbe Water Action Decade
Conference will also serve as a platform for soliciting
and consolidating inputs in preparation of the United
Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive
Review of the Implementation of the Objectivesof the International Decade for Action, “Water for
Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028 in 2023 in New
York (UN 2023 Water Conference) and will feed theupcoming UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable
Development.
In particular, the Second Dushanbe Water Action
Decade Conference will focus on:• Providing an update on the activities and actions
indicated in the Final Declaration, the Co-Chairs’
Summary and the Call for Action and Partnershipsof the First Dushanbe Water Action Decade
Conference, co-organized by the Government of
Tajikistan and the United Nations;• Accelerating the implementation of internationallyagreed water-related goals and targets at theregional and national level, particularly through theSDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework;• Promoting science-based solutions and tools,
including data, technologies and innovations;• Improving capacity building, knowledge andeducation through sharing information and bestpractices;

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028• Showcasing successful partnerships, advocacy andnetworking actions by stakeholders at all levels;• Strengthening cooperation at different levels bypromoting dialogue, partnership and cross-sectoral
approaches.
The Conference in 2022 will also provide a mechanism
to encourage governments, the United Nations and allother partners to translate good intentions into actions
on the ground.
OUTCOMES
In continuity with past events, this Conference willproduce a Final Declaration and a Co-chair’s Summary,as well as a compendium of actions, partnerships andother initiatives, presented during the Conference.
The outcome documents of the Second Dushanbe
Water Action Decade Conference will consolidate
critical views of the stakeholders on key actions andpartnerships necessary to take the water sector
agenda forward globally and provide valuable inputs
to the preparation of the UN 2023 Water Conferencein New York. The outcomes of the Conference will bepresented to the 77th session of the United Nations
General Assembly and the United Nations High-Level
Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
ORGANIZERSThe Conference is organized by the Government of the
Republic of Tajikistan in cooperation with the United
Nations and its entities, particularly UNDESA, and otherpartners. The Government of Tajikistan has establisheda National Organizing Committee under the leadershipof the Prime-Minister.
To facilitate preparation to the Conference, as well as
to develop a comprehensive program and outcome
documents of the Conference with participation of
all categories of water users and decision-makers, anInternational Advisory Committee was established,comprising representatives of UN agencies, partnercountries, international and regional organizations,financial institutions, river basin organizations, NGOs,
the private sector and other stakeholders.

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A Conference Secretariat was established by theGovernment of Tajikistan at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and is jointly staffed in collaboration with
the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources. The
Conference Secretariat is supported by UNDP as wellas other development partners.
VENUE OF THE CONFERENCE
The Conference will be held at the State Complex“Kokhi Somon”. The Forums and Side Events will beheld in various locations across the city.
WORKING LANGUAGE
The working languages of the Conference are English,
Russian and Tajik. Simultaneous translation will be
provided.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

NATIONAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
№
1.
2.

Name
Chairman
Mr. Qohir Rasulzoda
Vice Chairman
Mr. Sirojiddin Muhriddin
Secretary

3.

Mr. Saburzoda Mirzodavlat

4.

Membres
Mr. Juma Daler

5.

Mr. Zavqizoda Zavqi

6.
7.
8.
9.

Mr. Qahhorzoda Fayziddin
Mr. Ashuriyon Muzaffar
Mr. Karimzoda Sadi
Mr. Saidzoda Rahim

10.

Mr. Abdullozoda Jamoliddin

11.

Mr. Sherali Kabir

12.
13.
14.

Mr. Azim Ibrohim
Ms. Davlatzoda Zulfiya
Mr. Kholiqzoda Hokim

15.

Mr. Qodirzoda Sadi

16.

Mr. Nuriddin Said

17.

Mr. Sheralizoda Bahodur

18.

Mr. Jamshed Kamolov

19.

Mr. Nazarzoda Rustam

20.

Mr. Beg Sabur

21.

Mr. Saidali Siddiq

Position
Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan
Chief of the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protectionof the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan
Minister of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan
Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of
Tajikistan
Minister of Finance of the Republic of Tajikistan
Minister of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan
Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan
Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan
Minister of Health and Social Protection of Population of the Republicof Tajikistan
Minister of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of
Tajikistan
Minister of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan
Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan
Chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan
Chairman of the State Committee on Investment and Managementof State Property of the Republic of Tajikistan
Chairman of the Committee on Television and Radio under theGovernment of the Republic of Tajikistan
Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Protection under theGovernment of the Republic of Tajikistan
Chairman of the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil
Defense under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan
Chairman of the Committee on Youth, Sports and Tourism under theGovernment of the Republic of Tajikistan
Head of Communication Services under the Government of the
Republic of Tajikistan
Director of the National Information Agency of Tajikistan “Khovar”

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

NATIONAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE№

Name

Position

Membres22.

Mr. Holmurod Rahmon

23.
24.
25.

Mr. Davlatzoda Usmon
Mr. Asozoda Mahmadumar
Mr. Farhod Rakhimi

26.

Mr. Hayotzoda Firdavs

27.

Mr. Parviz Davlatzoda

28.

Mr. Rajabiyon Sayfiddin

29.

Mr. Kurbonzoda Isojon

30.

Mr. Ganizoda Shuhrat

31.

Mr. Hoshimzoda Davron

32.

Mr. Khudoyorzoda Khudoyor

33.
34.

Mr. Tabarzoda Jamshed
Mr. Jonibek Hikmat

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Director of the Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation under theGovernment of the Republic of Tajikistan
Director of SUE “ Housing and Utility ”
Chairman of OJSHC “Barqi Tojik”
President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan
First Deputy Head of the Executive Office of the President of the
Republic of Tajikistan
Head of International Relations Department of the Executive Officeof the President of the Republic of Tajikistan
Head of Department on Management of Authorities Affairs of the
Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan
Head of Department on Infrastructure Development of the Executive
Office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan
Head of Legal Department of the Executive Office of the President of
the Republic of Tajikistan
Head of Office Work and Control of the Executive Office of the
President of the Republic of Tajikistan
E.d. Head of Financial Department of the Executive Office of the
President of the Republic of Tajikistan
First Deputy Chairman of Dushanbe City
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the UN

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE№

Co-Chairs

Name

1.

Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda

2.

Ms. Jennifer Sara
Members

Position
Chairman, Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving
the Aral Sea
Global Director of the Global Water Practice, World Bank

Director of the Water Institute of the University of North Carolina,
United States
4. Mr. Abou Amani
Director of Water Sciences Division and Secretary of the IHP, UNESCO
5. Mr. Ahmet M. Saatçı
President, SUEN
6. Ms. Alice Bouman-Dentener
Independent Expert, The Netherlands
7. Mr. Alexander Trepelkov
Officer-in-Charge, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UNDESA
8. Ms. Carolina Tornesi MacKinnon President, World Youth Parliament for Water
9. Ms. Danielle Gaillard-Picher
Global Coordinator, Water & Climate Processes, Global Water Partnership
10. Ms. Diana Iskreva
Executive Director, Earth Forever Foundation
11. Ms. Terhi HakalaSpecial Representative for Central Asia, European Union
12. Mr. Guy Bonvin
Special Envoy for Water in Central Asia, SDC
13. Mr. Henk Ovink
Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, The Netherlands
14. Ms. Josefina Maestu
Water Advisor to the Secretary of State for Environment, Spain
15. Mr. Julien Katchinoff
Water Team Lead at the Department of State, United States
Associate Director of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programme
16. Ms. Kelly Ann Naylor
Division, UNICEF, and Vice Chair, UN-Water
17. Mr. Kenzo Hiroki
Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS, Japan
Senior Manager for International Policy, Stockholm International Water
18. Ms. Maggie White
Institute
19. Ms. Marianne Kjellén
Senior Water Advisor, UNDP
20. Ms. Mariet Verhoef-Cohen
President, Women for Water Partnership
21. Mr. Mark Smith
Director General, IWMI
22. Ms. Mercedes Castro
Director General, Agualimpia of Peru
23. Dr. Seun Phillips
Director General, Department of Water and Sanitation, South Africa
24. Mr. Olcay Unver
Professor of Practice, Arizona State University
25. Mr. Sene Abdoulaye
Executive Secretary, 9th World Water Forum, Senegal
Special Adviser on Water to the Government, Department of Foreign
26. Mr. Tony Slatyer
Affairs and Trade, Australia
27. Mr. Torgny Holmgren
Executive Director, SIWI
Professor of Professional Practice, Pacific Water Research Centre, Simon
28. Mr. Zafar Adeel
Fraser University, Canada
Policy Officer, Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation,
29. Ms. Janine Muzau
Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Germany
Deputy Division Director & Head of Water, Food and Agriculture
30. Ms. Sasha Koo-Oshima
Organization of the United Nations (FAO)3.

Mr. Aaron Salzberg

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

CONFERENCE MAIN THEMESEach Conference Forum and Panel Session is designed
to support the Conference by deepening our collective
understanding of the Water Action Decade andgalvanizing action in support of the implementation ofwater-related SDGs focusing on the same issues as theoverall Conference.
Each session is invited to address any or all of the fivedimensions of the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework
as cross-cutting issues: financing, data and information,
capacity development, innovation and governance, as
well as the interlinkages between accelerating SDG 6
and other water-related SDGs, between the Water
Action Decade and other relevant decades.
Organizers, speakers and participants are also invited
to take into consideration the objectives of the Water
Action Decade, such as enhanced coordination andinclusiveness, access to and adequacy of knowledge,
water use efficiency across the SDGs, establishment
and promotion of innovative partnerships and fullparticipation of stakeholders. In this regard, session
organizers were requested to build on the results andrecommendations emerging from the First Dushanbe
Water Action Decade Conference.
The outcomes of the Forums and Panels will
be presented during the Plenary Session of theConference and consolidated into the final report of
the Conference, made available on the Conference
website and circulated widely.
CONFERENCE FORUMSThe Conference is based on a multi-stakeholder approachthat brings together different actors from water, finance,energy, industry, health, education, urban planning andagriculture sectors, including climate and environment
practitioners. By involving a wider range of stakeholders,
communities and major groups in the process to discuss
the ways of achieving SDG 6 and other water-related
goals, the event seeks to gather ideas and best practices,focusing on advocacy, networking and promoting
partnerships and action on the implementation ofwater-related solutions at all levels.

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To support this goal, the Conference will include
a number of regional and major groups forums to
support these intersectoral discussions:• Central Asia Forum “Water for Regional
Cooperation”• Women Water Forum• Youth and Children Water Forum• Forum on Water and Local Communities andIndigenous Peoples• Forum on Water and Mountains towards
Sustainable Development
The objective of each individual Forum within the
Conference is to create a platform for broader
discussion of water-related issues among stakeholdersaligned around a shared interest or region, but in anarrower geographical or social context.
These Forums will involve different types of
stakeholders, including women, youth, local authorities,
professional groups, scholars, private sector and othersin the implementation of the water agenda with afocus on reviewing the evidence on best practices andcatalysing water actions and partnerships at the local,
national, regional and global level. Deliberations on
findings and solutions will contribute to the themeof the Conference and address the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, including SDG 6.
CENTRAL ASIA FORUM“WATER FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION”
The proposed Forum is organized following a strong
call for “a dialogue platform to discuss urgent issuesof regional cooperation” initiated at the summit ofCentral Asian heads of state convened in Nur-Sultan(Kazakhstan) in March 2018, and follow-up meetingsin Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in November 2019 andAvaza (Turkmenistan) in August 2021, where water,energy, and environment were amongst the key areas
highlighted for cooperation. The Forum is organizedas part of the Second Dushanbe Water Action Decade
Conference to be held in Dushanbe on June 6-9,2022, with the objective to provide a platform forstakeholders in the Central Asia region to contributeSecond High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

to broader discussion of water-related issues in orderto catalyze water action and partnerships at theregional level. The Forum will provide an opportunity
for participants to reflect on the outcomes of the First
Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference in theirnarrow context. Reflections, recommendations andcommitments derived in the discussions of the Forum
will be linked to the overall agenda and themes of the
Dushanbe Conference and will be presented at the
Plenary session of the Conference.
To date the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea(IFAS) remains the only formal intergovernmentalorganization limited to the five countries of Central
Asia. IFAS was established in the early 1990s with thesupport of international donors including the WorldBank following an agreement amongst the newly
independent Central Asia states to share and distributewater in accordance with the principles of equality andshared benefit. An Interstate Commission for the Aral
Sea (ICAS) was established at the same time to oversee
an Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP). In 1997 IFAS andICAS were merged. A succession of three ASBP phases
has seen important progress but the countries are yet
to agree on a vision for regional water cooperation,and it is increasing clear that existing water sharing
arrangements do not equally share benefits and thatclimate change will exacerbate the situation. In recent
years a consensus has emerged that IFAS governanceand institutions are overdue for reform to improve
efficiency and effectiveness, and IFAS has embarked on a
structured reform process with development partners’
support. In 2001, a joint decision of the five countries(and the EU and UNDP) led to the establishment of
the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia
(CAREC) – an independent, non-political organization toassist Central Asian governments and key stakeholders
address environmental and sustainability challenges,
through dialogue and knowledge collaboration. IFAS
and CAREC work synergistically on water issues toprogress cooperation.
Multiple development partners have been supporting
efforts to improve regional water (and energy andenvironmental) cooperation, and a loose coalition ofpartners has evolved to better coordinate these efforts
amongst partners and with governments. This coalition
meets regularly to share programmatic updates and new

knowledge and regional intelligence, and to coordinate
their respective activities. The proposed Forum will
provide an opportunity to showcase and further theseongoing efforts on regional water cooperation andcoordination, and to engage directly with representativesof country governments, and key stakeholders including
relevant NGOs, academia, private sector organizations,and young water professionals in discussion of the main
themes of the Conference structured along the domainsof water for health, water for economy and livelihoods
and water for environment and climate resilience,in line with the overall structure of the Conference.
As described in the Conference Concept Note, theForum will address the five dimensions of the SDG 6
Global Acceleration Framework as cross-cutting issues:
financing, data and information, capacity development,
innovation and governance.
Organization of the Central Asia Forum within thesecond Dushanbe Water Decade Conference has been
supported by IFAS Board members in their meetingon 22 February 2022 through adoption of the special
resolution. Due to this resolution the Executive
Committee of IFAS, with the involvement of interested
ministries and agencies of the member-states,
development partners, has been entrusted to organize
the Forum on the highest possible level as well as
ensure the active participation of the IFAS sub entities
in the Second International High-Level Conference
on the International Decade for Action «Water for
Sustainable Development», 2018-2028.
WOMEN WATER FORUM
Since 2013, the Women Water Forum is an intrinsic
part of the International High Level Dushanbe Water
Conferences for the United Nations Water Action
Decades, respectively the Water for Life Decade2005 – 2015 and the current Water for Sustainable
Development Decade 2018 – 2028. A primary objectiveof these women’s forums is to ensure gender sensitivity
and women inclusiveness of the Dushanbe Process. At
the same time, the Women Water Forum provides aplatform for the Major Group Women in all its diversity
to contribute to the accelerated implementationof appropriate water solutions for equitable andsustainable development solutions.

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The 2018 Women Water Forum ‘Bridging Voices to
Action’ marked the starting point of a transformative
action-oriented SDG5 – SDG6 process. During the Waterfor Sustainable Development Decade, the ‘Bridging
Voices to Action’ movement will see the progressive
development of conditions for collective action in thisdomain. The consecutive Dushanbe women water
forums provide critical moments of reflection: to reportprogress on what, to strengthen existing and forge newpartnerships, to exchange and discuss success andfailure factors, and to address gaps and emerging issues.
In between these meetings is where the participants inthe ‘Bridging Voices to Action’ process work at different
levels to deliver on their commitments.
UN Women 2021 SDGs progress report underlined “thatin 2020, only 26 per cent of 170 countries were actively
pursuing gender mainstreaming in water resourcesmanagement. While 24 per cent had made some
progress, 50 per cent had made few or no advancesin achieving gender objectives. One reason for limited
progress is a lack of earmarked funds and actionable
plans that prioritize gender considerations”. Also, while
82 per cent of 104 countries have procedures for user/
community participation, only 45 per cent have specificpolicies for women’s participation. Similarly, only 22
per cent have high levels of women’s participation inpolicy and management processes, meaning womenare formally represented or regularly consulted inthese processes.
A core objective of the Dushanbe Women Water
Forum is to jointly identify and elaborate science-based
solutions and actions that effectively address the needsof women and their communities and that root in thegender reality on the ground from LNOB approach To
this extend, a A Community of Practice for “Scienceand Knowledge based Solutions for Gender-sensitive
and Women-inclusive Water Action” will be launched,which will further support the process.

YOUTH AND CHILDREN WATER FORUM
Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
is not only fundamental for stable, equitable andprosperous societies, but it is also a basic human right.
This right is enshrined in global development priorities,
including the Sustainable Development Goals. The
Government of Tajikistan has played a leading role on
the global stage to convene and mobilize UN member
states around the right to water, sanitation and hygiene
for all.
The work undertaken with and by youth is crucial toraise ambition of governments to tackle the effects
of climate change on water. Tackling climate change
requires concerted coordinated government action as
well as conscious and informed efforts by individuals.
Therefore, it is essential to strengthen both formal
and informal education on climate change and viable
lifestyles. In addition, sustainable production andconsumption patterns must be promoted and youth
supported as environmental champions in their local
communities.
Partnership development between governments,
intergovernmental, non-governmental and youth
organizations for joint environmental initiatives need toaim at building the capacity of youth as future leadersand driving forces to manage challenges of present andfuture.
Considerable efforts are also needed in strengthening
the adaptive capability and resilience of youth in ruralcommunities in developing countries.
On 6-9 June 2022, and in the context of theInternational Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable
Development, 2018-2028”, the Republic of Tajikistan
will for the second time host a high-level event withthe focus on partnership at the local, national, regionaland global levels to catalyze action towards achieving
the SDG targets on WASH.
There is a high degree of interest by the Governmentof Tajikistan to highlight the importance of water andsanitation for children (and mothers). UNICEF Tajikistan
is therefore committed to supporting the government
in the preparation and implementation of this aspectof the conference. UNICEF, in collaboration with the

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

Government of Tajikistan, will play a crucial role inmobilizing children and young people from Tajikistan
and across the world, giving them a platform for
vocalizing the impact of access to safe WASH on theirlives and their futures.
FORUM ON WATER AND LOCAL COMMUNITIESAND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The 2023 UN Conference on Water, with the June 2022
Dushanbe High-Level International Conference as oneof its main preparatory events, aim for an inclusive
process. The voice of ‘major groups’ – and not leastfrom indigenous peoples and local communities aroundthe world – is critical for achieving this objective of
inclusiveness,Among the major groups, indigenous peoples
have a special role and have assumed far-reaching
responsibilities in biodiversity conservation andecosystem stewardship in keeping with their own longstanding relationships to the territories and places
within which they live and govern. WWF et al (2021)
found that 32% (43.5 million km2) of global land andassociated inland waters is owned or governed by
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, either
through legal or customarily held means. Many ofthese places are rich in biodiversity and supply globally
important ecosystem services and have achieved thisbecause of their local indigenous governance. A recent
FAO/FILAC report on forest governance in Latin America
establishes that deforestation rates are significantly
lower in indigenous and tribal territories compared towhere governments have formally recognized collective
land rights.
The Forum welcomes Indigenous Peoples to help
make (mainstream) water and land management
more effective in protecting vital ecosystems andtheir importance for water security and climatechange mitigation and adaptation whilst recognizing
their aspirations and helps build a platform for better
understanding of their relationships to their local
waters and the association obligations thereof.
Given Indigenous Peoples’ and many local communities’
insufficient access to global policy platforms anddeliberations, the Forum welcomes creative ideas

for more equitable and inclusive participation of
the people of the planet at the 2023 United Nations
Conference on Water.
Indigenous Peoples and many local communities haveimportant and long-standing connections with theirlocal water bodies. Depending on these for food andsustenance, they have developed substantive local
ecological knowledge, institutions, and technologies inrelation to managing these water bodies. Despite suchconnections, and dependencies, local communities
are often absent in global policy making forums andit is often difficult to get their views. As the impact
of climate change deepens, it is increasingly criticalto reach these communities; especially as theirunderstanding about water and the environment canoffer a more contextualized perspective.
FORUM ON WATER AND MOUNTAINS TOWARDSSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTThe UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/71/234(Dec 2016) on Sustainable Mountain Development
has recognized “that mountains provide sensitive
indications of climate change through phenomena suchas modifications to biological diversity, the retreat ofmountain glaciers, flash floods and changes in seasonal
runoff, which are having an impact on major sourcesof freshwater in the world, and stresses the need toundertake actions to minimize the negative effects ofthese phenomena, promote adaptation measures andprevent the loss of biological diversity.” As a result,the Resolution “encourages all relevant entities of
the United Nations system, within their respective
mandates, to further enhance their constructive efforts
to strengthen inter-agency collaboration to promotesustainable mountain development.”
The recently released IPCC’s Working Group I Report
the Physical Science Basis of the sixth Assessment
report (August 2021) highlights that mountain andpolar glaciers have been melting and retreating
for decades and permafrost thaw is irreversible atcentennial timescales. The IPCC report also emphasizes
that “climate change is intensifying the water cycle”
which will bring more associated flooding and drought
in many regions. The rising global temperatures
are causing unprecedented changes in the Earth’s

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cryosphere including changes in ice and snow in thepolar and high mountain regions of the globe withramifications that extend well beyond the areas where
snow and ice are present.
Mountains provide vital resources to a significant
proportion of the global population and are often
called nature’s water towers of the world. People
and industries in lowland areas also benefit frommountains, while the ecosystem services form thebasis of most mountain livelihoods. Mountains supply
more than half of humanity with water for drinking,irrigation, industry, food and energy production.
Mountains are also among the most sensitive regions
to climate change. Their glaciers and ecosystems
provide with some of the clearest indicators of thisglobal phenomenon. Moreover, mountain ecosystems
regulate climate, air quality, and water flow. However,despite providing such an unprecedented abundanceof ecosystem services, mountains remain among thepoorest documented ecosystems in this regard. They
contribute to protection against natural hazards and theimpacts of extreme events, such as floods, droughts.
Global climate change is accelerating glacier retreat
in many regions worldwide, including in Central Asia,
which will have significant effects on the populations
in mountain areas, as well as to the large populations
downstream. The need for a worldwide inventoryof existing perennial ice and snow masses was firstconsidered during the International Hydrological
Decade, declared by UNESCO for 1965-1974. More thana century later, there remain deep gaps in monitoring
the glacier system in all mountainous regions.
Achieving and maintaining water security is increasingly
challenging under current climatic variability andprojected climate change, especially in vulnerable areas
such as mountainous and arid regions. This event will
highlight case studies from the major high mountainregions, including from Central Asia, and climate change
influence on the changing cryosphere, and its impact tothe populations, including the most vulnerable.
This event supports the decade’s process throughvarious formats of the stakeholder presentations
and discussions, highlighting frontiers, opportunities
and gaps in research, education and cooperation onmountains, cryosphere and water sector. It will bring

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together researchers, practitioners, policy and decision
makers, government representatives of multiple levels,
youth and young men and women researchers anddevelopment partners from major mountain regionof the world including from Central Asia, working
in water-related sectors to share knowledge, bestpractices and ideas for a sustainable water resourcesmanagement with focus on mountains, and in linewith the Water Decade. The event will be built on theongoing partnership efforts towards the common goal
for better achievement of SDG 6 and will be focusedlargely on the follow-up of the recommendations madeduring the pre-forum on Water and Climate Dialogue,
organised by the same partners at the occasion of
the 2018 High Level Conference on Water Decade in
Dushanbe. This will be also a contribution to 9th Phaseof UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme(IHP IX, 2022-2029) “Science for a Water Secure Worldin a Changing Environment. The forum will contributecomprehensively and more specifically to the SDG 6
and will strengthen the linkages with the SDGs 13, SDG
11.5, SDG 15, SDG 17 and others.
THEMATIC AND INTERACTIVE PANELSThe Second Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference
includes twelve Thematic and Interactive Panels. The
Panels will focus on SDG 6, other water related goals,
the goals of the Water Action Decade and the areas onmeans of implementation. The Panels are co-organizedby partners of the Dushanbe Water Process, including
Member States, United Nations agencies and programs,
other international and regional organizations,international financial institutions, other development
partners, private companies, as well as academia andnongovernmental organizations. As a general rule,each Panel is co-organized by two partners. They cover
the following issues:
Three Thematic Panels on Water for Health and People(WHP):• Increasing water-health nexus for responding to
the challenges of the post-COVID world (WHP1)• Accelerating access to safe water supply,
sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions,leaving no one behind (WHP2)• Advancing water sustainability in urban and rural
areas (WHP3)

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

Three Thematic Panels on Water for Livelihoods andInclusive Economic Growth (WEG):• Promoting
integratedwater
resources
management, water efficiency and valuing water(WEG1)• Transboundary water cooperation for inclusive
economic growth and sustainability (WEG2)• Accelerating the water-energy-food nexus in
post-COVID recovery (WEG3)
Three Thematic Panels on Water, Environment andClimate Resilience (WEC):• Promoting nature-based water solutions, water
quality and ecosystems (WEC1)• Resilient infrastructure and disaster risk
reduction (WEC2)• Water resources and climate: reinforcing theinterlinkages (WEC3)
Three Interactive Panels on Education, Technology,
Awareness and Knowledge (ETAK):• Promoting science-based water solutions, tools
and technology (ETAK1)• Moving out of water box and promoting
integration at all levels (ETAK2)• Improving
knowledge,
educationandcommunication (ETAK3)
The outcomes of the Panels will be presented at the
Closing Session. They will also be reflected in theoutcome documents of the Second Dushanbe Water
Action Decade Conference.
THEMATIC PANEL WHP 1:
INCREASING WATER-HEALTH NEXUS
FOR RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES
OF THE POST-COVID WORLDCOVID-19 has exposed the fragility of healthsystems around the world and has left devastatingconsequences in the Least Developed Countries as
health systems continue to face the challenge of copingwith the numbers of people infected with the virus,
other ongoing epidemics (e.g. cholera, malaria, dengue
as well as delivery of basic health services. Moreover,these countries do not have adequate resources, bothfinancial and human to cope with the unintended

consequences of restricted movements aimed atcontaining the spread of the virus as well as health carewaste volumes which have increased in some countries
ten-fold. Pre-existing conditions such as epidemics
like Ebola, cholera (which all require adequate WASH
services), the high prevalence of malaria, high poverty
levels, lack of WASH services in health care facilities,
deteriorating security situations, malnutrition, andweak governance, all make countries even more
susceptible to the devastating effects of COVID-19.
WASH services are intrinsically linked to quality
improvement efforts in health care facilities. The
scarcity of WASH services is still a significant contributor
to maternal infections and deaths globally. They arealso critical for achieving several health aims such,maternal and newborn health, and quality universal
health coverage (UHC) and infection prevention andcontrol (IPC). WASH services further strengthen healthsystems to prevent disease outbreaks, and to effectively
respond to emergencies.
Healthcare facilities (HCFs) play a vital role in maternaland child health from assistance with birth to provisionof preventive health measures as well as curative
outpatient and in-patient care for all patients. Water isrequired for cleaning, washing and other purposes andcleaning supplies are all vital for cleaning and disinfection
purposes. Hand hygiene, long known to be one of themost effective measures to stopping transmission of
infections, is one of the major actions that patients andhealth care workers can take to curb infections. Many
infections (including antimicrobial resistant infections)can be prevented through proper hygiene practiced byhealthcare facility workers, which can only be practiced
where there is a functioning WASH infrastructure. Whilethe importance of WASH services, particularly handhygiene, is recognized in the fight against infections,these services are lacking or inadequate in most of theLess Developed Countries (LDCs). The WHO/UNICEF
Joint Monitoring Programme baseline updates publishedin the Global Progress Report on WASH in HCFs showsthat one out of three HCFs globally do not have whatis needed to clean hands, one out of four HCFs lacked
basic water or had unimproved water sources and 10%
had no sanitation services. When it comes to waste
management in LCDs, 2 in 3 facilities lack basic waste
management. Globally 1 in 3 facilities do not segregate.

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THEMATIC PANEL WHP 2:
ACCELERATING ACCESS TO SAFE WASH
CONDITIONS, LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND
We are making progress. The recently released WHO
and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program Report notesthat since 2015 the global population using basic water
services as increased from 88 to 91 per cent, and thoseusing safely managed drinking water has increased
from 70 per cent to 74 per cent. In the same period,
the proportion of the global population using safely
managed sanitation services has grown from 47 percent to 54 per cent. The population with handwashingfacilities with soap and water has increased from 67 percent to 71 per cent. In other words, people are moving
up the ladder, though it is estimated that achieving
SDG WASH targets by 2030 will require a quadruplingof current rates of progress.
But not everyone is moving up the ladder at the samerate. There are significant gaps and inequalities,
and many are being left behind. Almost 800 million
people worldwide still live without access to even abasic level of water supply service, 80 per cent ofwhom are rural dwellers. Over 120 million people still
rely on surface water, drinking water directly from a
pond, stream, or irrigation canal. Likewise, 1.7 billion
people lack even basic sanitation, of which almost
500 million practice open defecation, and again thevast majority are in rural areas. Coverage rates are
low in the countries categorized as least developed,
and particularly low in sub-Saharan Africa, where
only a two-thirds of the population uses a watersupply service that is basic or better, and only athird uses at least basic sanitation facilities. In 2020,
sub-Saharan Africa accounted for half of the global
population without basic drinking water services.
Huge disparities exist between rural and urban
areas, between countries and regions, as well as
within communities, where inequalities exist basedon gender, disability, and ethnicity.
Addressing the WASH needs of those who have beenleft behind is our most pressing challenge. This will
require technical skills, financial resources, and thepolitical will to create the enabling environment forsuccess. We need new momentum to ensure that theunserved can gain access to at least basic services on an

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urgent basis, and to set a course for everyone to havesafely managed services. Only then will the SDGs beachieved, and the human right to water and sanitation
be realized.
THEMATIC PANEL WHP 3:
ADVANCING WATER SUSTAINABILITY
IN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS
Today’s world houses over 7.5 billion people, outof which 785 million lack access to basic drinking
water and 2 billion use contaminated drinking
water sources. Furthermore, 4.2 billion people lackaccess to safely managed sanitation services as theintersection between urbanization, climate change
and globalization continues to put a strain on waterand sanitation services. Sustainable water supply andsanitation services is at the core of SDG 6: Clean Waterand Sanitation for all. In the context of an increasingly
thirsty world, providers of water services are playing a
key role in ensuring safe, reliable and sustainable watersupply and sanitation services in order to comply with
the SDGs.
Utilities and water service providers face several
challenges in fulfilling their mandate of providing safe
water and sanitation for all. This includes common
obstacles such as not being able to provide theservice to a growing population; hurdles in recovering
operational costs; and the inability to recover fromexternal shocks and stresses such as climate changeinduced events or other risks such as COVID-19.
The difficulty in rising to such challenges stems
from inefficiencies across all five key pillars of utility
management: commercial, technical, financial, humanresources and organization and strategy. For manyutilities, building infrastructure is the first solution toaddress these problems. Large amounts of money are
spent on infrastructure, but many service providers
neglect to properly operate and maintain it, which
eventually results in the infrastructure becoming
dilapidated, obsolete and in need of replacing. Thus,
many utilities are often stuck in a costly build-neglectrebuild cycle. Furthermore, the sector is seeing many
more innovative practices, such as the availability of
new technologies and new approaches for increasing
gender inclusion, transparency and accountability.
However, utility staff is not being exposed to such

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

innovative approaches and best-fit practices, which
results in the inability to implement them. Currently,
many utilities cannot keep up with the evolution of
the sector, and it hampers their ability to leapfrog todesired performance levels.
In this scenario, it seems that utilities and service
providers are on their own in the task of supplying waterand sanitation, as well as improving their performance,
reducing costs, being efficient, and operate andbeing sustainable in the long term. Therefore, it isimportant to collectively define mechanisms to boost
the improvement and transformation of utilities andservice providers incorporating Policies, Institutions
and Regulation (PIR) to the utilities’ efficiency equation
through to define tariff and subsidy mechanisms thatallow cost recovery as an essential axis of the utilities’
financial sustainability; and work hand in hand withgovernments and academia to create a competitiveand interesting environment to attract and retain young
talent to bring new perspectives, ideas, and practices
to the sector.
THEMATIC PANEL WEG 1:
PROMOTING IWRM, WATER EFFICIENCYAND VALUING WATER
Given water’s cross-cutting nature to every facet ofhuman activity on earth, achieving Integrated Water
Resources Management (IWRM), encapsulated in
SDG target 6.5, is a core approach towards not justthe water-related SDGs, but also the goals of theParis Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster
Risk Reduction and the post-2020 Global Biodiversity
Framework. The growing impact of climate change onwater resources, both surface and groundwater, further
highlights the need for integrated solutions that can
support both mitigation of and adaptation to climatechange. Yet despite this need for integration, we are far
from achieving our 2030 objectives, as evidenced by the
progress on SDG target 6.5, which in 2020 was at 54%
achievement worldwide, and on which progress would
need to at least double to reach the 2030 target. The
lack of integrated water resources management is also
negatively affecting progress on water-use efficiency
and quality management, which in turn relate to other
SDG targets such as those related to ending hunger, life
on land and climate action.

In March 2018, the High-Level Panel on Water(HLPW) called for “an integrated agenda at the local,
country and regional levels”, while also calling for theuse of the HLPW Principles on Valuing Water. Since
water is typically valued within the water community,
and since many decisions made outside the watercommunity affect the quality and quantity of water
resources through their everyday actions, it stands
to bear that the value of water for non-water actors
should be highlighted, in order to promote a more
efficient and less polluting use, in a way that also
meets those actors’ stated objectives. That implies
that water is not just valued for its economic value,
but also its spiritual, cultural, therapeutic and othercontributions to society, including the sustainabilityof ecosystems which provide irreplaceable waterrelated services to society and our economy. Valuing
water is not a belief, it is an action, which should
be mainstreamed into decision-making outside
the “water box”. However, despite some promisingprogress, this mainstreaming is not currently taking
place at the scale required.
The objective of this panel is to enhance theunderstanding of some of the underlying reasons
why water is undervalued and why the establishedapproach to achieve integration (IWRM) is not
being achieved globally, as well as allowing forthe identification of pathways and the generationof shared commitment towards systematically
overcoming these obstacles, to boost sustainable
development, with water as a connector andaccelerator. To do so, this panel will provide aplatform to share some positive experiences ofapplying the valuing water principles and examples interms of integration around water, bringing in fresh
perspectives of stakeholders who have implemented
IWRM in line with other SDG targets, which showthat achieving multiple objectives is not a zero-sum
game.

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THEMATIC PANEL WEG 2:
TRANSBOUNDARY WATER COOPERATIONFOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY

THEMATIC PANEL WEG 3:
ACCELERATING THE WATER-ENERGY-FOOD
NEXUS IN POST-COVID RECOVERYAt last count, more than 300 river and lake basins andover 450 aquifers are known to be shared by two or
more countries and support more than 40% of theworld’s population. These systems are coming underincreasing pressure from population growth, pollution,
mismanagement, and climate change. To ensure conflict
prevention and sustain long-lasting economic growth,countries will need to work closely to optimize thebenefits and decrease the risks from these shared systems
equitably across all stakeholders. These are not easy
problems to solve. In many cases, these basins involve
complex interactions between surface and groundwater
systems which need to be better understood, are strongly
coupled to food and energy security, and can touch onregional relations and economic growth.

Agriculture is the largest user of the world’s freshwater
resources, and more than one-quarter of the energy
used globally is expended on food production andsupply (FAO, 2019). Projections estimate that by 2050,
more than 9 billion people will need to be fed, which
will require a 60 percent increase in food production if
the current production and consumption trends remain.
Even with improvements in water productivity, achieving
the dramatic augmentations in food production will
require additional water resources. Yet, water is also
required to satisfy growing domestic, industrial andurban water demand, accentuated by affluence-driven
diet changes and economic development. Energy
demands, and water requirements embedded therein,
are also increasing to support industrialization andelectrification. At the same time, the Covid-19 pandemic
and increasing impacts of climate change have shownthat the resilience of our socioeconomic systems
highly depends on healthy natural environments andecosystems. Business-as-usual practices that involve
high greenhouse gas emissions and put great pressure
on biodiversity can no longer be an option for the future.

The second monitoring of the SDG indicator 6.5.2
reports that only 24 of the 153 riparian countries
sharing transboundary water have operationalarrangements for water cooperation across all theirshared waters. Ensuring cooperative management ofshared water resources at the basin level is critical toensuring food, energy, and water security; responding
to the impacts of climate (including resiliency to andmitigation of both floods and droughts); reducing
migratory pressures; promoting regional integrationand development, peace, and security.
The goal of this session is to identify concrete actions
to promote cooperation on shared waters in support ofnational efforts to reach the SDG targets by 2030. The
session will review the current state of cooperation onshared waters, identify barriers and tools to strengthen
cooperation and to foster the engagement of
stakeholders at all levels, identify specific steps national
governments can take to build capacity, to improvedata collection, management, and collaborativemodelling and planning, as entry points for technicaland scientific collaboration and decision-making,and showcase examples of effective transboundary
cooperation from Central Asia and beyond, and explore
steps to strengthen governance of shared waters andactions to encourage the adoption of good practices
including those consistent with international norms.

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In this context, understanding and harnessing thepotential of the water-energy-food-ecosystem (WEFE)
nexus is key to reconciling these often-competing
objectives and attaining sustainable development.
WEFE has indeed emerged as a powerful concept todescribe and address the complex and interrelated
nature of global resource systems needed for humankind
to achieve social, economic and environmental goals.
The WEFE approach integrates across all sectors and its
holistic vision of sustainability aims to attain a balance
between the different goals, interests and needs ofpeople and the environment.
WEFE approaches are not without challenges,
however, as the transition from concept to practice
may not always evolve naturally. Further, coherent
policy-relevant data and information to guide water
allocation choices may not always be readily available.
Effective cross-sectoral consultation mechanisms arealso needed on local, national, but also global level
to ensure the development of concerted efforts. This

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session focuses on ways to overcome these challenges,
and barriers that are hampering the implementationof the WEFE Nexus by focusing on needed politicalsettings and a set of practical case studies.
The objectives are to discuss the alternatives tosupport an increase in data collection to assess
WEFE and address existing barriers through multistakeholder dialogues, enhance the understanding of
the complex interlinkages between water-energy-foodand ecosystems to advocate for coherent policymaking
at global, regional/transboundary, national and local
level, discuss the opportunities for implementationof WEFE approaches in post-Covid recovery and tosupport climate mitigation and adaptation actions,raise awareness of governments to address water
scarcity issues in all sectors by using a WEFE approach,present the Bonn Key Messages resulting from theBonn Water Dialogues as an example for accelerating
cross-sectoral implementation of SDG 6, prepare
recommendations to advocate for WEFE approaches inupcoming meetings of the United Nations including the
UN Water Conference, 22-24 March 2023.
THEMATIC PANEL WEC 1:
PROMOTING NATURE-BASED WATER SOLUTIONS,WATER QUALITY AND ECOSYSTEMSThe global demand for water has been increasing at a
rate of about 1% per year over the past decades as afunction of population growth, economic development
and changing consumption patterns, among otherfactors. While there are some signs of decoupling,water demand is expected to continue to grow in theforeseeable future. At the same time, the global water
cycle is intensifying due to climate change, with wet
regions generally becoming wetter and arid regions
becoming even drier. Other global changes (e.g.,urbanization, biodiversity loss, changes in the water
cycle or nutrient cycles, alterations of landscapes) add
to these challenges.
Nature based solutions (NBS), which use or mimic naturalprocesses to enhance water availability, improve water
quality, and reduce risks associated with water‐related
disasters and climate change have been successfully
applied in both urban and rural landscapes, by public andprivate actors. The invaluable contribution of nature-

based solutions has also been increasingly recognizedby global agreements including Agenda 2030, the Paris
Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Global
Biodiversity Framework. Yet, the slow uptake of naturebased solutions, points to the need for greater crosssectoral integration to leverage its manifold benefits.
This session will focus on the strategic use of naturebased solutions to not only restore ecosystem services,
but to actively leverage nature to complement
engineering solutions to improve the management ofwater resources. With NBS’ flexibility to achieve a rangeof benefits, grey-green-blue solutions are strategic
choices for dealing with an ever-changing, ever more
complex environment and relation to socio-economic
demands and needs. The session will highlight themodalities for planning and institutionalizing suchnatural/blended infrastructure and management
practices. In this context, panelists will also address thebottlenecks impeding the adoption of NBS, including
institutional path dependency, policy, planning
frameworks and financial mechanisms.
THEMATIC PANEL WEC 2:
RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE
AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
Water is life. Water is also a threat to life. The toll ofwater-related disasters such as floods and droughts
in lives and livelihoods has been immense, along withmany other damaging short-term and long-term socialand economic impacts. Climate change is impacting
us in severe forms before our eyes. 80% of Climate
Change are felt through water, particularly throughwater-related disasters. Unless action is taken soon,
the combined effects of extreme water phenomena,
climate change, growing populations and urbanization
will negatively affect society and economy in many
regions, spur migrations, and spark conflicts.
COVID-19 has cast a blight onto the world. Its impact
is felt by everybody, every day, in every corner of theearth. The introduction and dissemination of vaccines
have initiated a likely process of abating the pandemic.
Actions for health, as well as economic and social
recovery have partially started. However, the next
pandemic and/or disasters will hit humanity evenharder if we have not learnt the lessons and improved

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our societies to be more resilient to changes anddisturbances. Co-occurring disasters and COVID-19 are
imminent threats to many, particularly to vulnerable
and deprived people.
Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic requires
transformation into quality-oriented societies that are
resilient, sustainable, and inclusive, which can be achievedby strengthening action for water sustainability. Thistransformation should proceed through multi-stakeholder
partnership with participatory, open, collaborative, andtransparent processes. Resilience involves efforts for
reducing water-related disaster risks on a cross-sectoral,
whole-of-river basin and aquifer basis. Improving water
security and access to water and sanitation by resilient
water infrastructure is a must for lives and livelihood
for human beings including for primary public healthmeasure against infectious diseases.
With these in mind, Session on Resilient Infrastructure
and DRR will be organized to discuss the transformativerole resilient infrastructure and DRR should play
towards full achievement of SDGs and building resilient,sustainable and inclusive post-corona society. Concrete
ways for improving governance, finance and applying
science and technology in integrated manners at local,
national and global levels as presented in all of the ninethematic sessions towards the end will be the core
subject of the discussion and outcome of the Session.
Ways to closely link not only concept/discussion but
concrete actions among Sendai Framework, waterrelated SDGs, and Paris Agreement will be identified.
THEMATIC PANEL WEC 3:
WATER RESOURCES AND CLIMATE:
REINFORCING THE INTERLINKAGESThe IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (2021) states as“unequivocal that human influence has warmed theatmosphere, ocean and land” – which is a “code redfor humanity” according to UN Secretary-General
António Guterres. The urgency of actions to address
the interconnected global challenges of climate change,
biodiversity loss and the water crisis in order to decrease
climate-related risks and strengthen resilience to climatechange, particularly climate extreme events, became
clearer. The alarm bells are ringing louder and louder – therate of greenhouse gas emissions is continuing to grow

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with little sign of reduction, and with ever worsening
consequences for people and nature. Since climatechange manifests itself primarily through changes in
the water cycle (droughts, floods, sea-level rise, heavy
storms, unpredictable weather patterns), climate
resilient water management offers a suite of solutions
for both mitigation and adaptation. It incorporates awide range of economic sectors, ecosystems, and social
well-being and services. Transformative solutions that
contribute both to mitigation and adaptation are needed
throughout society, integrating different sectors andstakeholders. Such initiatives could be seen emerging
from COP26 in the form of the Glasgow Climate Pact for
Adaptation or the deforestation and methane reduction
pledges. Some countries are also providing excellent
examples of ambitious and broad integration of water
within their Nationally Determined Commitments andAdaptation Plans.
Climate resilient water management is about being
able to adjust to, anticipate and transform in the face ofclimate and non-climatic shocks (such as pandemics),
stressors, and opportunities. Water resilience istypically implemented through robustness (planningand designing for a range of plausible futures), flexibility(the ability to avoid institutional and technologicaltraps), or a combination of the two strategies.
The transformation towards policies to improve water
resilience poses major challenges for society and fornational and local governments and stakeholders. It
needs to be incorporated in national and local plansand programmes of action, where major obstacles
for policy implementation are identified. To be
successful, planning and implementation needs tobe supported with financial resources, data andknowledge development, addressing the governanceand institutional changes that need to take place toimplement flexible and robust solutions.
Anticipating climate change variation on the long-termwater cycle (i.e. water availability) requires robust data
sets on glaciers and on the cryosphere, particularly inhigh mountainous ranges serving arid regions, like inCentral Asia. Data sets on water storage, aquifers andusage are equally important to inform sustainable
adaptation strategies on climate change impacts,
including droughts and floods.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

INTERACTIVE PANEL ETAK 1:
IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION,
AND COMMUNICATIONINTERACTIVE PANEL ETAK 2:
MOVING OUT OF THE WATER BOX
AND PROMOTING INTEGRATION AT ALL LEVELS

We cannot manage what we do not know, and we
act effectively when the different stakeholders andknowledge holders are adequately resourced andwith capacity. This statement forms the premise forthe proposed session, which will provide a platform to
discuss the requisite actions and promising practices
demonstrated to enhance water and water-related
climate knowledge co-generation and synthesis,
knowledge dissemination and education, and capacity
towards more equitable and sustainable water
resources management and access.

From food (nutrition) and energy security through todecent work, cities and rural development, transport,
mining to human and environmental health, sustainableproperty rights – good water management sustains
and improves livelihoods, social wellbeing, equality
and inclusive growth. Water is integral to fulfilling the2030 Agenda, as well as other global processes, such as
the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework, the New
Urban Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and theAction Statement from the UN Food Systems Summit
2021. That the world is currently falling behind onthese global processes can partly be attributed to thelack of cross-sectorial, integrated and transformative
approaches. Water management has an important roleto play in contributing to such integrated approaches.
But also, solutions for water problems can comefrom outside the water sector or find their reason as
impact by actions of other sectors. Understanding
and addressing water implications, needs, trade-offs
and co-benefits enable decision makers from different
sectors to become more resilient to water security andclimate change.

Knowledge generation is critical, especially given
uncertainties around the expected state of global
water futures. However, while tools and accessible datarepositories are important contributions to knowledge
generation, we often forget to invest in the enabling
factors to be able to collect, analyze, synthesize
and share data and information across knowledge
systems in order to move towards evidence-informed
decision-making and solutions. Specific capacity
needs within the water sector and within supporting
sectors, governments, and the public, include: generalwater and data literacy; stakeholder and rightsholder
engagement and conflict avoidance; understanding
water governance and common pool resources regimes,
the interpretation and application of prediction tools;
participatory approaches to policy development
and implementation; monitoring and data sharing
processes; curricula development; and, technicalcapacity in modeling and prediction, water efficiency(agriculture and manufacturing), infrastructure, andpollution abatement (Schuster-Wallace & Sandford,
2015. Water in the World We Want, UNU INWEH).
Ultimately, we need to invest in knowledge, education,and capacities that build bridges in the interest of more
timely data and research breakthroughs and theirdissemination to water-related professionals and all
stakeholders and rightsholders towards urgent action
to achieving water-related SDG targets.

Given the cross-cutting importance of water, it is crucial
for the water community to reach out beyond its
sector and engage with actors and processes in otherareas in a way that highlights how water contributes
to the goals and pursuits of those sectors, actors, andprocesses. Decision-makers in all areas need to give due
consideration to the water implications of their plans,in order to make them implementable in a sustainable
manner without hindering other societal, economicand environmental needs that are water dependentand subject to climate change.
There is no reason to re-invent the wheel to do this.
There are numerous standards and tools available
that guide decision makers in different sectors
towards improved water governance and thus better
water outcomes, for example water stewardshipstandards, ISO standards, international trade rules andframeworks for inclusion of water and/or ecosystems
in accounting and risk management. Increasing therecognition and use of these tools and standards, as

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well as complementing with additional ones where
needed and appropriate, would be a concrete step
towards improved cross-sectoral action on water. We
expect that the conclusions of the session can build the
input to the 2023 UN Water Conference, especially also
from strictly speaking non-water sector colleagues.
INTERACTIVE PANEL ETAK 3:
PROMOTING SCIENCE-BASED WATER SOLUTIONS,TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY
Evidence-based water governance and management
underpinned by knowledge generated using
trusted science, innovation, tools and institutional
capacities are critical for sustainable water resourcesmanagement, food security and climate resilient
societies. Digital science-based innovations aretransforming the governance and management ofwater resources at an unprecedented pace. This
includes advanced instrumentation and telemetry
for real time hydrological monitoring and forecasts
using low-cost sensors and satellite data; scientificadvancements in characterization and monitoring of
surface and groundwater systems, and water quality
using multiple lines of evidence, such as environmental
tracers, geophysics, remotely sensed data andmathematical models; supported by big data analytics,
such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.
Citizen scientists equipped with innovative tools, suchas low-cost digital sensors and remotely-sensed data,
are supporting decision-making through the integrationof cultural and societal values in evidence-based water
management. The integration of science, technology
and innovation (STI) policies into water resource
development strategies can leverage available data anddevise interdisciplinary solutions to ensure sustainable
and equitable management of water and sanitation,
while considering the consequences for all sectors ofsociety. Such developments offer new opportunities
and solutions to support sound and confident decisionmaking and policy-making for a more water secureworld under a changing climate.

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Integration of socio-economic data is critical for thedevelopment of inclusive water resource policies
and management. Such information will be critical inunderstanding ways for people to adapt to a world
with scarcer freshwater resources. New technologies
that enable data collection in remote areas withlimited access complement traditional data sources.
Big data analytics can process continuous streams
of water-related information and data, to support
robust water management for pursuing desired policy
outcomes. Researchers are exploring new techniques,models and algorithms and use of satellite Earth
Observation to better manage water quantities andwater quality, such as statistical analysis, simulationand prediction of water quality to identify sources ofpollution. Consideration of both the socio-economicand environmental implications of water governanceand management for women and children, indigenous
people and marginalised parts of society is essential fora water secure world in a changing environment.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
6 June 2022
Conference Forums

09:00 – 18:00
Regional
Water
Cooperation –Central Asia

Women
Youth Water
Water Forum
Forum

Cultural Events

Forum onWater and Local
Communities/ Indigenous
Peoples

Water andMountains
towards
Sustainable
Development

Water
Festival

Marathon,etc.

7 June 2022
09:00 – 10:30

Opening Session

10:30 – 11:00

Coffee & Networking Break

11:00 – 13:00

Plenary Session“Catalyazing Water Action and Partnership at the Local, National, Regional and Global Levels”

13:00 – 14:30

Lunch Break

14:30 – 16:00

Thematic Panels focused on Catalyzing Water Action and Partnership
Increasing Water-Health Nexus to
Respond to the Challenges of the
Post-COVID World

16:30 – 18:00

19:00 – 21:00

Promoting Nature-Based
Water Solutions, Water
Quality and Ecosystems

Coffee & Networking BreakAccelerating Access to Safe WASH
Conditions, Leaving No One
BehindTransboundary Water
Cooperation for Economic
Growth and Sustainability

Resilient Infrastructure andDisaster Risk Reduction

Reception hosted by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan
8 June 2022

09:00 – 11:00(Continuation) Plenary Session“Catalyzing Water Action and Partnership at the Local, National, Regional and Global Levels”

11:00 – 11:30

Coffee11:30 – 13:00

Advancing Water Sustainability in
Urban and Rural Areas

Accelerating the Water-EnergyFood Nexus in Post-Covid
Recovery

13:00 – 14:30

Lunch

14:30 – 16:00

Interactive Panels
Improving Knowledge, Education
and Communication

Moving Out of the Water Box
and Promoting Integration at All
Levels

16:00 – 16:30

Coffee & Networking Break

16:30 – 18:00

Closing Session

18:00 – 18:30

Press Conference

International Exhibition

16:00 – 16:30

Promoting IWRM, Water
Efficiency and Valuing Water

Water Resources and Climate:
Reinforcing the Interlinkages

Promoting Science-Based
Water Solutions, Tools andTechnology

9 June 2022
09:00 – 18:00

Excursions

Thematic blocks
Water for Health and People
Water for Livelihoods and Inclusive Economic Growth
Water, Environment and Climate Resilience

All thematic and interactive panels, as well as forumsof the Conference cover the SDG6 Global Acceleration
Framework: Financing, Data and Information,
Capacity Development, Innovation, Governance

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PROGRAMME OVERVIEWMONDAY, 6 JUNE 2022
TIME
10:30 – 18:00
09:00 – 18:30
09:00 – 17:00
14:00 – 18:00
13:30 – 18:30

EVENTS
Conference Forum 1: Central Asia Forum “Water for
Regional Cooperation”
Conference Forum 2: Women Water Forum
Conference Forum 3: Youth and Children Water Forum
Conference Forum 4: Forum on Water and Local
Communities and Indigenous Peoples
Conference Forum 5: Forum on Water and Mountains

HALL

PAGE

Hyatt Regency Hotel

46

Kokhi Vahdat
Kokhi Vahdat

49
51

National Library

53

Serena Hotel54

TUESDAY, 7 JUNE 2022
TIME
08:30 – 09:00
08:45 – 08:50

Registration
Photo Session (only for Heads of Delegation)

09:00 – 10:30

Opening Session

10:30 – 11:00

Coffee & Networking BreakPlenary Session “Catalyazing water action and partnershipat the local, national, regional and global levels”

11:00 – 13:00
13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
14:30 – 16:00
14:30 – 16:00
14:30 – 16:00
16:00 – 16:30
16:30 – 18:00
16:30 – 18:00
16:30 – 18:00
18:00 – 19:00

EVENTS

Lunch
Side Event 1: Building evidence for water-related policy
making: the sdg 6 policy support system (SDG-PSS)
Side Event 2: Consequences of climate change effects onwater sources in mountainous Central Asia
Side Event 3: The contribution of women to the study of
glaciers in Tajikistan
Side Event 4: Glaciers and climate change: regional
cooperation for sustainable development
Side Event 5: To achieve SDGs with water: supporting
developing countries’ water action through a global
educational platform
Thematic Panel WHP 1: Increasing water-health nexus forresponding to the challenges of the post-COVID world
Thematic Panel WEG 1: Promoting IWRM, Water Efficiency
and Valuing Water
Thematic Panel WEC 1: Promoting Nature-Based Water
Solutions, Water Quality and Ecosystems
Coffee & Networking BreakThematic Panel WHP 2: Accelerating access to safe WASH
conditions, leaving no one behind
Thematic Panel WEG 2: Transboundary water cooperation
for Economic Growth and Sustainability
Thematic Panel WEC 2: Resilient Infrastructure andDisaster Risk Reduction
Break

Reception hosted by the Government of the Republic of
19:00 – 21:00
Tajikistan
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HALL

PAGE

Foyer of Kokhi Somon
Kokhi Somon, Large Plenary hall,
29
4th Floor
Khohi Somon, 4th Floor
Kokhi Somon, Large Plenary hall,
30
4th Floor
Buildings 1 and B (for VIP upon Invitation)
Tea House “Saodat” (for other participants)
Building B, Firepace Hall, 1st Floor

55

Kokhi Somon, New Hall, 2nd Floor

55

Kokhi Somon, Zarandud Hall,
2nd Floor

55

Building B, Oval Hall, 1st Floor

56

Building 1, Press Conference Hall,
1st Floor

56

Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall,
2nd Floor
Kokhi Somon, Amphitheater Hall,
1st Floor
Building 8, White Hall, 1st Floor
Khohi Somon, 4th Floor
Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall,
2nd Floor
Kokhi Somon, Amphitheater Hall,
1st Floor
Building 8, "White Hall", 1st Floor
Kohi Navruz (for VIP and official
delegations upon Invitation)
Tea House “Istaravshan”

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33

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

PROGRAMME OVERVIEWWEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2022
TIME
09:00 – 11:00
09:30-10:30
11:00 – 11:30
11:30 – 13:00
11:30 – 13:00
11:30 – 13:00
13:00 – 14:30

EVENTS
Plenary Session “Catalyzing water action and partnershipat the local, national, regional and global levels”(continuation)
Side Event 6: Water Action Agenda: from Dushanbe 2022
to New York 2023
Coffee & Networking BreakThematic Panel WHP 3: Advancing Water Sustainability in
Urban and Rural Areas
Thematic Panel WEG 3: Accelerating the water-energyfood nexus in post-COVID recovery
Thematic Panel WEC 3: Water Resources and Climate:
Reinforcing the Interlinkages
Lunch

16:00 – 16:30

Side Event 7: Science and Evidence-Based Solutions to
Improve Transboundary Water Cooperation in Small
Transboundary Tributaries of Central Asia
Side Event 8: Digital Tools and E-Learning in Transboundary
Water Management
Side Event 9: Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible
Side Event 10: The Role of Youth in the Study of Glaciers in
Tajikistan
Side Event 11: Climate Change, Water Security and
Migration in Central Asia: A Dialogue with Stakeholders
and Partners
Interactive Panel ETAK 1: Improving Knowledge, Education
and Communication
Interactive Panel ETAK 2: Moving out of the Water Box andPromoting Integration at All Levels
Interactive Panel ETAK 3: Promoting Science-Based Water
Solutions, Tools and Technology
Coffee & Networking Break

16:30 – 18:00

Closing Session

18:00 – 18:30

Press Conference

13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
13:00 – 14:30
14:30 – 16:00
14:30 – 16:00
14:30 – 16:00

HALL
Kokhi Somon, Large Plenary Hall,
4th Floor
Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall,
2nd Floor
Khohi Somon, 4th Floor
Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall,
2nd Floor
Kokhi Somon, Amphitheater Hall,
1st Floor
Building 8, White Hall, 1st Floor

PAGE
37
56

38
39
40

Buildings 1 and B (for VIP upon Invitation)
Tea House “Saodat” (for other participants)
Kokhi Somon, New Hall, 2nd Floor
Building 1, Press Conference Hall,
1st Floor
Kokhi Somon, White Hall, 2nd Floor
Kokhi Somon, Zarandud Hall,
2nd Floor
Building B, Firepace Hall, 1st Floor
Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall,
2nd Floor
Kokhi Somon, Amphitheater Hall,
1st Floor
Building 8, White Hall, 1st Floor
Khohi Somon, 4th Floor
Kokhi Somon, Large Plenary hall,
4th Floor
Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall,
2nd Floor

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57
57
58
58
41
42
43

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ONLINE PARTICIPATION
The links to the virtual rooms for online participantsis posted on the Conference Website: www.dushanbewaterprocess.org/program(scan the QR code)

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

OPENING SESSION
Time: 07/06/2022 – 09:00-10:30
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Large Plenary HallOPENING STATEMENTS
Statement by H.E. Mr. Emomali Rahmon
President of the Republic of Tajikistan
Message from the United Nations Secretary General delivered by H.E. Ms. Amina Mohammed
United Nations Deputy Secretary GeneralStatement by H.E. Mr. Collen Vixen Kelapile
Permanent Representative of Botswana to the United Nations and Presidentof the United Nations Economic and Social Council
Statement by H.E. Mr. Mark Rutte (videomessage)
Prime Minister of the Netherlands as Co-chair of the United Nations 2023 Water ConferenceStatement by H.E. Mr. Liu Zhenmin
Under Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs United Nations and Secretary General for theUnited Nations 2023 Water ConferenceStatement by H.E. Mr. Zoran Tegeltija
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Statement by H.E. Mr. Nuno Gomes Nabiam
Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau
Statement by H.E. Mr. Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed (online)
Prime Minister of Djibouti
Statement by H.E. Mr. Muhammedov Muhammetguly
Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet Ministers of Turkmenistan
Statement by H.E. Mr. Shuhrat Ganiev
Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan
Statement by H.E. Mr. Sinkevičius Virginijus
European Commissioner for EnvironmentStatement by Ms. Mina Guli
Global Water and Environmental Activist
Statement by Mr. Dionnon Allandiguim Bienvenu
on behalf of Youth and Children
MODERATOR
H.E. Mr. Sirodjiddin Muhriddin
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

PLENARY SESSION “CATALYAZING WATER ACTION AND PARTNERSHIPAT THE LOCAL, NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND GLOBAL LEVELS”
Time: 07/06/2022 – 11:00-13:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Large Plenary Hall

CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Qohir Rasulzoda
Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan and Chairman of the National Organizing Committee
H.E. Mr. Liu Zhenmin
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS CONFERENCES
Outcomes of the Bonn Water Dialogues for Results
Statement by Germany
Outcomes of the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar
Statement by Senegal
Outcomes of the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Kumamoto
Statement by Japan
STATEMENTS OF HEADS OF DELEGATION
The list of speakers will be distributed by the beginning of the session.
Time limit for statements: 3 minutes

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

THEMATIC PANEL WHP 1: INCREASING WATER-HEALTH NEXUS
FOR RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE POST-COVID WORLD
Time: 07/06/2022 – 14:30-16:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall

CO-CONVENERS
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WMO)
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF)
CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (TBC)
Minister of Water Resources, River Development
and Ganga Rejuvenation, India
H.E. Mr. Hadimoeljono Mochamad Basoeki (TBC)
Minister of Public Works and Housing, Indonesia
MODERATOR
Mr. Oliver Schmoll
Programme Manager, European Centre forEnvironment and Health, WHO
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
H.E. Mr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus(videomessage)
Director General, WHO
H.E. Ms. Catherine Russell (videomessage)
Executive Director, UNICEF

PANELISTS
H.E. Mr. Abdullozoda Jamoliddin Abdullo
Minister of Health and Social Protection of the
Population, Tajikistan
H.E. Ms. Zsuzsanna Horváth
Permanent Representative of Hungary to theUnited Nations (video message)
H.E. Mr. Luis Enrique Austria Manalo
Permanent Representative of the Philippines tothe United Nations (video message)
Mr. Jorge Alverez-Sala
WASH Specialist, UNICEF
Mr. John Garrett
Senior Policy Analyst of Development Finance,
WaterAid
Mr. Shohei Kawabata
Health, Water and Social Protection
Representative, JICA Tajikistan
Mr. Ahmet Saatçi (TBC)
President, SUEN
Ms. Francesca Bernardini
Chief Transboundary Cooperation Section, UNECERAPPORTEUR
Mr. Bruce Gordon
Head of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health
Unit, WHOCONTACT PERSON
Mr. Safo Kalandarov
WHOkalandarovs@who.int

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

THEMATIC PANEL WEG1:PROMOTING IWRM, WATER EFFICIENCY AND VALUING WATER
Time: 07/06/2022 – 14:30-16:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Amphitheater Hall

CO-CONVENERS
THE NETHERLANDSUNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME(UNDP)GLOBAL WATER PARTNERSHIP (GWP)
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AGUALIMPIA PERU, SIWI,FAO AND UNESCO»
CO-CHAIRS
Mr. Henk Ovink
Special Envoy for International Water Affairs,
Netherlands
Mr. Howard Bamsey
Chair, Global Water Partnership
MODERATOR
Ms. Danielle Gaillard-Picher
Senior Specialist for Global Processes, GWP
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Mr. Xavier Leflaive (online)
Principal Administrator, OECDPANELISTS
Ms. Xanthea Limburg (online)
Councilor, City of Cape Town, South Africa
Mr. Yon Fernández-de-Larrinoa
Head of the Indigenous Peoples Unit, FAO
Mr. Eric Tardieu
Executive Director, IOWater, and General
Secretary, INBO
Mr. Stuart Orr
Freshwater Practice Lead, WWF
Mr. Mikio Ishiwatari
Acting Secretary General, APWFRAPPORTEUR
Ms. Lyazzat Syrlybayeva
Regional Coordinator, Central Asia Youth for Water
CONTACT PEOPLE
Mr. Niels Vlaanderen
The Netherlands
niels.vlaanderen@minienw.nl)
Ms. Marianne Kjellén
UNDP
marianne.kjellen@undp.org
Mr. Colin Herron
GWP
colin.herron@gwp.org

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THEMATIC PANEL WEC1: PROMOTING NATURE-BASED WATER SOLUTIONS,WATER QUALITY AND ECOSYSTEMS
Time: 07/06/2022 – 14:30-16:00
Hall:

Building 8, White Hall

CO-CONVENERS
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO)
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME(UNDP)IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NETHERLANDS,UNESCO, GWP AND SIWI
CO-CHAIRS
Mr. Julian Katchinoff
Water Team Lead, US Department of State
Ms. Alessandra Fidanza
Senior Expert on the European Union - Central
Asia Working Group on Environment and Climate
Change, Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Italy
MODERATOR
Ms. Sasha Koo-Oshima
Deputy Director of Land and Water Division, FAO
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Ms. Andrea Erickson-Quiroz
Managing Director for Water Security,
The Nature Conservancy

PANELISTS
H.E. Ms. Cindy Hensley McCain
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of theUnited States to the United Nations in Rome
Ms. Josefina Maestu
Water Advisor to the Secretary of State forEnvironment, Spain
Mr. Rajendra SinghFounder Chairman, Tarun Bharat Sangh India
Ms. Tania Martínez Cruz
Indigenous Peoples Food Systems and Water
Expert, FAO
Ms. Yolanda López Maldonado
Researcher in Indigenous Science
Mr. Dean Muruven
Global Policy Lead Freshwater, WWF
Mr. David Hebart-Coleman
Programme Manager, SIWIRAPPORTEUR
Ms. Marianne Kjellén
Senior Water Advisor, UNDPCONTACT PEOPLE
Ms. Sasha Koo-Oshima
FAOsasha.koo@fao.org
Ms. Marianne Kjellén
UNDP
marianne.kjellen@undp.org

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THEMATIC PANEL WHP2: ACCELERATING ACCESS TO SAFE WASH CONDITIONS,LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND
Time: 07/06/2022 – 16:30-18:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall

CO-CONVENERS
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF)
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Mahaman Adamou (invited)
Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Niger
Mr. Osama Makkawi
Country Representative, UNICEF Tajikistan
MODERATOR
Mr. Aaron Salzberg (TBC)
Director of the Water Institute, University of North
Carolina
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Mr. Bruce Gordon
Unit Head of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and
Health, WHO

PANELISTS
H.E. Ms. Egriselda López
Permanent Representative of El Salvador to theUnited Nations
Mr. Prem Singh Tharu
Environment Programme Officer, Asia Indigenous
Peoples Pact Nepal
Ms. Diana Iskreva
Executive Director, Earth Forever Bulgaria
Ms. Madjuyengar Kenyane Ndahde-Nouba
Member, Young Voices Sahel ChadRAPPORTEUR
Ms. Sofie SandströmFirst Secretary at the Permanent Mission of
Finland to the United Nations
CONTACT PEOPLE
Mr. Aaron Salzberg
University of North Carolina
salzbergaa@unc.edu
Mr. Jorge Alvarez-Sala
UNICEFjalvarezsala@unicef.org

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THEMATIC PANEL WEG2: TRANSBOUNDARY WATER COOPERATIONFOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY
Time: 07/06/2022 – 16:30-18:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Amphitheater Hall

CO-CONVENERS

PANELISTS

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR
EUROPE (UNECE)

Mr. Sergio Sitoe
Executive Secretary, LIMCOM

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND
CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)Ms. Dinara Ziganshina
Director, SIC ICWC

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

Mr. Gideon Bromberg
Director, EcoPeace Middle East

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EUROPEAN UNION, OSCE
AND SDC
CHAIR
H.E. Mr. Igli Hassani (TBC)
Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental
Activities
MODERATOR
Mr. Aaron Salzberg (TBC)
Director of the Water Institute, University of North
Carolina
OPENING STATEMENTS
H.E. Ms. Olga Algayerova
UN Under Secretary General and Executive
Secretary, UNECE
Ms. Shamila Nair-Bedouelle
Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences,
UNESCO

Ms. Jennifer Sara
Director of the Global Water Practice, World BankRAPPORTEUR
Ms. Francesca Bernardini
Chief of Transboundary Cooperation Section,
UNECE
CONTACT PEOPLE
Ms. Sonja Koeppel
UNECE
sonja.koeppel@un.org
Ms. Alice Aureli
UNESCOa.aureli@unesco.org
Mr. Aaron Salzberg
University of North Carolina
salzbergaa@unc.edu

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
H.E. Mr. Guy Bonvin
Ambassador and Special Envoy for Water inCentral Asia, Switzerland
Ms. Marjeta Jager
Deputy Director-General for International
Partnerships, European Union

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

THEMATIC PANEL WEC2:RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
Time: 07/06/2022 – 16:30-18:00
Hall:

Building 8, White Hall

CO-CONVENERS
HIGH-LEVEL EXPERTS AND LEADERS PANEL ON
WATER AND DISASTERS (HELP)ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB)
NATIONAL GRADUATE INSTITUTE FOR POLICYSTUDIES (GRIPS)
CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Dr. Han Seung-Soo
Chair, HELP, and Former Prime Minister of Korea
Ms. Yasmin Siddiqi
Director, Environment, Natural Resources andAgriculture Division, Central and West Asia
Department, ADB
MODERATOR
Mr. Kenzo Hiroki
Professor, GRIPS, and Coordinator, HELPKEYNOTE SPEAKER
Mr. Shixin Chen
Vice President, ADB
Mr. Liu Zhenmin (TBC)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for
Economic and Social Affairs

PANELISTS
Mr. Toshikazu Tokioka
Director for International Coordination of River
Engineering, Water and Disaster Management
Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport
and Tourism, Japan
Ms. Conchita MarcuelloDirector General for Water, Ministry for the
Ecological Transition and the Demographic
Challenge, Spain
Mr. Octavian Bivol
Chief of the Regional Office for Europe and Central
Asia, UNDRR
Mr. Kamol Kashore (TBC)
Co-chair of the Executive Committee, Coalition for
Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
Ms. Ludmilla Kiktenko
Environment Management Programme Manager,
Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia,CARECRAPPORTEUR
Mr. Kenzo Hiroki
Professor, GRIPS, and Coordinator, HELPCONTACT PEOPLE
Mr. Kenzo Hiroki
HELP
hiroki@waterforum.jp

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

PLENARY SESSION “CATALYZING WATER ACTION AND PARTNERSHIPAT THE LOCAL, NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND GLOBAL LEVELS” (CONTINUATION)
Time: 08/06/2022 – 09:00-11:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Large Plenary Hall

CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Qohir Rasulzoda
Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan and Chairman of the National Organizing Committee
H.E. Mr. Liu Zhenmin
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
STATEMENTS OF HEADS OF DELEGATION (CONTINUATION)
An updated list of speakers may be distributed at the beginning of the session.
Time limit for statements: 3 minutes

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THEMATIC PANEL WHP3:
ADVANCING WATER SUSTAINABILITY IN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS
Time: 08/06/2022 – 11:30-13:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall

CO-CONVENERS
WORLD BANKIN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNICEF
CO-CHAIRS
Mr. Gustavo Saltiel
Global lead for Water and Sanitation, World Bank
Ms. Kelly Ann Naylor
Director WASH and CEED, UNICEF
MODERATOR
Ms. Meriem Gray
Senior External Affairs Officer, World BankKEYNOTE SPEAKER
Ms. Jennifer Sara
Global Director, Water Global Practice, World BankPANELISTS
Ms. Gayane Gabrielyan (TBC)
Deputy Minister of Environment, Armenia
Mr. Nuno Broco
CEO, Aguas de Portugal VALOR
Ms. Carolina Tornesi
President, World Youth Parliament for Water
Mr. Marton Krasznai
Center for Central Asia Research, Corvinus
University
Mr. Diego Polania
Water Regulatory Commission, Colombia
RAPPORTEUR
Ms. Josefina Maestu
Water Advisor to the Secretary of State forEnvironment, Spain
CONTACT PEOPLE
Ms. Farzona Mukhitdinova
World Bank
fmukhitdinova@worldbank.org

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

THEMATIC PANEL WEG3:ACCELERATING THE WATER-ENERGY-FOOD NEXUS IN POST-COVID RECOVERY
Time: 08/06/2022 – 11:30-13:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Amphitheater Hall

CO-CONVENERSGERMANY
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO)
INTERNATIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE(IWMI)
CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Djuma Daler Shofakir
Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Tajikistan
H.E. Dr. Andreas Prothmann
Ambassador of Germany to Tajikistan
MODERATOR
Mr. Oyture Anarbekov
Country Manager / Researcher, IWMI Central Asia
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
H.E. Ms. Tanja Miskova
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia
PANELISTS
H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale
Permanent Representative of Morocco to theUnited Nations
Ms. Eugénie Avram
Water, Sanitation, IWRM and Transboundary
Resources Officer, Ministry of Europe and Foreign
Affairs, France

Ms. Lyazzat Syrlybayeva
Regional Coordinator, Central Asia Youth for Water
Network
Mr. Tobias Siegfried
HYDROU4 Project Partner, Hydrosolutions Ltd.
CLOSING REMARKS
Mr. Mark Smith
Director General, IWMI
Ms. Sasha Koo-Oshima
Deputy Director, Land and Water Division, FAO
RAPPORTEUR
Ms. Dinara Ziganshina (TBC)
Director, SIC ICWCCONTACT PEOPLE
Ms. Isabel Pasternack
GIZ
isabel.pasternack@giz.de
Ms. Sasha Koo-Oshima
FAOsasha.koo@fao.org
Mr. Oyture Anarbekov
IWMIo.anarbekov@cgiar.org

Mr. Abdulhakim Salohiddinov
Vice-Rector, Tashkent Institute of Irrigation andAgricultural Mechanization Engineers, National
Research University

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

THEMATIC PANEL WEC3:WATER RESOURCES AND CLIMATE: REINFORCING THE INTERLINKAGES
Time: 08/06/2022 – 11:30-13:00
Hall:

Building 8, White Hall

CO-CONVENERS
THE NETHERLANDSSPAIN
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNESCO, UNDP, ADB, GWPAND SIWI
CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Moahamed Abdel Aty
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt
Ms. Shamila Nair-Bedouelle
Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences,
UNESCO
MODERATORS
Mr. Henk Ovink
Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, The
Netherlands
Ms. Marianne Kjellén
Senior Water Advisor, UNDPKEYNOTE SPEAKER
Mr. John Mathews
Executive Director, AGWA

PANELISTS
H.E. Ms. Mennissa Rambally
Permanent Representative of Saint Lucia to theUnited Nations
Mr. Robbert Moree
Policy Coordinator, Ministry for Infrastructure andWater Management, The Netherlands
Mr. Manfred Kaufman
Programme Manager, Switzerland
Ms. Jelle Beekma
Senior Water Resources Specialist, ADB
Mr. Tove Lexen
Leading Expert in Water Governance, SIWI
Mr. Ki Young Park
General Director of K-water, Republic of Korea
RAPPORTEUR
Ms. Danielle Gaillard-Picher
Senior Specialist for Global Processes, GWP
CONTACT PEOPLE
Mr. Niels Vlaanderen
Netherlands
niels.vlaanderen@minienw.nl
Ms. Josefina Maestu
Spainjmaestu@miteco.es

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

INTERACTIVE PANEL ETAK1:
IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION
Time: 08/06/2022 – 14:30-16:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Press Conference Hall

CO-CONVENERS
GLOBAL WATER FUTURESPACIFIC WATER RESEARCH CENTRE
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNESCO
CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Terry Duguid (online)
Member of Parliament, Canada
H.E. Mr. Liu Zhenmin (invited)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for
Economic and Social Affairs
MODERATOR
Ms. Corinne Schuster-Wallace
Associate Director, Global Water Futures
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Mr. John Pomeroy
Director, Global Water Futures

PANELISTS
H.E. Ms. Irina Smirnova
Member of Parliament, Kazakhstan
Mr. Jorge Ellis
Programme Specialist, UNESCO
Ms. Yolanda López Maldonado
Researcher in Indigenous Science
Ms. Kajol Basnet (online)
Youth Representative, Small Earth Nepal
RAPPORTEUR
Mr. Robert Sandford
Global Water Futures Chair in Water and Climate
Security, UNU Institute for Water, Environmentand Health
CONTACT PERSON
Ms. Corinne Schuster-Wallace
Global Water Futures
cschuster.wallace@usask.ca

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INTERACTIVE PANEL ETAK2: MOVING OUT OF THE WATER BOX
AND PROMOTING INTEGRATION AT ALL LEVELS
Time: 08/06/2022 – 14:30-16:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Amphitheater Hall

CO-CONVENERS
SWITZERLANDSTOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL WATER INSTITUTE(SIWI)ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITYWOMEN FOR WATER PARTNERSHIP (WfWP)IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNESCO-WWAP
CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Guy Bonvin
Special Envoy for Water in Central Asia,
Switzerland
Mr. Olcay Unver (TBC)
Professor of Practice, Arizona State University
MODERATORS
Mr. Joshua Newton
Consultant, SIWI
Ms. Lesha Witmer
Advocacy, WfWPKEYNOTE SPEAKER
Mr. Lifeng Li
Director Land & Water Division, FAO
Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin
UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, Egypt

PANELISTS
Mr. Callist Tindimugaya (video)
Commissioner Water Resources Planning andRegulation, Uganda
Ms. Laura Imburgia
Senior Water and Gender Programme Officer,
UNESCO-WWAP
Mr. Adrian Sym
Executive Director, Alliance for Water Stewardship
Mr. Anton-Louis Olivier (represented by Mr. Alex
Campbell)Vice-Chair, IHA
Ms. Mercedes Castro
General Director, Agualimpia Peru
Ms. Karin Krchnak (online)
Managing Director of Sustainability and Market
Outreach, American Chemistry Council
Ms. Carolina Tornesi MacKinnon
President, WYWPRAPPORTEUR
Mr. Gary Grossman
Associate Director, School for the Future of
Innovation in Society, Arizona State University
CONTACT PEOPLE
Ms. Tove Lexen
SIWI
tove.lexen@siwi.org
Ms. Mariet Verhoef-Cohen
WfWP
president@womenforwater.org
Mr. Olcay Unver
ASU
olcay.unver@asu.edu

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INTERACTIVE PANEL ETAK3: PROMOTING SCIENCE-BASED WATER SOLUTIONS,TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY
Time: 08/06/2022 – 14:30-16:00
Hall:

Building 8, White Hall

CO-CONVENERS
AUSTRALIA
INTERNATIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE(IWMI)UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND
CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
CO-CHAIRSPANELISTS
H.E. Mr. Jone Usamate (video)
Minister for Infrastructure, Meteorological
Services, Lands and Mineral Resources, Fiji
Mr. Fazliddin Mukhitdinov
Head of the Office for the Coordination of Reforms
in Agriculture and Stabilization of the Domestic
Food Market, Ministry of Economic Development
and Poverty Reduction, Uzbekistan

Mr. Tony Slatyer
Special Adviser on Water to the Government,
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia

Mr. Kiyoung Park
General Manager, K-Water, and Director,
International Environmental Cooperation Center

Mr. Amirzoda Orif Khamid
Director of the Institute of Water Problems,Hydropower and Ecology under National Academyof Sciences, Tajikistan

Ms. Jane Coram
Director for Land and Water of CSIRO, Australia
National Science Agency

MODERATOR
Mr. Anil Mishra
Chief of Section, Hydrological Systems and Water
Scarcity, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCOKEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Ms. Shamila Nair-Bedouelle
Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences,
UNESCO
Ms. Cathy Foley
Australia’s Chief Scientist

Mr. Mark Smith
Director General, IWMIRAPPORTEUR
Mr. Mohsin Hafeez
Country Representative for Pakistan and Regional
Representative for Central Asia, IWMI
CONTACT PEOPLE
Ms. Linda Dixon
CSIRO
linda.dixon@csiro.au
Mr. Anil Mishra
UNESCO
a.mishra@unesco.org
Mr. Oyture Anarbekov
IWMIo.anarbekov@cgiar.org

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CLOSING SESSION
Time: 08/06/2022 – 16:30-18:00
Hall:

Kokhi Somon, Large Plenary hall

CO-CHAIRS
H.E. Mr. Kohir Rasulzoda
Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan and
Chairman of the National Organizing Committee
H.E. Mr. Liu Zhenmin
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for
Economic and Social Affairs
REPORTS FROM THE CONFERENCE FORUMSREPORTS FROM THE THEMATIC
AND INTERACTIVE PANELS
Water for Health and People (WHP)
Report on increasing water-health nexus forresponding to the challenges of the post-COVID
world (WHP1) delivered by Mr. Bruce Gordon,
Head of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health
Unit, WHO

Report of the Central Asia Forum“Water for Regional Cooperation” delivered by
Mr. William Young
Lead Water Resources Management Specialist,
World Bank

Report on accelerating access to safe water supply,
sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions, leaving
no one behind (WHP2) delivered by Ms. Sofie
Sandström, First Secretary at the Permanent
Mission of Finland to the United Nations

Report of the Women Water Forum delivered by
Ms. Alia El-Yassir
Regional Director, UN Women

Report on advancing water sustainability in urban
and rural areas (WHP3) delivered by Ms. Josefina
Maestu, Water Advisor to the Secretary of State
for Environment, Spain

Report of the Youth and Children Water Forumdelivered by Ms. Emily Ryan
Chair of the International Water Association Young
Water Professionals Steering Committee
Report of the Forum on Water and Local
Communities and Indigenous Peoples delivered by
Ms. Yolanda López Maldonado
and Ms. Tania Martínez Cruz
Researcher in Indigenous Science and Indigenous
Peoples Food Systems and Water Expert, FAO
Report of the Forum on Water and Mountains
delivered by Ms. Natalia Kim
Project Officer, UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office

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Water for Livelihoods and Inclusive Economic
Growth (WEG)
Report on promoting integrated water resourcesmanagement, water efficiency and valuing water(WEG1) delivered by Ms. Lyazzat Syrlybayeva,
Regional Coordinator, Central Asia Youth for Water
Report on transboundary water cooperation forinclusive economic growth and sustainability(WEG2) delivered by Ms. Francesca Bernardini,
Chief of Transboundary Cooperation Section,
UNECE

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

Report on accelerating the water-energy-foodnexus in post-COVID recovery (WEG3) delivered by
Ms. Dinara Ziganshina (TBC), Director, SIC ICWC
Water, Environment and Climate Resilience (WEC)
Report on promoting nature-based water solutions,water quality and ecosystems (WEC1) delivered by
Ms. Marianne Kjellén, Senior Water Advisor, UNDP
Report on resilient infrastructure and disaster risk
reduction (WEC2) delivered by Mr. Kenzo Hiroki,
Professor, GRIPS, and Coordinator, HELP
Report on water resources and climate: reinforcing
the interlinkages (WEC3) delivered by Ms. Danielle
Gaillard-Picher, Senior Specialist for Global
Processes, GWP

Interactive Panels on Education, Technology,
Awareness and Knowledge (ETAK)
Report on promoting science-based water
solutions, tools and technology (ETAK1) deliveredby Mr. Robert Sandford, Global Water Futures
Chair in Water and Climate Security, UNU Institutefor Water, Environment and HealthReport on moving out of water box and promoting
integration at all levels (ETAK2) delivered by
Mr. Gary Grossman, Associate Director, School for
the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State
University
Report on improving knowledge, education andcommunication (ETAK3) delivered by Mr. Mohsin
Hafeez, Country Representative for Pakistan andRegional Representative for Central Asia, IWMI

CLOSING CEREMONY
Presentation of the outcome documents
Closing remarks by H.E. Mr. Qohir Rasulzoda
Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan and Chairman of the National Organizing Committee

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CONFERENCE FORUM 1:
CENTRAL ASIA FORUM “WATER FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION”
Time:

06/06/2022 – 10:30 – 18:00

Venue: Kokhi Somon, Hyatt Regency Hotel
CO-ORGANIZERSEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR SAVING
THE ARAL SEA (EC IFAS)
WORLD BANKIN PARTNERSHIP WITH CAWEP,EUROPEAN UNION, SWITZERLAND,USAID, UKAID, GIZ AND CARECOPENING SESSION
Time: 11:00-11:20
OPENING REMARKS
H.E. Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda
Chairman of EC IFAS
Ms. Jennifer Sara
Global Water Practice Director,
World Bank
SPECIAL ADDRESS BY THE
EUROPEAN UNION
H.E. Mr. Virginijus Sinkevičius
European Commissioner for
Environment
PRESENTATIONS
Reflections on the youth from the
expedition along the Syr-Darya Riverbasin
Mr. Gulahmadov Aminjon
Head of Section, Institute of Water
Issues, Energy and Environment of the
Tajik Academy of Science
Global campaign RunBlue: reflections
on the #RunBlue marathon stretch inCentral Asia
Ms. Mina Guli
Global Water and Environmental
Activist

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From Dushanbe Conference towards
the UN 2023 Water Conferencein New YorkMr. Henk Ovink
Special Envoy of the Kingdom ofNetherlands for International Water
Affairs
MODERATOR
Ms. Meriem Gray
Senior External Affairs Officer, WorldBank (TBC)
PLENARY SESSION “STRENGTHENINGREGIONAL COOPERATION ON
WATER TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA”
Time: 11:20-12:30
KEY CONVENING PARTNERSWISS AGENCY FOR DEVELOPMENT
AND COOPERATION (SDC)
MINISTERIAL PANEL
H.E. Mr. Serikkali Brekeshev
Minister of Ecology, Geology andNatural Resources of Kazakhstan
H.E. Mr. Daler Juma
Minister of Energy and Water
Resources of Tajikistan
H.E. Mr. Shavkat Khamraev
Minister of Water Resources of the
Republic of Uzbekistan
H.E. Mr. Guyzgeldi Bayjanov
Chairman of State the Committee for
Water Management of Turkmenistan
Ms. Dinara Kemelova
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the Kyrgyz Republic

DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS PANEL
Mr. Martin Saladin
Head of Operations, Economic
Cooperation, State Secretariat of
Economic Affairs, Switzerland
Ms. Tatiana Proskuryakova
Country Director for Central Asia,
World Bank
H.E. Ms. Terhi Hakala
EU Special Representative
for Central Asia
Ms. Yasmin Siddiqi
Director, Environment, Natural
Resources and Agriculture Division,
Central and West Asia Department,
ADB
Mr. Hinrich Tholken
Ambassador and Special Advisor forInternational Climate, Federal Foreign
Office, Germany
H.E. Ms. Olga Algayerova
United Nations Under-SecretaryGeneral and Executive Secretary of
UNECE
Mr. Peter Riley
Mission Director, USAID Tajikistan
Mr. Zafar Mahmudov
Executive Director, CAREC
12:20 – 12:30
Wrap-up of thesession: presentation of key messages
MODERATOR
H.E. Mr. Guy Bonvin,
Special Ambassador, SDC
LUNCH
Time: 12:30-14:00

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

PANEL SESSIONSPANEL SESSION 1: “HOW IS CENTRALASIA PRIORITIZING SAFE DRINKINGWATER FOR ITS PEOPLE, AND WHATNATIONAL AND REGIONAL TARGETS
HAVE BEEN SET FOR WATER FOR
HEALTH AND PEOPLE?”
Time: 14:00-15:30
KEY CONVENING PARTNER
WORLD BANKOPENING REMARKS
Mr. Sascha DjumenaCountry Program Coordinator, Europe
and Central Asia Region, World BankINTRODUCTION
Participants will be asked a numberof questions through the interactive
Pollev tool (www.polleverywhere.com)
PART 1. TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE AND
UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO WSS IN THE
REGION: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE
REGION
Setting the stage: where does CA standin achieving the regional and national
WASH and health targets
Mr. Oliver Schmoll
Programme Manager, WHO European
Centre for Environment and HealthStrategic development planningand Innovations for performance
improvements through PPP in Uzbekistan
Mr. Khurshid Rakhmatullaev
Deputy Chairman of Board of JSC“Uzsuvtaminot”
Mr. Alain Carbonel
Uzbekistan Country Manager, SUEZ
Water Technologies and Solutions incharge of the Tashkent Water PPP
Lessons from setting national targets
for WSS delivery and public healthoutcomes in Kazakhstan, what did
COVID-19 teach us?
Mr. Valeriy Syundyukov
Association of Enterprises of Water
Supply and Sanitation of the Republicof Kazakhstan «Kazakhstan Su Arnasy»
Improving Management of Water
Supply and Wastewater Services

in Kyrgyz Republic: creating
sustainable municipal enterprises
and the importance of regulatory andmonitoring systems
Mr. Askarbek Toktoshev
Advisor at the State Agency for
Architecture, Construction, Housing
and Communal Services of the Kyrgyz
Republic
Establishing a prominent link between
water resources and WSS delivery
through the sector reform process
Mr. Daler Abdurazoqzoda
Head of the Department of Water andEnergy Policy, Ministry of Energy andWater Resources of the Republic of
Tajikistan
PART 2. PANEL DISCUSSION TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE AND
UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO WSS IN
THE REGION: PERSPECTIVES OF
DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
Mr. Winston Yu
Manager, Water Practice, World Bank
Mr. Oliver Schmoll
Programme Manager, WHO European
Centre for Environment and Health
Ms. Ekaterina Miroshnik
Director, Head of Infrastructure
Division, Eurasia, European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development
Mr. Pierre Casabbonett
Senior Operations Offices, International
Finance Corporation
PART 3. WRAP-UP OF THE SESSION
AND CLOSING REMARKS
Mr. Khairy Al-Jamal
Senior Water Supply and Sanitation
Specialist, World Bank
MODERATOR AND RAPPORTEUR
Mr. Khairy Al-Jamal
Senior Water Supply and Sanitation
Specialist, World BankPANEL SESSION 2: “ENSURING GREEN,
RESILIENT AND INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT IN A WATER-SCARCEWORLD THROUGH IWRM AND NEXUS
APPROACH”
Time: 16:00-17:30

KEY CONVENING PARTNER
USAID
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTRE
FOR CENTRAL ASIA (CAREC)OPENING REMARKS
Mr. Husniddin Sharofiddinov
Deputy Chairman, EC IFAS
Mr. Robert Brudzynski
Project Manager, Cooperation Section,
Delegation of the European Union to
Kazakhstan
Ms. Ekaterina Strikeleva
CoP of WAVE Activity, USAIDKEYNOTE SPEECH
Ensuring green, resilient, and inclusive
economic development in a waterscarce world through IWRM and Nexus
approach
Mr. Iskandar Abdullaev
Deputy Director Two, CAREC Institute
PANEL DISCUSSION
Restoration of ecosystems forLivelihood development at the driedbottom of the Aral Sea basin
Mr. Bolat Bekniyaz
IFAS Board in Kazakhstan
Sedimentation as a resource for publicprivate partnership and economic
growth in Central Asia
Mr. Ilkhom Zhuraev
EC IFAS
Economic and financial aspects insupport of promoting the nexus
approach in Central Asia
Mr. Takayoshi Kato
OECD / IKI Nexus Consortia
Moderated discussion
MODERATOR
Ms. Yekaterina Strikeleva
Regional Water and Vulnerable
Environment Activity, USAIDRAPPORTEUR
Ms. Ludmilla Kiktenko
CAREC
COFFEE BREAK
Time: 15:30-16:00

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

PANEL SESSION 3: “CLIMATE CHANGE
IN CENTRAL ASIA: IMPACTS ON
WATER QUALITY, AVAILABILITY AND
PREDICTABILITY”
Time: 16:00-17:30
KEY CONVENING PARTNEREUROPEAN UNIONGERMAN SOCIETY FOR INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION (GIZ)
WELCOME AND OPENING
H.E. Ms. Terhi HakalaSpecial Representative for Central Asia,
European Union
Mr. Hinrich Thölken
Ambassador and Special Advisor
for International Climate at Federal
Foreign Office, Germany
Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda (TBC)
Chairman of EC IFAS
KEYNOTE
Ms. Marjeta Jager
Deputy Director General forInternational Partnership, European
Union
PANEL DISCUSSION
Ms. Karin Marmsoler
Federal Foreign Office, Germany
Ms. Alessandra Fidanza
Senior Expert for the EU-CA Working
Group on Environment and Climate
Change, Italian Ministry for the
Ecological Transition, Italy
Mr. Manfred Kaufman
Programme Manager, Switzerland
Ms. Jane Olga Ebinger
Sector Leader, Sustainable
Development in Central Asia, WorldBank
Mr. Sagit IbatullinInternational Hydraulic Safety Training
Center, Kazakhstan
Mr. Oyture Anarbekov
Country Manager-Researcher, IWMI
Mr. Valts Vilnītis
Team Leader, WECOOP
Ms. Dana Yermolyonok
Global Programme “Policy Advice
for Climate Resilient Economic
Development”, GIZ

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MODERATOR
Ms. Caroline Milow
Programme Manager, GIZ
RAPPORTEUR
Mr. Peep Mardiste
Senior Policy Expert for the Water
Facility of INTPA, European Union
PANEL SESSION 4: REGIONALCOLLABORATION FOR IMPROVINGKNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION AND
COMMUNICATION; AND PROMOTINGSCIENCE-BASED WATER SOLUTIONS,TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY
Time: 16:00-17:30
KEY CONVENING PARTNER
USAID
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTRE
FOR CENTRAL ASIA (CAREC)OPENING REMARKS
Mr. Husniddin Sharofiddinov
Deputy Chairman, EC IFAS
Mr. Robert Brudzynski
Project Manager, Cooperation Section,
Delegation of the European Union to
Kazakhstan
Ms. Ekaterina Strikeleva
CoP of the WAVE Activity, USAID
PART 1. KEYNOTE SPEECH
Setting the scene on science-based
solutions, tools and technology
available in Central Asia
Ms. Yekaterina Strikeleva
USAID Regional Water and Vulnerable
Environment Activity
PART 2. REFLECTIONS ON THE
INNOVATIVE TOOLS AND FOR
IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE,EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION,
AND PROMOTING SCIENCE-BASEDWATER SOLUTIONSLaboratory of innovative solutions forwater sector in Central Asia
Ms. Julia Komagaeva
World BankThe ICWC’s contribution to improving
water knowledge, education andcommunication in Central Asia
Ms. Dinara Ziganshina
Director, SIC ICWC

Introduction of innovative study
modules in the Central Asian countries:
experience of the Blue Peace Central
Asia Initiative
Mr. Tobias Siegfried
Co-founder of Hydrosolutions GmbH,
Switzerland
Science-based water solutions, tools
and technology: examples from Central
Asia
Mr. Oyture Anarbekov
Country Manager, IWMI
Importance of youth collaboration forgreening Central Asia
Mr. Samar Kanatov
Youth Network on Central Asia
MODERATOR
Mr. Iskandar Abdullaev
Deputy Director Two, CAREC InstitutePART 3. WRAP-UP AND CLOSINGREMARKSRAPPORTEUR
Ms. Ludmilla KiktenkoCARECPRESENTATION OF THE OUTCOMES OF
THE PARALLEL THEMATIC SESSIONS
Time: 17:30-17:50
RAPPORTEURS
Mr. Khairy Al-Jamal
Senior Water Supply and Sanitation
Specialist, World Bank
Ms. Ludmilla Kiktenko
CAREC
Mr. Peep Mardiste
Senior Policy Expert of the Water
Facility, INTPA, European Union
MODERATOR
Mr. William Young
Lead Water Resources Specialist and
CAWEP Manager, World Bank
CLOSING SESSION
Time: 17:50-18:00 pm (Dushanbe time)
CLOSING REMARKS
Mr. William Young
Lead Water Resources Specialist and
CAWEP Manager, World Bank
Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda
Chairman, EC IFAS (TBC)

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

CONFERENCE FORUM 2: WOMEN WATER FORUM
Time:

06/06/2022 – 09:00-18:30

Venue: Kokhi Vahdat
CO-ORGANIZERSUN WOMENROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
INTERNATIONAL TRUST (RASIT)
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OSCEREGISTRATION
09:00-10:00 Upon registration,
participants are directed to visit theevent’s exhibition: “My Water World”
HIGH-LEVEL OPENING CEREMONY(GREEN ROOM)
10:00-10:30
OPENING REMARKS
Ms. Alia El-Yassir
Regional Director, UN Women Regional
Office for Europe and Central Asia
H.R.H. Ms. Nisreen El-Hashemite
Founder President of Women in Science
International League and the Executive
Director of the Royal Academy of
Science International Trust (RASIT)
Ms. Helga Maria Schmid
Secretary General, OSCE
H.E. Ms. Terhi Hakala
EU Special Representative for Central
Asia
H.E. Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda
Special Envoy of the President of the
Republic of Tajikistan to the Water andClimate Coalition Leaders
MODERATOR
Ms. Hilolbi Kurbonzoda
Chair, Committee for Women and Family
affairs under the Government, Tajikistan
REPORTING BACK FROM 2018
“BRIDGING VOICES TO ACTION”
FORUM (GREEN ROOM)
10.30-11.00

KEYNOTE SPEECHES
Ms. Hilolbi Kurbonzoda
Chairperson, Committee of Womenand Family Affairs under theGovernment, Tajikistan
Ms. Veronica Sánchez da Cruz Rios
Director-President of the National
Water and Sanitation Agency, Brazil
Water Commitments and Generation
Equality – CSO and Youth Voices
Ms. Olivia Cohn
Coordinator of One Billion Voices
Campaign, RASIT Girls in Science 4 SDGs
International Platform, United States
Ms. Olga Janaeva
Director, Public Association Women’sorganization “Alga”, Kyrgyzstan, leader for
the Generation Equality Action Coalition
on Feminist Action for Climate Justice
MODERATOR
Ms. Alia El Yassir
Regional Director for Europe andCentral Asia, UN WomenCOFFEE BREAK
11:00-11:15
HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON WOMEN IN
SCIENCE FOR WATER AND SOCIETY(GREEN ROOM)
11:15-13:00
OPENING STATEMENTS
H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid
President of the 76th session of theUnited Nations General Assembly (TBC)
H.E. Ms. Helena Dalli
European Commission for Equality (TBC)
H.E. Ms. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
Former President of the Republic of
Mauritius

REMARKSMs. Susan Windham-BannisterCEO of Biomedical Growth Strategies,
President of Association of Women in
Science
Mr. Ismail Sukkarieh
Professor of Medicine, American
University of Beirut, President of the
National Association of Health andSocial Affairs, Lebanon
PRs of 7th IDWGIS Co-organizers
Member States
SHORT ILLUSTRATIVE VIDEOSPICTURING CHALLENGES AND
SOLUTIONS FROM DIFFERENTSCIENTIFIC ANGLES
Ms. Stephanie Okeyo
Under the Microscope, Kenya
Ms. Meghna Badami
Medical Student, and RASIT Youth
Representative to the UN, India
Women in Science
Lehigh University, United States
CONVERSATION WITH DISTINGUISHEDSCIENTISTS AND EXPERTS
Sustainable Development Needs
Science and Science Needs Women
Ms. Barbara Janusz PawlettaVice Rector, Kazakh-German University
Mr. Kumar Loganathan
Cansu-SITE Initiator and Social
Entrepreneur, India
Ms. Corinne Schuster-Wallace
Professor University of Saskatchewan,
Associate Director Global Water
Futures, Canada
Ms. Josefina Maestu
Water Advisor to the Secretary of State
for Environment, Spain

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

MODERATOR
Ms. Alice Bouman-Dentener
Co-Founder of Cansu Global, RASIT
Open discussion with the meeting
participants
LUNCH BREAK
Time: 13:30-14:30
HIGH LEVEL PANEL ON CAPACITYBUILDING AND KNOWLEDGE (GREEN
ROOM)
Time: 14:30 – 15:45
OPENING REMARKS
H.E. Mr. Igli Hasani
Coordinator of OSCE Economic andEnvironmental Activities
Representative (TBC)
Academy of Public Administration under
the President of the Republic of Tajikistan
KEYNOTES
Ms. Lyazzat Syrlybaeva and Ms.
Cholpon Aitakhunova
Central Asia Youth for Water Network
The Women in Water Management
Network in Central Asia andAfghanistan – key achievements,
outcomes and plans
Ms. Tais Reznikova
Specialist, Water Initiatives Support
Programme, CAREC
Ms. Shohida Tulieva
Senior Project Officer, BasinManagement and Focal Point «Genderand Social Equality”, Tajikistan
Ms. Sogol Jafarzadeh
Environmental Affairs Adviser at the
Office of the Coordinator of OSCE
Economic and Environmental Activities
MODERATOR
Ms. Saule Ospanova
Senior Environmental Affairs Adviser,
OSCE
RAPPORTEUR
Ms. Katie Goldie-Ryder
Programme Officer, SIWI50

PROGRAMME BOOK

CONCLUDING REMARKS AND THE WAY
FORWARD
Ms. Katie Goldie-Ryder
Programme Manager for the Shared
Water Partnership, SIWICOFFEE BREAK
Time: 15:45-16:00
PARALLEL SESSIONS
Time: 16.00-17.30
SESSION 1: EFFECTIVE DATAFORMATION MECHANISMS: HOW
TO CLOSE GENDER DATA GAPS FOR
EVIDENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING,PARTNERSHIP AND RESOURCES
MOBILIZATION (BLUE ROOM)
SPEAKERS
Mr. Abduvali Nabizoda
Statistics Agency under theGovernment of Tajikistan
Ms. Sneha Kaul (TBD)
Statistics Analyst, UN Women Asia
Pacific
Representative (TBD)
UNESCO-WWAP
Representative (TBD)
ACTED
MODERATOR
Ms. Nargis Rakhimova
Head of UNFPA Office, Tajikistan
RAPPORTEUR
Dr. Barbara Janusz PawlettaVice Rector, Kazakh-German
University
SESSION 2: FROM BEST PRACTICES
AND LEARNING TO REPLICATION ANDSCALING UP: EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONSBY WOMEN FROM THE GROUND,MODELS, AND CASE STUDIES (GREEN
ROOM)
SPEAKERS
Ms. Khayrinisso Rasulova
NGO “Women and Society”, Tajikistan
Ms. Saboat Mirzokulova
Director, NGO “Istiklol Water”

Ms. Nune Sakanyan
Founder & President, NGO “Women in
Climate and Energy”, Armenia
MODERATOR
Ms. Zukhro Tillokhojaeva
Research Institute on
Hydrometeorology, Uzbekistan
RAPPORTEUR
Ms. Emma Anakhasyan
NGO “Armenian Women for Health &Healthy Environment”, Armenia
SESSION 3: GLOBAL MEDIA ROOM:WOMEN & GIRLS IN SCIENCE
MOVING THE WATER CONVERSATIONFORWARD (HALL)
SPEAKERS
Ms. Susan Windham-Bannister
President of Association of Women in
Science, United States
Ms. Jhyldyzkhan Ysmanova
Director, NGO “Central Asian Alliancefor Water”, Member of the Central
Asia and Afghanistan Women & Water
Association, Kyrgyzstan
REPORT-BACK FROM THE PARALLELSESSIONS (GREEN ROOM)
Time: 17:30-18:00
CONCLUSIONS AND WAY FORWARD(GREEN ROOM)
Time: 18:00-18:30
WWF Outcome Document
Ms. Alice Bouman
CANSU
Overall discussion (all participants)
MODERATOR
Ms. Nazokat Isaeva
UN Women Office in Tajikistan
Wrap-up
Ms. Khairinisso Yusufi
Chair, National Commission on
Population and Development, Tajikistan

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

CONFERENCE FORUM 3: YOUTH AND CHILDREN WATER FORUM
Time:

06/06/2022 – 09:00-17:00

Venue: Kokhi Nowruz
CO-CONVENERS
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND
(UNICEF)
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EC IFAS, MEWR,
WMO, CYS, WYN, WYPW, CAY4W
OPENING SPEECHES
H.E. Mr. Saidzoda Rahim Hamro
Minister of Education, Tajikistan
Mr. Virginijus Sinkevičius
European Commissioner for theEnvironment, Oceans and Fisheries
Mr. Abdullo Rakhmonzoda
Chairman, Committee of Youth andSport
Mr. Osama Makkawi
Country Representative, UNICEF
Tajikistan
Roadmap to UN 2023 Conference
Representative
UN Water
MODERATOR
Mr. Ammar Orakzai
WASH Specialist, UNICEF
COFFEE BREAK AND NETWORKING
Time: 09:35-09:50
WATER CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL
SOLUTIONS -REFLECTIONS FROMYOUTH CHANGE MAKERS AND KEY
EXPERTS
The importance of youth engagementin the water sector
Ms. Isabela Battistello Espindola(experienced)
Water Governance Group CoCoordinator, Youth Water Network

Ms. Farokh Laqa Kakar (youth)
Water Advocate, Young Water
Professional and Member of theInternational Water Association YWPSteering Committee
How working in an internationalorganisation can help to solve local
water problems
Ms. Rianna Gonzales (experienced)
Youth & Water Specialist at the Global
Water Partnership
Ms. Khouloud Ben Charfi (youth)Fresh Water Project Officer, WWF
North Africa, and WYN Water
Governance Group
Youth Challenges in the Water Sector
Ms. Emily Ryan (experienced)
Chair of the International Water
Association YWP Steering Committee
Ms. Anisa Abibulloeva (youth)
EC IFAS, Tajikistan, and World Youth
Parliament for Water
Role of Youth in Transboundary Water
Cooperation
Ms. Cholpon Aitakhunova(experienced)
Regional Co-coordinator, Central Asia
Youth for Water
Mr. Alidovar Sodatsairov (youth)
University of Central Asia, Tajikistan,and Central Asia Youth for Water
Q&A
MODERATOR
Mr. Gijs. J Van
Member, World Youth Parliament for
Water, Netherlands

EXHIBITION BY CHILDREN - WASTE TORESOURCE - CLIMATE LENS TO WATERSECURITYINTRODUCTION
Director
Committee of Additional Education
Walk around exhibition, presentations
and Q&A
LUNCH
Time: 12:30-13:15
Youth Engagement in the Water Sector- Takeaways from the 4th Asia-PacificWater Summit
Mr. Mikio IshiwatariSpecial Advisor to the Secretary
General, Japan Water ForumSDG YOUTH TALK ON WASH:
BEST SOLUTIONS FOR ENSURING
UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO WATER AND
SANITATION FOR ALL
From paper to Pipe - Youth Actions
to Substantiate Water and Sanitation
RightsMr. Shinji Cavalho
Bertha Challenge Fellow, Program
Analyst and Water Activist, World
Youth Parliament for Water
Water and sanitation business
opportunities for young people
Mr. Martin Mawejje
WASH Engineer, Water for People,
and Water Youth Network Water
Governance GroupWYPW experiences from local chapters,
giving local voices a platform to unit
Mr. Afolyayan Juwon Samuel
Chapters Working Group Leader, World
Youth Parliament for Water

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

WASH and Youth in Ghana
Mr. Jacob Amengor
International Water Association Youth
Leadership Ambassador
WASH and Youth in Central Asia
Mr. Neckbacht Orzu
Member, Central Asia Youth for Water
Role of Youth on Water in Tajikistanwith a gender lensMs. Mavzuna Azizova
University of Central Asia and Central
Asia Youth for Water
Q&A
MODERATOR
Mr. Mohammad Najim Nasimi
National Coordinator, Central Asia
Youth for Water
ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATIONEXEMPLIFIED: MENSTRUAL HEALTH
AND HYGIENE
Ms. Sana Lokhandwala
Co-Founder, HER Pakistan
Ms. Patricia Zanella
Co-Founder of Ecociclo Brazil(https://www.linkedin.com/in/
patriciazanellasp/)
Entrepreneur
MODERATOR
Ms. Neptune Zaim
Member, Central Asia Youth for Water
Afghanistan
COFFEE BREAK AND NETWORKING
Time: 15:45-16:00

52

PROGRAMME BOOKPRESENTATION OF THE WATER AND
CLIMATE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PLAN
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Jan Kairel Guillermo
Water and Climate Coalition, WMO
Selected Youth delegates to present the
YDPAJonas, Maria, Zainab and Zi Han
PANEL DISCUSSION
Support of UN agencies for YDPA
validation with multiple stakeholders
Mr. Johannes Cullmann
Director, WMO
Implementation of YDPA, how candifferent sectors support
Ms. Noemie Plumier
Advisor to WCC Leaders Panel
Support from the Dutch Government
to UN1FY on the way to UN Water
Conference 2023
Ms. Lisa Hartog
Dutch Government
Meaningful youth engagement in UN
processes Moderatos from UN1FY
Khaled Emam
MGCY
Titilayo
Rebecca
Q&A moderated
THE WATER AND CLIMATE SONG
Written by Aliya Parpishozoda andMalakbozov Tupchi - Music andcomposition by Avesto - Singing by
a youth group from Central Asian
countries
Children and Youth from Central Asia

CLOSING SPEECH
Ms. Carolina Tornesi MacKinnon
President, World Youth Parliament for
Water
VIRTUAL REALITY EXHIBITION
Walking the Water Experience inTajikistan
Beyond Borders Media, UNICEF and
the Government of Tajikistan
CONTACT PEOPLE
Mr. Osama Makkawi
Country Representative, UNICEF
Tajikistan
omakkawi@unicef.org
Mr. Ammar Orakzai
WASH Specialist, UNICEF Tajikistan
aorakzai@unicef.org
Ms. Kelly Ann Naylor
Associate Director WASH, UNICEF HQkanaylor@unicef.org

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

CONFERENCE FORUM 4: FORUM ON WATER AND LOCAL COMMUNITIESAND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Time:

06/06/2022 – 14:00-18:00

Venue: National Library of Tajikistan
CO-ORGANIZERSUNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME (UNDP)
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL,SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURALORGANIZATION (UNESCO)WELCOME PRAYER
Time: 14:00-14:05
Mr. Viacheslav ‘Slava’ Shadrin
Siberian Aborigen ForumPANEL SESSIONSSESSION 1: WELCOME SESSION
Mr. Sharifjon Jumazoda
Chairman of Committee on Local
Development under the President of
the Republic of Tajikistan
Mr. Shoimzoda Jamshed
First Deputy Minister of Energy andWater Resources of the Republic of
Tajikistan
Mr. Dario Melvia Montalvo
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues (UNFPII)
Mr. Rodion Sulyandziga (video)
Mr. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (video)
SUPPORTING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
AND LOCAL COMMUNITIESMESSAGING ON WATER
Mr. Nigel Crawhall
UNESCOMr. Yon Fernández-de-Larrinoa
FAO
Ms. Marianne Kjellén
UNDP

PRESENTATION
UN 2023 Water Conference
H.E. Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda
Chairman of EC IFAS
From Dushanbe Conference towards the
UN 2023 Water Conference in New YorkMr. Henk Ovink
Special Envoy of the Kingdom ofNetherlands for International Water
Affairs
Q&A on 2023 Water Conference

MODERATOR
Ms. Tania Martínez Cruz
Indigenous Peoples Food Systems andWater Expert, FAO

FACILITATOR
Ms. Yolanda López Maldonado
Researcher in Indigenous Science

Opportunities for engagement– Indigenous Peoples and Local
communities Panel Discussion
Representative (TBC)
UN Representatives Panel

SESSION 2: REGIONAL CHALLENGES
Time: 14:50-16:30
Region – Asia
Ms. Phan Thi Thu Huong
GEDSI Advisor, Mekong Region Water
Governance Program
Mr.Viacheslav ‘Slava’ Shadrin
Siberian Aborigen Forum
Mr.Abdumalik Egemberdiev
Director “Kyrgyz Jayity”
Ms. Veng Many
Kreung Indigenous Peoples community,
Cambodia Indigenous Women
Association
Region – Africa
Mr. Joram Useb
IPACC Namibia
Region – Americas
Mr. Darío José Mejía Montalvo
Global Hub / IP Food Coalition, Zenu,
Colombia / LAC
Regional round-up summary

BREAK
Time: 16:10-16:30
SESSION 3: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
LOCAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN
GLOBAL PROCESSES
Time: 16:30-17:20

Inspirational words
Mr. Rajendra Singh“Jal Purush, Waterman of India”
FACILITATOR
Ms. Yolanda López Maldonado
Researcher in Indigenous Science
SESSION 4 – MESSAGES TO THE
DUSHANBE WATER PROCESSLEADING UP TO THE 2023 UN-WATER
CONFERENCE
Time: 17:20-18:00
Confirmation of draft messages andfuture inputs
Final words and closing
Mr. Qosim Rohbar
Chairman of Committee on Local
Development under the President of
the Republic of Tajikistan
CLOSING PRAYER
Mr. Viacheslav ‘Slava’ Shadrin
Siberian Aborigen Forum

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

CONFERENCE FORUM 5: FORUM ON WATER AND MOUNTAINS
Time:

06/06/2022 – 14:00-18:30

Venue: Serena Hotel
CO-ORGANIZERSUNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL,SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURALORGANIZATION (UNESCO)UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL CENTRE
FOR PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY FORCENTRAL ASIA (UNRCCA)REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS,CONNECTION OF ONLINEPARTICIPANTS AND WELCOME COFFEE
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
MASTER OF CEREMONY
Ms. Zulfiya Burkhon
Secretary-General, Tajikistan National
Commission for UNESCO
WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
Ms. Natalia Gherman
Special Representative of theSecretary-General for Central Asia andHead of the United Nations Regional
Center for Preventive Diplomacy forCentral Asia (UNRCCA)
Ms. Shamila Nair-Bedouelle
Assistant Director-General for Natural
Sciences, UNESCO
Mr. Bakhodur Sheralizoda
Chairman of the Committee on
Environmental Protection under
the Government of the Republic of
Tajikistan
HIGH LEVEL PANEL DISCUSSION“WATER AND MOUNTAINS: WHERE
DO WE STAND GLOBALLY?”
Time: 14:30 - 15:40
MODERATORUNESCOSPEAKERS
Mr. Anil Mishra
Chief of Section, UNESCO Water
Sciences Division
Mr. Manfred Kaufman
Programme Manager Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation
Mr. John Pomeroy
Professor at the University of
Saskatchewan, Canada
H.E. Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda
Chairman, EC IFAS
Ms. Eva Garcia Balaguer (online)
Mission Officer, Pyrenees Climate
Change Observatory
Question for panel discussion from theconcept note of the Forum
PLENARY SESSION “STATEMENTS OF
CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES”
Time: 15:40 - 16:30
MODERATOR
Mr. Philipp Saprykin,
Deputy Head, UNRCCA
VIDEO
Melting Glaciers of Central Asia
SPEAKERS
Central Asian government institutions
on water, climate and environment, on
behalf of their delegation/country
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyz Republic
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan (online)
Uzbekistan
Group photo and coffee break

54

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VIDEO
UNESCO projects on Cryosphere
PLENARY SESSION “WATER AND
MOUNTAINS: LINKING GLOBAL,REGIONAL and LOCAL PERSPECTIVES”
How sciences contribute to cryospheremonitoring in Tajikistan
Mr. Abdulhamid Kayumov
Professor, Glaciology Centre, Academyof Sciences, Tajikistan
When multi-stakeholders partnershipbears fruit: UNESCO projects on
Cryosphere in Central Asia
Ms. Natalya Kim,
Project Officer, UNESCO cluster officein Almaty
Climate services for adaptation policies:
CROMO-ADAPT project
Mr. Joel Fiddes,
Research Scientist, WSL Institute for
Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Glacier preservation: Ice memory
initiative and Pamir project
Ms. Margit Schwikowski-Gigar
Head of research group, Paul Scherrer
Institute, Switzerland
MODERATOR
Mr. Kristine Tovmasyan
Programme Specialist UNESCO office in
AlmatyQuestions and answers, discussion
OUTCOME STATEMENT, CONCLUSIONSAND CLOSURE
Wrap-up, adoption of the outcome
statement and closure
Buffet dinner
Time: 18:30-19:30

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

SIDE EVENTSSIDE EVENT 1: BUILDING EVIDENCE FOR WATER-RELATED POLICY MAKING:THE SDG 6 POLICY SUPPORT SYSTEM (SDG-PSS)
Time: 07/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Building B, Firepace Hall
Co-crganizers: United
Nations Office for Sustainable
Development (UNOSD) and
UNESCO International Centre for
Water Security and Sustainable
Management (UNESCO i-WSSM)
in partnership with Hub-countries(Tunisia, Pakistan, Brazil andRepublic of Korea)

Description: The focus of this side-event will be sharing the experiencesof the Hub-countries in using SDG-PSS as a powerful tool for supporting
evidence-based policy and decision making to achieve SDG 6. The aimsof the proposed side event are perfectly in line with the main themes of
the Conference in terms of promoting science-based solutions and tools;
improving capacity building, knowledge and education through sharing
information and best practices; showcasing successful partnerships bystakeholders at all levels; and strengthening cooperation at different
levels by promoting partnership and cross-sectoral approaches. This side
event will be co-organized by the United Nations Office for the Sustainable
Development (UNOSD), a project office of UN DESA based in Incheon,
ROK, and UNESCO International Centre for Water Security and Sustainable
Management (UNESCO i-WSSM).

SIDE EVENT 2: CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS ON WATER SOURCES
IN MOUNTAINOUS CENTRAL ASIA
Time: 07/06/2022 – 13:00 - 14:30
Venue: Kokhi Somon, New Hall
Organizer: Aga Khan Development
Network

Description: High mountain areas receive much of their precipitation as
snow; this together with melt from glaciers and permafrost, as well as
periodic rainfall, comprises the runoff to streams and rivers. The side event
will provide a scientific analysis of recent climate trends that drive water
availability in the Central Asian region in form of snowmelt, rainfall, glaciermelt, permafrost thaw, and the subsurface water regime. Therefore, theside event will provide a perspective on climate complexities causal effects
on variability on water sources and anticipated trajectories in mountainous
Central Asia, implications of water-related dynamics on the quality of life ofindigenous communities: water-food security – energy nexus and hazards,
as well as recommendations to expedite implementation of measures tosafeguard mountainous communities.

SIDE EVENT 3: THE CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN TO THE STUDY OF GLACIERS IN TAJIKISTAN
Time: 07/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Kokhi Somon, Zarandud Hall
Organizer: State Scientific
Institution «Center for the Studyof Glaciers NAST»

Description: The objectives of the event are involve women in the studyof glaciers in Tajikistan, improving the knowledge of women to conduct
fundamental research, identification of new innovative ways in the study of
glaciers by women, to get acquainted with the achievements of women in
the field of studying the glaciers of Tajikistan.

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SIDE EVENT 4: GLACIERS AND CLIMATE CHANGE: REGIONAL COOPERATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Time: 07/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Building B, Oval Hall
Co-organizers: Committee forEnvironmental Protection under
the Government of the Republicof Tajikistan, UNDP, European
Union Delegation to Tajikistan

Description: The countries of Central Asia are striving to mainstream
climate change in the national policies and pursue transition to a low-carbon
resilient development. All countries in the region have developed national
strategies and action plans on climate change, with associated projects
on mitigation and adaptation. Therefore, purpose of the side-event is topromote a shared understanding of climate change and resilience concepts
and to mainstream climate-fragility risks into water policies and river basin
management plans. Supporting water policies and river basin management
plans in all three countries to improve sustainable use of water resourcesin Ferghana Valley.

SIDE EVENT 5: TO ACHIEVE SDGS WITH WATER:SUPPORTING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES’ WATER ACTION THROUGH A GLOBAL EDUCATIONAL PLATFORM
Time: 07/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Building 1, Press
Conference Hall
Organizer: Korea Water Resources
Corporation (K-water)

Description: Though securing water is essential to respond to global climate
crisis, there are not enough international educational institutions dedicatedto the areas of water, energy, and climate change. Considering its importanceof capacity building for developing countries in this respect, Korea Water
Resources Corporation (K-water) will gather water stakeholders aroundthe world to share practical measures to utilize a global water education
platform based on each participant’s financial, governance and information
through this side-event.

SIDE EVENT 6: WATER ACTION AGENDA: FROM DUSHANBE 2022 TO NEW YORK 2023
Time: 08/06/2022 – 09:30-10:30
Venue: Kokhi Somon, Press
Conference Hall
Co-organizers: Tajikistan, The
Netherlands, UN DESA and UNWater

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Description: In March 2023 the world will come together during the UN 2023
Water Conference convened by the UN General Assembly. The parametersof the outcomes of the UN 2023 Water Conference are described in General
Assembly resolution 75/212. The mandated outcome document of theConference is a summary of its proceedings. This summary will feed into
the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2023,
in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and it
will challenge the world community to think of best ways to organize andmobilize the acceleration – and scaling – we need to achieve.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

SIDE EVENT 7: SCIENCE AND EVIDENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE TRANSBOUNDARY WATER
COOPERATION IN SMALL TRANSBOUNDARY TRIBUTARIES OF CENTRAL ASIA
Time: 08/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Kokhi Somon, New Hall
Organizer: International Water
Management Institute (IWMI)

Description: Since independence, Central Asian countries have madeconcerted efforts and established regional initiatives and cooperation in thearea of interstate water management. While most initiatives have focusedon cooperation in large rivers, the sustainable and efficient managementof small transboundary tributaries (STTs) within large river basins is equallyimportant. Frequently mentioned challenges to improve transboundary
cooperation in STTs are lack of tools, rules and regulations, data sharing
and qualified specialists on transboundary water sharing.

SIDE EVENT 8: DIGITAL TOOLS AND E-LEARNING IN TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENT
Time: 08/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Building 1, Press
Conference Hall
Co-organizers: Organization for
Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE), Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation(SDC), International Union forConservation of Nature (IUCN)
and Geneva Water Hub (GWH)

Description: The side-event will explore possibilities where digitalization
is used in transboundary water management as a contribution to regional
dialogue and cooperation, specifically in areas of monitoring and measuring
water use and footprint, as well as early warning systems in water related
disasters. The side-event will also serve to launch the e-learning courseon Water Diplomacy and Integration of Water Norms in Peacebuilding,developed by the OSCE in partnership with Geneva Water Hub. The
overall objective of the e-learning is to provide theoretical and practical
tools for integrating sustainable water governance in processes linked topeacebuilding and to increase the capacities of individuals and institutionsin using water as an entry point for co-operation and dialogue.

SIDE EVENT 9: GROUNDWATER: MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE
Time: 08/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Kokhi Somon, White Hall
Co-organizers: UN-WATER, IAEA,
UNESCO-IHP, IGRAC, UNESCOWWAP, University College London,
IAH

Description: The proposed session will first take stock of the status of
the world groundwater resources, as presented in the UN World Water
Development Report (WWDR) 2022, entitled “Groundwater: making theinvisible visible”. The main findings of the WWDR will be presented during
the event. The session will then focus on links between groundwater andclimate change, explicitly considering how groundwater contributes toclimate change adaptation and mitigation, and to resilience of communities
to climate extreme events. Special attention will be given to interactions
between the cryosphere and groundwater/aquifers.

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SIDE EVENT 10: THE ROLE OF YOUTH IN THE STUDY OF GLACIERS
Time: 08/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Kokhi Somon, Zarandud Hall
Organizer: State Scientific
Institution «Center for the Studyof Glaciers NAST»

Description: The objectives of the event are: increasing the role of youth
in the study of glaciers in Tajikistan; involvement of youth in the study of
glaciers; improving the knowledge and skills of young people to conduct
basic research; acquaintance with the achievements of the young in the
study of glaciers in Tajikistan.

SIDE EVENT 11: CLIMATE CHANGE, WATER SECURITY AND MIGRATION IN CENTRAL ASIA:
A DIALOGUE WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS
Time: 08/06/2022 – 13:00-14:30
Venue: Building B, Firepace Hall
Organization: International
Organization for Migration

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Description: According to the Sixth Assessment of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), approximately half of the world’s
population experiences severe water scarcity for at least some part of theyear due to climatic and non-climatic drivers. Drought is impacting lives
and livelihoods by causing land degradation, food insecurity, and reducing
agricultural production. With climate change impacting hydrological cycles,
pre-existing inequalities and vulnerabilities are exacerbated especially for
those relying primarily on natural rainfall patterns for sustaining their wellbeing and livelihoods.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

EXCURSIONS
DUSHANBE CITY

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF TAJIKISTAN

Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan, a city of republican
significance, the largest scientific, cultural, political,
economic, industrial and administrative center of thecountry.

The National Museum of Tajikistan was founded on
27 July 2011. Its area is 24,000 m2, of which 15,000
m2 are dedicated to exhibitions. The museum has
22 exhibition halls, where the best masterpieces ofancestors are exhibited, representing the history andcivilization of the Tajik people, including a Hellenistic
figurine from Takhti-Sangin, III-IV centuries. BC, clay
panel - Kafir-Kala, VII century AD.

“Monday” is the translation of the name of ancient
Dushanbe the capital of Tajikistan. At the beginningof the 17th century at the crossroads of Asian roads,
a village was formed, where a market was held on
Mondays. Time passed, the village grew and soonturned into a regional center, the noisy markets werein full of people and goods, not only one day a week
- but the name remained. The first written mention of
Dushanbe occurs at the end of 1676.
Modern Dushanbe is a city in which one can feelthe breath of the fabulous East, and at the sametime it is the cultural, economic and political centerof the country. During the years of independence,
Dushanbe has literally changed. Over the past 30 years,
architecturally remarkable buildings of the National
Library, the National Museum of Tajikistan, the culturalcomplex «Kokhi Navruz», «Kokhi Somon», «Dushanbe
Plaza» and a number of other objects have been built
in Dushanbe, which have become the pride of theresidents of the capital.
Guests of the capital can visit various museums, parks,
theaters and see other sights of the city.

A research department has been established at themuseum, where the departments of written heritage
are located, as well as the exposition departments ofnature, antiquity and the Middle Ages, modern andrecent history, fine and applied arts.
NATIONAL FLAG PARK
The park is located in the central part of Dushanbe. The
layout of the park includes the Flagstaff, an artificial lakewith a fountain, wide rectangular alleys with a cascadeof fountains, small architectural forms, and sculptures
depicting the historical heroes of the Tajik people.
Construction of the flagpole began on 24 November
2010, on the National Flag Day, and the official opening
took place on 30 August 2011. The flag of the Republicof Tajikistan is hoisted at a height of 165m and is oneof the highest flags in the world. The flag is 30m wide
and 60m long.

KOKHI NAVRUZThis is the largest complex in Central Asia, which has
no analogues and is recognized as a modern touristic
miracle. The “Kokhi Navruz” Palace consists of 12halls, each of which reflects the unique features ofnational architecture. The patterns and elements of its
decorative culture represent the 6000-year history of
the culture and civilization of the Tajik people.

Program of visiting the sights of Dushanbe
June 9, 2022
8:00
8:30-10:00
10:00-11:50
11:50-12:30

Gathering in front of the Opera andBallet Theatre named after S. Aini
Visiting “Kohki Navruz”
Visiting the National Museum of
Tajikistan
Visiting the National Flag Park

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

HISSAR FORTRESSThe Hissar fortress has a 3,000-year history and isincluded in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The
fortress is 20 km away from Dushanbe city.
The Hissar fortress is the summer residence of the
Bukhara emirs, built in the XVII and completed in the
XIX centuries. During the Civil War of 1918-1933, thefortress was almost completely destroyed. Partiallyrestored in 1982 and restored in 2002.
The fortress with walls 1 m thick, with loopholes for guns
and cannons, towered on the slope of a high hill andwas guarded by guards. Inside there was a swimming
pool and a garden. Opposite the fortress, there wasa noisy market square with a caravanserai and many
shops. Large staircases and terraces lined with brickled to the main entrance. Unfortunately, they have notsurvived to this day, as, indeed, the entire building of
the palace. The only thing that remains of the fortressis a monumental gate made of burnt brick with two
cylindrical towers, between which there is a pointed
arch, so most of the gates of Bukhara were built in the
XVIII-XIX centuries. But even this fragment looks very
majestic and impressive today.
At the end of the 80s of the XX century, a unique
historical and cultural reserve was created in Hissar,
including the Hissar fortress with an arch (2500 years
old), the Registan (the square in front of the fortress),the Old Madrasah (XVI century), the New Madrasah,
the Caravanserai (hotel), the Chashmai Mohien Mosque(VIII century), the Mosque «Sangin», Mausoleum«Makhdumi Azam» (XVI century), a historical museum
located in the building of the Old Madrasah. There are
unique monuments and exhibits (more than 3,200
copies) found during excavations on the territory of thecity of Hissar and beyond.
Near this tourist site, there are teahouses - national
food outlets that serve national dishes and drinks, twoof which guests will be able to visit during the tour.

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Program of visiting the Hissar fortress
June 9, 2022
8:00
8:25-9:00
9:00-9:30
9:30-10:00
10:00-11:00
11:00-12:00
12:00-12:30
12:30-14:00
14:00

Gathering in front of the Opera andBallet Theater named after S. Aini
A trip to Hissar city
Visit the Chaikhana "Melon"
A trip to the Hissar fortress
Visit the Hissar fortress

Visit the resting zone "Sharshara"
Demonstration of tourist and craft
opportunities of the city
Lunch
Return to Dushanbe citySecond High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

NUREK CITY
The Nurek city is located 70 km southeast of thecapital - city of Dushanbe, on the banks of the Vakhsh
River. Its area is 394.5 km2. The city was founded in1960 on the site of the village of Nurek as a result of
the construction of the Nurek hydroelectric power
station. Modern Nurek is a beautiful calm city withbeautiful nature, mountains, a mild climate, and clean
fresh air. Surrounded by mountains, the city of powerengineers - Nurek is strikingly beautiful in the evening
when numerous lights from the windows of houses in a
moment illuminate the gorge between the mountains.
The main pride of Nurek is the record holder of the
Guinness Book of Records, the world’s tallest dam
standing at the Nurek hydroelectric power station, oneof the 30 most powerful hydroelectric power stationsin the world.

The program of visiting the city of Nurek
June 9, 2022

12:30-14:00

Gathering in front of the Opera andBallet Theater named after S. Aini
Departure to Nurek city
Visit the Nurek HPP
Visit the exhibition of tourist andcraft opportunities of city
Lunch

14:00

Return to Dushanbe city

8:00-9:00
9:00
10:30-11:50
11:50-12:30

THE NUREK HPP
The Nurek HPP on the Vakhsh River with an installedcapacity of 3,000 MW (nine units of 335 MW each) andan average annual electricity generation of 11.2 billion
kWh/year is the largest hydroelectric power stationin Central Asia. The design of the hydroelectric power
plant began in the 1950s, construction was started in
1961. The construction of the station was announced
by the All-Union Komsomol Shock Construction Site.
The station was commissioned in 1972, the last unit
was commissioned in 1979.
The height of the dam of the station is 300 meters,
which makes it the highest bulk dam in the world, themirror area of the reservoir is 98 km2, the volume is10.5 km3, and the length is about 70 km. Water fromthe reservoir is used not only to generate electricity but
also sent through a special tunnel to irrigate agriculturalland.
The Nurek HPP, providing about three-quarters of thecountry’s total electricity generation, is the flagshipof Tajikistan’s energy industry. It is a unique source ofgreen and environmentally friendly energy, which is also
exported to neighbouring countries, making a worthy
contribution to the efforts of the world community todevelop a «green» economy.

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VARZOB GORGE
Varzob gorge is widely known for its unique weather,tourist opportunities and recreation areas. There aremany holiday homes, tourist bases, roadside cafes andcottages. The gorge has a dozen side branches – small
gorges, including Ovchug, Takob, and Siem. Varzob isbeautiful and accessible at all times of the year. The
main artery is the Varzob River, each tributary of which
has its own gorges. There are thousands of springs,
small streams and clean fresh air.
Considering the beautiful and unique nature of thearea, in 2000 the Government of the Republic of
Tajikistan decided to declare Varzob a «Tourist zone».
On the territory of the district, there are shrines of
Khoja Sanghok and Khoja Obi Garm, as well as several
health, medical, tourist and entertainment places.
KHOJA OBI GARM
The sanatorium «Khoja Obi Garm» is located at
an altitude of 1740-1960 meters. The picturesquesurroundings of the sanatorium consist of highmountains, where medicinal plants, trees and shrubs,
hawthorns and sea buckthorn grow, and many birds
live. There are many beautiful waterfalls in the gorge, as
well as favorable conditions for recreation. In addition
to the mountain climate, one of the main natural
factors is warm mineral groundwater.
KOKHI MALIKA
The resting complex «Kokhi Malika» is located in a
picturesque corner of the Varzob gorge just 20 km fromDushanbe city. In the Kokhi Malika Complex, you canenjoy the beauties of Tajikistan’s nature, including theriver, mountains and waterfall.
The complex also provides good conditions for businessmeetings, seminars, holidays, banquets, and otherevents.

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Program of visiting the sights of the Varzob
June 9, 2022
8:00-9:00
9:00-10:00
10:00-11:00
11:00-11:30
11:30-12:20
12:20-12:40
12:40-14:00
14:00

Gathering in front of the Opera andBallet Theater named after S. Aini
Departure to the Varzob gorge
Visit the sanatorium "Khoja Obi
Garm"
Departure to the Kokhi Malika
Complex
Visit the Kokhi Malika Complex

Demonstration of tourist and craft
opportunities
Lunch
Return to the Dushanbe

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

ROGUN CITY
Rogun city is located in the eastern part of the Republicof Tajikistan on the banks of the Vakhsh River. The
total area of the city is 661 km2. The distance fromDushanbe to Rogun city is 110 km. It was founded in
1955 due to the construction of the Vakhsh cascade several hydroelectric power plants on the Vakhsh River,which also includes the Rogun HPP.
ROGUN HPPThe Rogun HPP is a hydroelectric power plant underconstruction on the Vakhsh River in Tajikistan, whichis part of the Vakhsh cascade of HPPs, being its upperstage. According to the design, the Rogun HPP is a damtype HPP with a high-rise (335 m) rockfill dam. Uponcompletion of the project, the hydroelectric dam willbe the highest in the world.

Program of visiting Rogun
June 9, 2022

12:30-14:00

Gathering in front of the Opera andBallet Theatre named after S. Aini
Trip to the city of Rogun
Visit to the Rogun HPP
Demonstration of the tourist andcraft opportunities of the city
Luch

14:00

Return to Dushanbe city

8:00
9:00-10:00
10:00-11:30
11:30-12:30

The design capacity of the HPP is 3600 MW, and theaverage annual output is 13.1 billion kWh. Six radialaxial hydraulic units with a capacity of 600 MW eachwill be installed in the HPP building. The HPP dam
should form a large Rogun reservoir with a total
volume of 13.3 km³ and a useful volume of 10.3 km³.
The reservoir is planned to be used for both energy andirrigation purposes on arid lands with an area of morethan 300,000 hectares. This is a unique source of green
and environmentally friendly energy, which is also
exported to neighboring countries, making a worthy
contribution to the efforts of the world community todevelop a «green» economy.

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EXHIBITION
The International Exhibition “Water for Sustainable
Development” will be organized in the days of the
2nd High-Level International Conference on theInternational Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable
Development”, 2018-2028.
Dates: 07-08/06/2022
Venue: State Complex “Kokhi Somon”
Theme: “Water for Sustainable Development”
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the exhibition is to promote awarenessof the measures taken and progress achieved in theimplementation of the International Decade for Action«Water for Sustainable Development» by demonstrating
activities carried out and the results achieved, advanced
knowledge, best practices and scientific achievementsin the field of water resources. The exhibition is also
aimed to assist to the further strengthening anddevelopment of cooperation among stakeholders, aswell as to introduce innovative methods, practices,
techniques and technologies of sustainable water
resources management. Furthermore, the exhibitionis aimed at establishing close business relationships
among various stakeholders.

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THEME OF THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition will be held under the general theme«Water for Sustainable Development».
The general slogan for the exhibition is “Water for
Sustainable Development”. It will focus on issues ofcooperation and partnership in the water sector at the
local, regional and international levels, rational use andprotection of water resources, water-related disasters
risk reduction, impact of climate change on water
resources, development of hydropower, introductionof water-saving technologies, etc.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

CULTURAL PROGRAMME
DUSHANBE WATER FESTIVAL
Dushanbe Water Festival will be held in Tajikistan on
the 6 of June 2022, in the capital’s Park of Culture“Navruzgoh”. This will be a celebration of water as thebasis of life, well-being, prosperity, and sustainable
development.
The festival is organized by the Government of the
Republic of Tajikistan as part of the Second High-Level
International Conference on the International Decadefor Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 20182028, which will be held from 6 to 9 June 2022 in
Dushanbe.
The main goal of the Dushanbe Water Festival is toraise public awareness of the value of water as a vital
resource, to taking care and preserve it for future
generations. Along with positive messages, the Festival
will point out the existing problems and challenges andthe need to mobilize efforts to overcome them.

The Dushanbe Water Festival consists of fivecomponents. The program of the Festival includes an
exhibition of folk crafts and creativity, an exhibition ofdishes of Tajik national cuisine and other countries of
the world, an exhibition of various types of drinking
water, a concert program with the participation of thecountry’s leading masters of art, a fashion show of Tajik
national clothes and other show programs.
The festival will continue from 18:30 to 21:00 and will
provide guests-participants of the conference with anexcellent opportunity to get acquainted with the richhistory, culture, art, and traditions of the Tajik people,
as well as spend a pleasant and interesting evening in afriendly and festive atmosphere.

The festival is also aimed at demonstrating the policy
and practice of Tajikistan as a leader in promoting water
issues on the global agenda, as well as drawing theattention of the world community to the UN 2023 Water
Conference, under the chairmanship of the Republic of
Tajikistan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The UN
2023 Water Conference is expected to be historic andwill accelerate action to achieve the water goals of the
global Development Agenda.

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JOIN US IN DUSHANBE TO RUN FOR WATER!
The #RUN BLUE Global Water Marathon started on the
22 of March on the World Water Day in Australia. RUN
BLUE includes 200 marathons worldwide involving over
200 million people and ends on the 22 of March 2023 on
the eve of the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York.
The goal of the marathon is to draw the attention of theworld community to the growing water issue, motivate
and call for action, mobilize efforts to achieve real changeon the ground, as well as promote the Water Decade andthe UN 2023 Water Conference. It is organized by global
activist and marathoner Mina Guli and is supported bymany partners, including the Governments of Tajikistan
and the Netherlands, as Co-Chairs of this Conference.
The Central Asian part of RUN BLUE started on 10 May
2022 in Muynak city of the Republic of Uzbekistan andends on the 10 of June in Dushanbe. In Tajikistan, 11
marathons are planned, with a distance of 458.2 km
long, along the Amu Darya River and its tributaries inplaces with difficult geographical conditions, including
Lake Sarez and the Fedchenko Glacier, 7 of which havealready been completed.
Two Marathons – on 4 and 9 of June 2022 will be held in
Dushanbe as part of the Second High-Level International
Conference on the International Decade for Action«Water for Sustainable Development» and dedicatedto the International Decade «Water for Sustainable
Development» and the achievement of SDG6.

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This will be a great opportunity for the participantsof the Conference to be part of this global campaign
and participate in the water run. Participants can run
a full marathon (42.2 km) or a symbolic 6 km distancededicated to SDG6.
The 42.2 km marathon on 4 June will begin at 03:00
am. at the Sarob hotel in Khoja obi garm, and thesymbolic part of the 6 km distance at 09:00 am. at thenorthern gate of the new Istiklol park, st. Said Nosirov,
27 in Dushanbe. Participants can join the marathon,both from the very beginning at 03.00, and at the last
distance of 6 km at 09:00 am. This marathon will end at
the large waterfall in the Navruzgokh park.
The marathon on 9 June starts at 05:00 am. in
Dushanbe near the Hyatt Regency Hotel and will end
after passing 42.2 km in the direction of the city of
Vahdat. Conference participants can participate inthis run, both at a distance of 6 km and at a distanceof 42.2 km. For those participants who will run 6 km,
transport will be organized to return them to the hotels
for subsequent participation in excursions according to
the Conference program.
The results of the marathons will be presented within
the framework of the Second Dushanbe Conference, as
well as the UN 2023 Water Conference in March? 2023
in New York.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

LOCATION OF BUILDINGSIN THE STATE COMPLEX KOKHI SOMONPROGRAMME BOOK

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FLOOR PLANS OF KOKHI SOMON

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1st FLOOR

2ND FLOOR

3RD FLOOR

4TH FLOORPROGRAMME BOOK

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

MAP WITH EVENT LOCATIONSPROGRAMME BOOK

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PRACTICAL INFORMATIONVISA SUPPORTACCOMMODATION

To travel to Tajikistan, participants must obtain a visa,
with the exception of citizens of those countries thatcan enter Tajikistan without a visa on the basis ofbilateral and multilateral agreements.

Participants are responsible for the booking of hotel
rooms (official delegations will be accommodated at theGovernment Guest House). Expenses related to hotel
accommodation should be covered by participants,
unless otherwise specified. Information on the hotels
in Dushanbe is available online.

If a visa is required, the Conference Secretariat will senda Visa Support Letter to participants upon request.
In this case, the participants will have to fill in the
Questionnaire on the website www.visa.gov.tj. Citizens
of a number of countries can obtain a visa upon arrivalat Dushanbe International Airport . Citizens of allother countries must obtain a visa from the Embassyor Consular office of the Republic of Tajikistan abroad
before their departure. Visa for participants of theConference is issued free of charge.
Participants from certain countries can also obtain anelectronic visa (e-visa) prior to departure. In this case,the visa will be paid (the cost of an electronic visa is
30 US dollars) and Participants will have to fill in the
Questionnaire on the website www.evisa.tj.
Except for holders of diplomatic and service passports,
everyone who enters Tajikistan must fill out a Migration
Card upon arrival at the airport, which is stamped by the
migration service. Participants must keep the migration
card until the time of departure from Tajikistan.
AIRLINES
Regular international flights are carried out toDushanbe International Airport from the following
major cities: Almaty, Dubai, Istanbul, Moscow, New
Delhi, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, etc. Moredetailed information on international flights is available
on the website of the Dushanbe International Airport
at: http://airport.tj/into/en/.
ARRIVAL AT THE AIRPORT
Upon arrival at Dushanbe International Airport, pickup of participants (shuttle bus) from the airport to thehotels will be arranged by the Conference Secretariat.

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Information on accommodation of the official
delegations will be forwarded to them additionally
upon receiving confirmation on participation andcomposition of the delegation.
SECURITY ISSUES
All participants, exhibitors and media representatives
must get badges in order to have access to theConference venue. Entrance to the “Kohi Somon”
venue is only upon submission of the badge. Issuanceof badges will take place from 4 to 6 June 2022 from10:00 until 20:00 at the hotel “Tajikistan” located at
Shohtemur Street 22, Dushanbe.
SANITARY AND ANTI-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MESUARESDue to continuing spread of COVID-19 in a numberof countries throughout the world and in order toprevent the importation of infection into the country,
the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the
Population establishes the following requirements forthe participants of the Second Dushanbe Water Action
Decade Conference to be held on 6-9 June 2022 in
Dushanbe crossing the state border of the Republic of
Tajikistan:- a COVID-19 vaccination certificate (electronic or
hard copy if available) should be presented at
the border check-point; - a medical certificate(PCR test result) on the absence of SARS-CoV-2
valid within 72 hours (electronic or hard version)
has to be presented;

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028- in some cases, depending on the current
situation in the country where the participant
arrived from, PCR testing can be carried out
at Dushanbe International Airport and othercheckpoints across the state border of the
Republic of Tajikistan;- wearing medical protective masks in the venuesof the Dushanbe Water Conference events is
not mandatory. However, participants may wear
masks in mentioned areas if they wish to do so.
Upon departure from the Republic of Tajikistan,participants who need PCR testing can be tested at
medical points organized in most hotels in Dushanbe
including Hilton, Serena, Hyatt Regency, Tajikistan,
Dushanbe, Atlas, Rumi, Grand Hotel, Avesto,
Government Residence, Istiqlol, Guliston. In theabsence of such points in smaller hotels, participants
can approach the points located in the abovementioned hotels.
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
Public transport in Dushanbe includes buses, trolleybusses, mini-buses and taxi. Taxi is widely available inthe city and relatively low cost.
Transportation of the participants from the hotels“Tajikistan”, “Hyatt Regency Dushanbe”, “Serena”,“Rumi”, “Sheraton” and “Atlas” to the Conference venue
and back will be arranged within a fixed timetable.

WEATHERThe climate in Dushanbe is continental subtropical,
with dry and hot summers. In June, the air can heat up
to 25-35 °C in daytime.
LOCAL TIME
Dushanbe is located on the time zone GMT+5.
TELEPHONE CALLING
To make an international telephone call from Dushanbe,
it is necessary to dial international access code, thencode of the called country, code of the city and phone
number of a called person.
To make an international call to Dushanbe, it isnecessary to dial international access code, then codeof Tajikistan (992), code of Dushanbe (37) or code of
the mobile operator (e.g. 918. 90. 91, 93, etc.) andphone number of a called person. For example: (+99237) 236 – 06 – 79.
ELECTRICITYElectrical circuit voltage in Tajikistan 220 V withfrequency 50 Hz. Plugs of your electrical equipment,
charger may not match the power outlet, therefore, an
adaptor will be needed.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE
Official currency in Tajikistan is Somoni (TJS).
Information about rates is available on the website of
the National Bank of Tajikistan (www.nbt.tj).
Currency exchange offices are available in banks, hotels
and at the airport. ATMs are available in most banks,
hotels and shopping centers.

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

ABOUT TAJIKISTAN
Tajikistan is a country in Central Asia which borders on
the west and north with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, on
the south with Afghanistan, and on the east with China.
Total area of the territory of the Republic is 142,600
km².
Tajikistan is a typical mountainous country withabsolute heights from 300 to 7,495 m. 93% of its
territory is occupied by mountains. The majority of the
population and economic activities of Tajikistan areconcentrated on 7% of its territory, in the valleys.
By 1 January 2021, the population of Tajikistan
estimated 9.5 million people, 26.4% of which live incities and 73.6% in rural areas. The average annual
population growth is about 2.5% per year.

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Tajikistan ranks the first in Central Asia in terms ofwater resources. More than 80% of the runoff of the
Amu Darya and 1% of the Syr Darya River is formed
in Tajikistan. In general, it provides 64 km³ per year or
55.4% of the water resources of the Aral Sea basin. The
total volume of glaciers of the country is more than 845
km³, underground waters reach 18.7 km³ per year, andlake waters reach 46.3 km³.
With very little oil and gas reserves, difficulties forindustrial development of coal fields, Tajikistan
possesses vast inexhaustible reserves of hydropower
resources. By estimations of experts, these reserves
are approximately 527 billion kWh of electricity per
year. The potential exceeds three times the existing
electricity consumption of the whole of Central Asia.
With the efficient use of this potential, the region canbe provided with cheap and environmentally clean
electricity.

Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

ABOUT DUSHANBE
Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan, city of Republican
significance, the largest scientific, cultural, political,
economic, industrial and administrative center of thecountry.
In 2001, Dushanbe was proclaimed «City of Peace» and,in 2009, the capital of the Center of Islamic Culture by
the United Nations.
As of 1st January 2021, the population of the city wasof about 880,800 people.
Dushanbe is a beautiful and very green city, locatedin a foothill zone. While you are stepping into the city,
you will be immediately imbued with the atmosphereof warmth, hospitality, friendliness and truly oriental
flavor.

Dushanbe is an ancient and young city. According to
the archeologists, it has a millennial history. However,the first writings mention of the village of Dushanbe
was founded in 1676. The village Dushanbe arose
at a crossroads. On Mondays, a large Bazaar would
be organized, which is where the village inherited
its name «Dushanbe», meaning «Monday». On 14
July 1922, the city was declared the capital of the
Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which in1929 was transformed into the Tajik Soviet Socialist
Republic.
In 1924-1929, the official name of the city was
Dushanbe. In 1929, it was renamed Stalinabad in honorof Stalin. In 1961 the historical name of Dushanbe wasreturned.

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Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action“Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028

CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda
Head of the Secretariat, Chair of the Executive
Committee, International Fund for saving the Aral Sea
Mr. Jon Marco Church
Focal Point for the Panel Sessions and Forums and for
the Outcome Documents, International Consultant,UNDPТеl.: (+992) 93 896 08 98
E-mail: jonmarco.church@undp.org

Mr. Ahmad Saidmurodzoda
Focal Point for Development Partners
Теl.: (+992) 900 00 25 26
E-mail: ahmad.saidmurodov@gmail.com
Mr. Sanoi Boyzoda
Focal Point for Side Events, Exhibitions, Excursion,
Marathon and Water Festival
Теl.: (+992) 919 13 54 86
E-mail: sanoi.boev@gmail.com

Mr. Aziz Nazarov
Focal Point for the Participation of Official Delegations
Теl.: (+992) 900 82 82 88
E-mail: aziz.nazarov@outlook.com

Ms. Matluba Turaeva
Focal Point for the Translation
Теl.: (+992) 900 09 54 22
E-mail: matluba.turaeva@gmail.com

Mr. Daler Abdurazoqzoda
Focal Point for the Conference Website
Теl.: (+992) 900 00 55 90
E-mail: doro-1@mail.ru

Mr. Maruf Mulloev
Focal Point on Registration of Participants
Теl.: (+992) 93 463 33 32
E-mail: mulloev_maruf@mail.ru, registration@
dushanbewaterprocess.org

Mr. Rustam Abdullaev
Focal Point for the overall coordination of Panel
Sessions, Forums, Registration of Participants andLogistics Issues
Теl.: (+992) 93 400 44 72
E-mail: rustam.water@gmail.com

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Mr. Sazovor Murodov
Focal Point on Protocol, Consular Issues and MassMedia
Tеl.: (+992) 98 826 05 05
Email: murodovsazovor@gmail.com

CONTACTS
Website: https://dushanbewaterprocess.org/
Adress: 33 Sheroz str., Dushanbe 734001,
Republic of TajikistanTel.:(+992 37) 227-68-43

Fax:(+992 37) 221-02-59

E-mail:secretariat@dushanbewaterprocess.org