12th Steering Committee meeting of EUWI National Policy Dialogue in Kyrgyzstan

Dialogue outcomes featured two policy packages, including a regulation for the establishment of a River Basin Council for the Chu River Basin and an action plan to achieve the water-related MDGs through the implementation of the Protocol on Water and Health.

In 2008–2010, the NPD on WSS focused on developing a strategic financial plan for WSS. During that period, five meetings of the NPD Coordination Council on WSS, chaired by the Deputy Minister for Economic Development, were organized. Key outputs included the draft of the national financing strategy (a strategic financial plan) for WSS and draft annotated outline of the WSS sector policy paper.

Following the interruption of the NPD process in 2010 due to the political changes that occurred in the country, the dialogue process on water policy in Kyrgyzstan resumed in mid-2011. A joint Steering Committee for both IWRM and WSS issues was established. The Steering Committee met three times in 2011 and twice in 2012. The dialogue process focuses on (a) the implementation of a river basin management approach through the development of the river basin management plan for the Chu River; (b) setting targets and target dates at the national level in the context of the Protocol on Water and Health (on the basis of preliminary study implemented in two pilot basins — the Chu River Basin and the Issyk-Kul Basin); and (c) improving economic instruments for water resource management in the Issyk-Kul Basin. In 2010–2012, the NPD on IWRM in Kyrgyzstan has been supported by EC and by the Government of Finland. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided an international expert who assists in the development of the policy  package on the river basin management plan for the Chu River. The Government of Norway is providing support to the target-setting process. The work on economic instruments for water resource management is supported by Switzerland and EC (AIDCO).