On May 28, 2022, the Aarhus Center of Bishkek  held a visiting round table on the topic “Raising stakeholder awareness on sustainable management and use of water resources in the framework of the implementation of the Aarhus Convention.” This event consisted of 2 parts – the round table itself and practical exercises on the territory of the Orto-Tokoy reservoir.

In the first part of the event, the participants of the round table discussed issues related to the problems of water resources management in the region and the correct use of land plots for irrigation. At the beginning of the round table, the head of the Aarhus Center presented information about the activities of the organization, about the tasks for this year and joint activities with partners of the region. A leading specialist of the Water Resources Service under the Ministry of Agriculture Sadabayeva Zh. made a presentation, where she pointed out the work of the Agency for the management of water flows, the work of WUAs on the use of water for their own purposes and the impact of climate change on the regulation and provision of water reserves. She also made a presentation on “Women specialists in the water sector of the Kyrgyz Republic: education, experience, skills”, where she spoke about the work of women in the State Agency for Water Resources (SAWR) and the problems of employment in the system.

The presentation was made by the manager of the NGO “Water Partnership of Kyrgyzstan (GWP)” Musabayeva K., who presented materials of joint activities with the Aarhus Center for public awareness of the problems of providing water supplies to the country’s residents.

During the round table, numerous questions were asked, which were proposed to be considered in practical exercises. To do this, the participants of the round table went to the Orto-Tokoy reservoir, where they saw with their own eyes the management of water resources to provide water to the inhabitants of nearby villages during the discharge of water. Then it was proposed to collect garbage near the reservoir and thereby contribute to the eve of the celebration of the International Environment Day and Ecologist’s Day, which is celebrated on June 5th.

After studying the condition of the reservoir, the employees of the SAWR gave explanations and answers to the questions raised during the round table. After the inspection, the participants of the event individually asked additional questions to the employees of the reservoir.