Highlights and images for 10 October 2018

Kazakhstan

Summary


The first day of MOP8 begins in the Astana Expo Conference Centre

The eighth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention MOP8), serviced by the UNECE, opened today at the Astana Expo Conference Centre in Astana, Kazakhstan, with over 400 delegates from 93 countries. Péter Kovács, MOP8 Chair, Hungary, opened the meeting. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President, Kazakhstan, addressed delegates via a video message. Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, UNECE, delivered a message on behalf of António Guterres, UN Secretary-General. Umirzak Shukeyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan, and Peter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary, also addressed delegates. The opening session concluded with a video message from Michelle Yeoh, United National Development Program (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador. High-level delegates then took part in a two-part Special Session on transboundary water cooperation: “Sharing water for people, planet, prosperity, and peace.” Speakers highlighted:

  • constructive examples of regional and transboundary cooperation;
  • the need for robust legal frameworks and standardized criteria;
  • methods and tools to increase mutual understanding and trust; and
  • sharing water in the context of growing water scarcity.

Throughout the day, delegates contributed to an art installation by artist Carolina Caycedo. Delegates shared objects brought from their home countries that symbolize the transboundary waters, rivers, and lakes they share. From these objects, Caycedo will construct a “single river of objects” during the meeting, representing the cooperation between parties that will be necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Three side events also took place during the day, addressing: the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus; participation of non-parties in the Water Convention; and opportunities for water diplomacy in conflict-prone regions.

IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and a summary report from MOP8.

 

Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page

Opening Ceremony
MOP8 opens with a musical performance
President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan, via video message
Umirzak Shukeyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan
Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, UNECE
Péter Kovács, MOP8 Chair, Hungary
Carolina Caycedo, Visual Artist, Colombia
Péter Szijjártó, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary
Delegates during the opening session
Special Session on Transboundary Water Cooperation and Water Allocation - Preventing Conflict and Ensuring Peace and Stability
View of the panel, moderated by Monika Weber-Fahr, Executive Secretary, Global Water Partnership
Khan Mohammad Takal, Deputy Minister of Water, Ministry of Energy and Water, Afghanistan
Mansour Faye, Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senegal
Mamman Nuhu, Executive Secretary, Lake Chad Basin Commission
Shavkat Khamraev, Minister of Water Resources, Uzbekistan
Delegates during the session
Astrid Schomaker, Directorate General for the Environment, European Commission
Danilo Türk, Chair, Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace
Isabella Pagotto, Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC)
Francesca Bernardini, Secretary of the Water Convention, UNECE
Special Session on Transboundary Water Cooperation and Water Allocation - Sharing Waters in the Context of Growing Water Scarcity
View of the panel during the afternoon session
Lansana Fofana, High Commissioner, Gambia River Basin Development Organisation (OMVG)
Yerlan Nyssanbayev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan
Tatiana Bokova, Deputy Head, Federal Agency for Water Resources, Russian Federation
Mahamat Alifa Moussa, Secretary General, Ministry of Environment, Water, and Fisheries, Chad
Moderator Sibylle Vermont, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland
Grigory Mazmaniants, Director for Central Asia, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Nuno Lacasta, President, Portuguese Environment Agency (APA)
Around the Venue
Family photo of MOP8 participants
Delegates gather at the start of the meeting
Umirzak Shukeyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan (center)
Péter Kovács, MOP8 Chair, Hungary, and Péter Szijjártó, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary
Delegates speak informally

Delegates between sessions

Media briefings take place throughout the day
Pages from the Serpent River Book, an accordion book that combines archival images, maps, and satellite photos, as well as poems, lyrics, and texts on river bio-cultural diversity