Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, UNECE, with Umirzak Shukeyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan
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 UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), kicked off today in Astana, Kazakhstan with a high-level workshop on “Financing Transboundary Basin Development.” Over 80 participants from 29 countries gathered to discuss different financing sources for transboundary basin cooperation and how to match these sources to financing needs. Welcoming participants to Kazakhstan, Umirzak Shukeyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan, highlighted the need for effective solutions for financing of and cooperation on transboundary basin development. Pio Wennubst, Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, UNECE, and Ato Brown, World Bank Country Manager for Kazakhstan, also addressed the attendees. Participants then engaged in an interactive exercise on transboundary financing, followed by two ministerial roundtables. In the first roundtable, participants discussed:
- availability of domestic sources and mechanisms to access these sources;
- potential to mobilize the private sector, including through blended finance;
- the role of international funding sources, including climate finance;
- how basin investment plans and strategies can help mobilize financing; and
- how project preparation facilities support initial project development.
In the second roundtable, participants shared views on financing needs, including for information, water cooperation processes and institutions, and infrastructure. Danilo Türk, Chairman, Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace, moderated a concluding panel. Moderators for each of the roundtables reported on key messages and topics of discussion. Türk highlighted the differing modalities to fund transboundary water cooperation and underscored that the challenge is to bring them together.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and a summary report from MOP8.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Opening Session
View of the dais during the opening session
Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, UNECE
Umirzak Shukeyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan
Pio Wennubst, Vice Director General, Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC)
Ato Brown, World Bank Country Manager for Kazakhstan
Ministerial Roundtables: Exploring Different Financial Sources and Bringing them Together
Delegates gather for the ministerial roundtables
Susanne Schmeier, UNECE
Francesca Bernardini, Secretary of the Water Convention, UNECE
Delegates participate in an interactive exercise to discuss transboundary financing, examining the multiple uses and needs of water in and across different countries, discussing how to make the most optimal use of available funding, and placing monetary value for transboundary development categories
Theme 1 - What different domestic public sources are available and which innovative mechanisms can be used to tap them?
Theme 2 - How can the potential of the private sector (including through blending of public and private finance) be best mobilized?
Theme 3 - What should be the role of international funding sources (both international funding institutions and donors), including climate funds, and how should it evolve?
Theme 4 - How can basin investment plans and financing strategies help to mobilise sustainable financing for transboundary basin cooperation and development?
Theme 5 - How can project preparation facilities and other mechanisms support the initial phases of project development in transboundary basins?
Working Groups: Matching Financing Sources to Financing Needs
Theme A – Financing information for transboundary basin development
Theme B – Financing transboundary water cooperation processes and institutions
Theme C – Financing infrastructure in transboundary basins
Plenary: Moving Forward
View of the dais during the report back session
Danilo Türk, Chairman, Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace
Sonja Koeppel, Water Convention Secretariat
Christian Severin, Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Jelle Beekma, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Iskandar Abdullaev, Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC)
Francis Bougaire, African Development Bank (AfDB)
Nick Marchesi, European Investment Bank (EIB)
Lea Kauppi, Finland
Niels Vlaanderen, the Netherlands
Christina Leb, World Bank
Iskandar Abdullaev, Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC)
Claudio Bacigalupi, EU
Yerlan Nyssanbayev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan
Around the Venue
Delegates gather for the start of the high-level workshop
Umirzak Shukeyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan, enters the venue with Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, UNECE
Delegates speak informally between sessions
