Innovations in the rational use of water discussed by international experts in Ashgabat
The use of green technologies and innovations in the rational use of water and energy resources was discussed in Ashgabat by experts from the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan. The two-day event at the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA) was joined by international experts from Canada, the UK and Russia.
Innovation and the environment go hand in hand, saving many resources and reducing the environmental impact of industry. And never ever have green technologies been so important to the world as now – at the period of global climate change and intensification of common efforts to prevent a natural disaster.
In Ashgabat, experts from Central Asian states and Afghanistan, known as the 5+1 format, discussed the benefits of cooperation in the field of water-saving technologies using international experience as an example. For a region in which water resources are unevenly distributed, and are more than 90 percent out of them are transboundary, eco-innovation for the rational distribution of water can be the key to improve the safety of water supply in general.
In this area, more active involvement of youth in addressing water issues is of special attention. As Natalia Gherman, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Central Asia and the Head of the UNRCCA, noted, “we should not forget about the rising generation, which in the Central Asian region, as in Afghanistan, makes up more than 50 percent of the population.”
With this goal, the center launched, the UNRCCA Preventive Diplomacy Academy, which has already successfully proved itself. Three training workshops that brought together young people from the border regions of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are already have results. At the Annual Meeting with Deputy Foreign Ministers of Central Asian states in Tashkent on December 14, young leaders presented their views on how the region could benefit from closer contacts among youth and their involvement in policymaking.
- And the Buhara-Lebab Group chose a water-ecological theme for their project. Because it is the Aral Sea region, because it is very important and relevant. They reported to the deputy foreign ministers about the results and developed a message for them so that politicians take their recommendations into account in state strategies,” Gherman said.
The seminar participants considered the issues related to the Aral Sea basin and the initiatives of Uzbekistan to turn it into a zone of environmental innovation and technology.
In addition, within the framework of the seminar, it is planned to consider the possibility of creating a Target Working Group under the United Nations auspices, to implement water-energy cooperation in Central Asia on a regular basis. The initiative is aimed to implement mechanisms that work on a bilateral and trilateral basis, throughout the region, to revise current legacy framework, etc.
What is eco-innovation?
It is not about gadgets that can solve the problem of rational water use. Innovations in this area mean new, more effective opportunities to improve the planning and design of sustainable projects for monitoring water resources. These are sensors for measuring the level and flow rate of water on small and medium-sized rivers and modern means of communication in order to share these data with experts and the whole world, a base for storage and analyzing the information received and its availability for specialists with the ability to develop accurate recommendations.
A few years ago, such high rates of information exchange seemed outrageous. Today they seem familiar to us, and most citizens have already integrated them into their daily lives using personal computers and smartphones.
