The event is organized as part of the Project on strengthening action in Uzbekistan on water and sanitation and protection of water resources from accidental pollution in the face of climate change (2024-2026), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The project aims to improve governance and build capacity in Uzbekistan in the areas of water and sanitation, prevention of accidental water pollution, and resilience to climate change, including through transboundary cooperation and regional exchange. The implementing entities are the Protocol on Water and Health, and the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents at UNECE.
The high-level launch event will take place in the morning of 14 March and aims to kick-off the work on the new project in Uzbekistan. It will also feature a high-level press conference, among others, to celebrate Uzbekistan’s recent accession to the Protocol on Water and Health. In the afternoon, parallel technical meetings will delve deeper into project activities under the UNECE Industrial Accidents Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health. A first technical meeting on the revision of wastewater standards in Uzbekistan will be held on 15 March 2024.
The high-level launch event will be attended by representatives from national authorities in Uzbekistan, including but not limited to the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Sanitary Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health Service. The event will also be attended by representatives from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, United Nations in Uzbekistan and UNECE as well as by partners and civil society representatives.