Turkmenistan is a landlocked developing country in Central Asia with a population of some 6.4 million people, with 49% living in urban areas. In 2022, 95% of the population used a safely managed drinking water service.
On 3 October UNECE and the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) concluded a two-day event in Ashgabat for Turkmen government representatives and academia to discuss the benefits and provisions of the UNECE-WHO/Europe Protocol on Water and Health to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.
The event kicked off a joint UNECE-WHO/Europe project entitled Improving water, sanitation, hygiene and health through implementation of the programme of work of the Protocol on Water and Health to strengthen the capacity of countries in Central Asia, particularly Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus to set and implement water, sanitation, hygiene and health targets under the Protocol for enhanced resilience against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
On 2 October, participants representing key ministries, agencies and academia in Turkmenistan discussed benefits and key features of the Protocol including links with the water, sanitation and health targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Comprehensive overviews of the country’s priorities and activities in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and water management were made by relevant national authorities. Experts from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan presented how their countries set targets under the Protocol, sharing lessons learned from intersectoral cooperation and examples of good practice.
Participants expressed interest in further studying the Protocol along with the experience of other countries in Central Asia and Eastern Europe in developing targets under the Protocol. It was pointed out that developing an analysis of the baseline situation with water, sanitation and hygiene could be a next practical step. The project will further support intersectoral cooperation in the area of WASH and foster opportunities for exploring the benefits and tools the Protocol has to offer before next steps could be taken towards potential accession.
Turkmenistan is currently Party to two of the five UNECE MEAs — the Water Convention and the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention).