STRENGTHENING REGIONAL COOPERATION ON WATER: INSIGHTS FROM THE CLINGENDAEL SEMINAR ON CENTRAL ASIA
On 17 April 2025, the Clingendael Institute, in partnership with the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC), hosted the high-level seminar "Water Challenges in Central Asia" at its headquarters in Wassenaar, the Netherlands. The hybrid event brought together over 60 professionals from think tanks, academia, diplomacy, and development cooperation, with additional participation via livestream from a global audience.
The seminar addressed pressing water-related challenges facing the Central Asian region, including unequal distribution of resources, aging infrastructure, the legacy of Soviet water systems, and growing pressures from climate change and population growth. Discussions were structured around two expert panels: one focusing on the nature and scope of water issues, and the second on pathways to regional cooperation.
Dr. Dinara Ziganshina, Director of SIC ICWC, participated as an invited speaker during the second panel on regional cooperation. In her intervention, Dr. Ziganshina shared key lessons from over 30 years of regional water cooperation experience in Central Asia, emphasizing the importance of science-based and politically neutral information as the foundation for sustainable water management.
She highlighted three key contributions of SIC ICWC to regional water governance:
Access to Information and Data: Maintenance of regional databases that inform seasonal water allocation and support risk assessment across national and regional bodies.
Facilitation of Expert Dialogue: Continued support for technical consultations among Central Asian water professionals, ensuring coordination even during periods of political tension.
Evidence-Based Cooperation: Promotion of nexus assessments, climate-informed planning, and modelling tools that link water, energy, and ecosystem needs across borders.
Dr. Ziganshina also underscored the need to strengthen institutional and legal frameworks to meet emerging challenges, such as climate-induced hydrological changes and increasing variability. She advocated for more adaptive, inclusive, and forward-looking cooperation, stressing that regional collaboration should engage not just governments but also youth, women, and local communities.
Her message was clear: "Regional cooperation is not an end in itself, but a means to ensure water, food, and energy security for over 80 million people across Central Asia. That is a shared responsibility - and one that requires long-term vision and trust, built day by day, dialogue by dialogue."
