State Water Resources Agency created in Kyrgyzstan

The State Water Resources Agency was created in Kyrgyzstan. The Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Mukhammedkaly Abylgaziev signed the corresponding decision.
The decision was made in order to implement the requirements of the norms of the Water Code of the Kyrgyz Republic governing creation of a state body for water resources management.
The agency will be entrusted with the functions of implementation of the state water policy, coordination of measures for the management, use and protection of water resources and their monitoring.
"The agency is transferred certain functions of state bodies - water resources monitoring, studying the regime and condition of groundwater, providing rural drinking water supply and sanitation, as well as irrigation and drainage issues that are the responsibility of other agencies," the document says.
According to Mukhammedkaly Abylgaziev, water management is currently carried out by various departments, there is no coordination of activities between them.
"Despite the fact that our country is rich in water resources, the provision of regions with drinking and irrigation water remains low. Lack of water affects the life and health of citizens, the state of the environment. With the creation of the agency, a unified policy in the water sector will be implemented at the national, interstate and international levels. Water planning and management functions based on the principles of integrated management will be implemented. Operation and maintenance of irrigation and collector-drainage systems, coordination of activities of state bodies and unified monitoring of all water bodies will be provided at the proper level," said Mukhammedkaly Abylgaziev.
It is assumed that the creation of the Water Resources Agency will allow the introduction of a Unified Water Information System, introduce water use permits and fees for the use of water resources, maintain a register of water users, ensure balanced long-term planning of activities in various sectors based on information, simulate water resources due to climate change that will help to increase adaptive capacity.
Measures will be taken to mitigate the risks associated with climate change, and state coordination will be carried out to ensure the safety of existing and construction of new facilities, as well as to plan and improve the condition of the collector-drainage network.
The Water Resources Agency will continue the work of the Department of Water Resources and Land Reclamation on creation and strengthening the capacity of water user associations as the main users of on-farm irrigation systems.
The Water Resources Agency will pursue a unified policy with regard to water user associations and rural public associations of drinking water consumers as independent legal entities on a contractual basis, and will regulate their activities through the adoption of regulatory legal acts.
It was also noted that the establishment of the State Agency for Water Resources would not entail additional financial costs from the republican budget.
Earlier, a document was signed on the formation of the State Land Resources Agency under the Government.