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MP members attend water forum in Tajikistan

29.05.2017

Representatives from several Mountain Partnership (MP) member organizations attended the Europe and Central Asia Forum (ECA Forum) on Social Accountability in the Water and Sanitation Sector, organized by Oxfam together with the Global Partnership for Social Accountability and the Water Partnership Program of the World Bank, on 23-25 May 2017 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The aim of the ECA Forum was to facilitate knowledge exchange among practitioners from European and Central Asian countries working on social accountability initiatives in the water and sanitation sector. The ECA Forum also provided a platform for networking and the opportunity to meet and interact with policy-makers, donors, researchers, academia, private sector, media, civil society organizations, international agencies and experts in social accountability.

High-level officials of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan opened the ECA Forum. Over 110 participants from various countries in Europe and Central Asia, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Poland, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and the United Kingdom, then shared their diverse experiences and elaborated on the key factors for enhancing social accountability. Over the course of three days, the participants were actively engaged in panel discussions, workshops and debates, learning and reflecting on social accountability principles and context-relevant mechanisms for constructive engagement of all stakeholders for efficient service delivery in the water sector. Particular attention was given to the gender aspects of social accountability programming.

Among the forum participants were representatives of the MP Central Asia Mountain Hub (CAMH), the Mountain Societies Research Institute of the University of Central Asia, the Aga Khan Foundation in Kenia and Tajikistan, UNISON, Naryn State University, the Development Policy Institute (DPI) and other mountain stakeholders.

The CAMH shared their concerns about Sustainable Development Goal target 6.6 (By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes), given the importance of mountains for Tajikistan, and the holistic and systematic approach of integrating sustainable resource management aspects, ensuring sustainability for water, sanitation and hygiene interventions. According to Elbegzaya Batjargal, Programme Officer of the CAMH, there are concrete opportunities for integrating these aspects for adapting the social accountability in water sector.

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News and photos by CAMH/Alma Karsymbek