Programme

14th of December - Madrid

The management of hydric resources in Central Asia: Aral Sea and Rogun Dam

The management of hydric resources is a very sensitive issue in Central Asia. Its geography and scarcity of resources makes the governments of Central Asian countries to place the issue of access to water in the first place of their agendas.

At this conference, together with the screening of the documentary by the director Isabel Coixet El mar perdido, two experts will analyse the two most representative cases of the region: On the one hand, the controversial construction of the Rogun Dam, in Tajikistan, which according to the government would allow to export hydroelectric energy abroad and to reduce the energetic lackings of the country but that would cut the necessary flow of water for their Uzbek neighbours. On the other hand, the management of the resources of the Aral Sea, between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which has reduced its capacity 80% in the last decades due to the intensive use of the flows of the rivers that feed it.

5.30pm Welcome speech

• Jesús Sanz, General Director of Casa Asia
• Asadullo Gulomov, Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan
• Yergali Bulegenov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Spain
• Said Rustamov, First Secretary of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Spain

5.50pm - Presentation and screening of the documentary by Isabel Coixet El mar perdido, given by We are Water Foundation

6.20pm - Roundtable

• Viktor Dukhovny, Director of the Centre of Scientific Information of the Interstate Commission for the Coordination of Water in Uzbekistan
• Georgy Petrov, in charge of the Laboratory of Hydroelectric Energy, Institute of Water Problems, Science Academy of Tajikistan

Moderated by: Aurèlia Mañé Estrada, Director of the Observatory of Central Asia

15th of December - Barcelona

Water and development in Asia: The management of hydric resources in Asian cities and regions

Water is essential for life and for the consecution of the Millennium Development Goals in the five regions of Asia. But the management of hydric resources establishes many challenges from the economic, geopolitic and social perspective.

The fast process of economic growth and urbanization experimented in the Asian continent have increased the pressure on the hydric resources. Asia concentrates two thirds of the world population and the greatest number of megacities of the planet, local governments of Asian cities face the challenge of guaranteeing the access to drinkable water for all its citizens and the introduction of hydric infrastructures through the collaboration of all the involved institutions. Moreover, an efficient management of hydric resources can solve or prevent geopolitical conflicts in the most sensitive regions to these kinds of problems, such as the Meking Dam.

In this rountable, several famous experts will discuss the main challenges and opportunities linked to the management of hydric resources and their possible solutions.

7pm Welcome speech

• Jesús Sanz, General Director of Casa Asia

Presentation

• Asadullo Gulomov, Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan
• Rahmatullo Tavarov, Vice Minister of Dusambe, Tajikistan

Roundtable

• Peter P. Rogers, Gordon McKay Department of Environmental Engineering and Professor of Town and Regional Planning of the University of Harvard
• Arjun Thapan, Special adviser regarding infrastructures and water of the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• Viktor Dukhovny, Director of the Centre of Scientific Information of the Interstate Commission for the Coordination of Water in Uzbekistan

Moderated by: Suzanne P. Ogden, teacher of Political Science at the Northeastern University and researcher of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Harvard

Closing given by We Are Water Foundation

16th of December - Zaragoza

International Seminar "Water and development in Asia: Specific problemas and good practice linked to water management in Asian cities"

Despite the fact that the Asian continent is the home of two thirds of the world population, it only has 36% of the resources of fresh water at its disposal. In addition, the Asian population will have grown 60% from today to 2025. With these growth rates and the degree of urbanization, pressure about hyrid resources will be intensified and problems related to water, especially in cities, will increase.

Local governments of Asia need to urgently reinforce their capacities to introduce preventive policies that guarantee the access to drinkable water and, at the same time, to establish policities and to make investments in order to improve the management of hydric resources. This session would like to value the hydric security in political and development agendas of local governments of Asia and to favour investment and a greater collaboration between different actors. This encounter will offer the opportunity to discuss the importance of good governance, of a good financial planning and of the consideration of the different management models and service in the field of water and draining in the cities of Asia.

4pm Opening

• Representative of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID)
• Josefina Maestu, Director of the Office of the United Nations in support of the International Decade for Action «Water, source of life» 2005-2015

Presentations

• Asadullo Gulomov, Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan
• Arjun Thapan, President’s Special Senior Advisor for Infrastructure and Water, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

4.45pm Introduction speech: «The good governance in the sector of water and draining, the specific case of Asia»

• Peter P. Rogers, Gordon McKay Department of Environmental Engineering and Professor of Town and Regional Planning of the University of Harvard

5pm Roundtable

• Roberto Martín-Hurtado, economist of the Department of Environment of the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OCDE)
• Dominique Demessence, Director of International Development of AGBAR
• Mominur Rashid Amin, Personal adviser of the Mayor of Chittagong, Bangladesh
• Georgy Petrov, in charge of the Laboratory of Hydroelectric Energy, Institute of Water Problems, Science Academy of Tajikistan

Moderated by: Antonio Embid, Professor of Administrative Law of the University of Zaragoza

6pm Cocktail with a glass of Spanish wine and presentation of the We Are Water Foundation

 

* To be confirmed