On 12 November 2022 within the framework of COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Arab Republic of Egypt, a session was held on Financing projects to ensure sustainability at the transboundary level as a tool for the coordinated achievement of SDGs 6 and 13. The event was organized by UNECE and the International Network of Basin Organizations.
During the session, issues of transboundary adaptation to climate change were discussed as a tool for joining efforts to consistently achieve the SDGs, and the opportunities provided by the UN 2023 Water Conference to accelerate action in the field of water and climate were discussed.
Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda – Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Water and Climate Coalition, Chairman of the Executive Committee of IFAS took part in the session as a speaker. He noted the importance of the UN 2023 Water Conference in accelerating action to achieve SDG6 and other internationally agreed goals and targets on water, including the Paris Climate Agreement and others. He also emphasized the importance of transboundary cooperation, as more than 40% of the world’s population lives in transboundary basins. It was noted that the issue of transboundary cooperation corresponds to the 4th theme of the interactive dialogues of the UN 2023 Water Conference, and funding as SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework is a cross-cutting issue of the Conference.
Sulton Rahimzoda also presented examples of good cooperation between Central Asian countries. He noted that IFAS has a special role in the Central Asian region in solving complex water management and ecological issues, as well as strengthening cooperation between the countries of the region. It was also noted that the Executive Committee of IFAS has prepared a Joint Statement of the countries of Central Asia for the UN 2023 Water Conference which will allow the region to be represented with a single voice.
