ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE Geneva Water Series No. 5 Dam safety in Central Asia: Capacity-building and regional cooperation UNITED NATIONS ECE/MP.WAT/26 ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE Geneva Water Series № 5 DAM SAFETY IN CENTRAL ASIA: CAPACITY-BUILDING AND REGIONAL COOPERATION UNITED NATIONS New York and Geneva 2007 ii NOTICE The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. ECE/MP.WAT/26 UNECE Information Unit Phone: +41 (0)22 917 44 44 Palais des Nations Fax: +41 (0)22 917 05 05 CH-1211 Geneva 10 E-mail:
[email protected] Switzerland Website: http://www.unece.org UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No E.07.II.E.10 ISBN 92-1-116962-1 ISSN 1020-0886 Copyright © United Nations, 2007 All rights reserved Printed at United Nations, Geneva (Switzerland) iii FOREWORD The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), in particular through its Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, is engaged in promoting cooperation on the management of shared water resources in Central Asia – a pre-condition for sustainable development in the subregion. One direction of activities is promoting the safe operation of more than 100 large dams, most of which are situated on transboundary rivers. Many of these dams were built 40 to 50 years ago, and due to limited resources for their maintenance and the inadequacy of a legal framework for their safe operation, the risk of accidents is increasing.