Strengthening national and international governance to achieve integrated water resources management is a challenging task.
At the national level, National Policy Dialogues - which have been held since 2010 in Azerbaijan with EU support - act as a multi-stakeholder forum to discuss priority water policy issues across all sectors (agriculture, health, energy, industry, land management, transport, etc.) and with civil society. The EU4Environment Water and Data programme supports this process.
Policies and legislation constitute the “rules of the game” for all stakeholders. Policy documents (Water Code, draft Water Strategy) and legislation (Law on Water Supply and Sewage, Law on Amelioration and Irrigation, Law on Hydro meteorological Activities) provide the foundations for the management of water resources. EU4Environment – Water and Data programme aims to strengthen Azerbaijan’s national legal frameworks for Integrated Water Resources Management.
At the international level, stronger coordination is needed with neighboring countries on shared water resources. The EU4Environment Water and Data programme facilitates reporting regarding the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 6.5.2 on transboundary water cooperation and the UN Water Convention to track the progress made so far and identify future needs.
