Blog // Securing Shared Waters: Regional Partnerships and Policy Innovations for Small Transboundary Rivers in Central Asia

This article was submitted to the Nexus Resource Platform on 26.06.2025. It was originally written by Zafar Gafurov, Bunyod Holmatov, Iskandar Abdullaev and Shavkat Kenjabaev.

On June 16, 2025, IWMI Central Asia convened a regional workshop titled “Sustainable and Efficient Water Use in the Context of Small Rivers of Central Asia: Challenges, Solutions, Experience Sharing, and Prospects.” This timely event brought together researchers, technical experts, institutional representatives, and development partners to advance dialogue on sustainable management of small transboundary tributaries (STTs) through exchange of best practices and successful experiences. With a strong emphasis on the often-overlooked role of STTs, the workshop highlighted their importance for water security, food production, energy access, and ecosystem health across the region. Such multi-stakeholder engagements not only facilitate knowledge exchange and cross-border collaboration but also play a vital role in advancing policy innovations that promote more inclusive and adaptive resource governance in Central Asia.

A Platform for Collaborative Action and Knowledge Exchange 

The workshop served as a valuable platform for joint reflection for addressing both the growing challenges and untapped opportunities in managing small rivers and support agricultural production, rural livelihoods, ecological health and policy innovation. 

Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on a range of key topics, including: 

• Current water-related challenges and governance barriers in small river basins
• Emerging innovations for efficient and sustainable water use
• Cross-border and sub-basin collaboration for improved resource sharing
• The role of data-driven decision-making and integrated water planning 

These discussions underscored the importance of a robust, multilateral approach to sustainable water management, one that enhances climate resilience while ensuring equitable benefit sharing between upstream and downstream communities.

Integrated and Institutional Solutions for Regional Benefit Sharing (Session One) 

A central focus of the workshop was advancing integrated and institutional mechanisms to support equitable benefit sharing in Central Asia’s small river basins. Building on the Water-Energy-FoodEcosystem (WEFE) nexus framework and recent policy innovations, participants explored how coordinated action across sectors and institutions can strengthen regional cooperation and improve resilience in the face of growing environmental and socio-economic pressures. The session emphasized the importance of aligning water governance with broader development goals, ensuring that upstream and downstream users alike can share in the benefits of sustainable resource management.

Regional Initiatives Supporting Integrated Water Resources Management and Governance (Case Studies) 

A series of case studies were presented from regional projects that are actively contributing to improved cooperation, sustainability and benefit sharing in small river basins across Central Asia: 

• Global Partnership for Sustainable Cooperation on Shared Waters – Strengthening institutional cooperation frameworks and benefit-sharing models among various water users and across national boundaries.
• Hydro4U – Demonstrating innovative, sustainable small-scale hydropower technologies specifically adopted to the hydrological and ecological conditions of Central Asia.
• WE-ACT – Developing decision-support systems for equitable and efficient water allocation across national borders of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
• ISTC Project – Leveraging remote sensing and Earth Observation technologiesto improve monitoring, data accessibility, and transparency in the management of STTs.
• CGIAR’s Policy Innovations Program – Promoting inclusive, evidence-based policy reforms aimed at strengthening integrated natural resource governance across sectors and scales.

Collectively, these projects demonstrate how science-based tools, collaborative governance, and cross-sectoral integration can pave the way for more equitable and sustainable management of shared resources. By combining technical innovation with institutional development, they provide scalable models for benefit sharing that are well-suited to the complex dynamics of Central Asia’s transboundary water systems. These efforts underscore the value of coordinated action and adaptive solutions in addressing the region’s interconnected water, energy, food, and ecosystem challenges.

Advancing Tools for Sub-Basin Cooperation (Session Two) 

The afternoon session featured an interactive group exercise aimed at refining and validating a set of indicators. Participants worked with a questionnaire designed to evaluate key indicators of a draft sub-basin agreement template developed under the Hydro4U and WE-ACT projects. These indicators addressed critical aspects of cooperative water governance, including equitable water allocation, ecological flow preservation, infrastructure coordination, and joint monitoring mechanisms. 

Description of the Questionnaire for Evaluating Indicators 

Assessing the effectiveness of legal frameworks for transboundary water cooperation is a crucial area of research and effective legal instruments are more likely to lead to positive outcomes in shared water management. To support this effort, a team of experts developed a checklist of criteria to evaluate the strength and effectiveness of governance structures of transboundary cooperation. This checklist is intended to assist stakeholders in shaping climate-resilient legal mechanisms for rivers at the tributary-level cooperation in Central Asia.

This assessment aims to refine the checklist through group discussions and stakeholder feedback. By adopting a participatory approach, the session ensured that the final set of indicators would be both practical and context-specific, helping to shape climate-resilient legal mechanisms for transboundary water management in Central Asia.

Moving Forward: Strengthening Regional Collaboration and Action 

Bringing together around 35 participants from acrossthe region and beyond, the workshop fostered an open and collaborative environment for building long-term partnerships and developing practical, forward-looking solutions. Participants collectively acknowledged that, despite often being overlooked, small rivers play a vital role in ensuring regional water, food, and ecosystem security. Looking ahead, there was a strong consensus on the importance of integrated and inclusive approaches to resource governance. Participants emphasized the role of policy innovations in linking water, energy, food, and environmental priorities more effectively, while supporting these efforts with technology, data, and strengthened institutional frameworks. As Central Asia continue to face increasing water stress and climate-related challenges, the workshop reaffirmed the untapped potential of small transboundary rivers to contribute to regional sustainability and stability, provided they are managed collaboratively and strategically. The event marked a meaningful step toward transforming shared understanding into collective action.

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