Water and Environmental Management in the Aral Sea Basin

Project objective is to address the root causes of the overuse and pollution of water in the Aral Sea Basin, support the sustainable mgmt. and future development of its natural resources by formalizing, and then implementing the first stage of, a regional strategic action plan. Project will help 5 states sharing the Basin to (a) develop and implement regl. and natl. water mgmt. strategies and agreements focusing on water uses, efficiency and sharing, (b) assess water quality problems, develop cost-effective strategies to improve water quality, (c) expand and upgrade monitoring and regl. databases on water quantity, dynamics and quality, enhance a regl. envntl. information system in order to support decision-making, (d) restore certain Aral Sea wetlands, (e) support campaign to educate the public about the nature/extent of the problems.