The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research of France (BRGM) signed a trilateral cooperation agreement. The agreement was reached at the international One Water Summit, which is being held in Saudi Arabia with the participation of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of France Emmanuel Macron.
On the part of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, First Vice Minister Bolat Bekniyaz participated in the signing ceremony of the agreement. The purpose of the document is to develop cooperation in the field of conservation of Lake Balkhash.
The agreement provides for the allocation of a grant of 1.35 million euros to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation for the development of water resources management of Lake Balkhash. The French side will conduct a large-scale study of the Lake Balkhash basin, based on the results of which a long-term master plan will be developed until 2040. It will prescribe measures to preserve the internal waters of the reservoir.
In addition, the Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with BRGM in the field of water resources. The document provides for the development of bilateral cooperation in this area.
"The trilateral agreement with AFD and BRGM is aimed at studying and sustainable water management in the Lake Balkhash basin. The document provides for the measurement and analysis of water conditions, modeling of climatic and anthropogenic influences, as well as forecasting the water balance until 2040. One of the goals of the project is to optimize the operating mode of the Kapchagai reservoir to stabilize the level of Lake Balkhash. According to the results of the study, measures will be taken to clean rivers, prevent soil degradation and water pollution, develop fisheries and eco-tourism, as well as create a regulatory framework for lake protection," Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov said.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/water/press/news/details/895960