The government of Kazakhstan embarked on a water resources management project aimed at strengthening water management organizations and by instituting the practice of IWRM. With support from UNDP and GWP they drafted the IWRM plan. River Basin Councils (RBC) were established in all eight river basins of Kazakhstan.
At the beginning there was a negative attitude to creating river basin councils but they managed to overcome and set up a platform for discussion and decision making at basin level. The duration of the project was three years orchestrated by the Water Resources Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan together with 29 government ministries and agencies.
Before the final draft was sent to the Government of Kazakhstan for approval, there was a long process with series of stakeholder’s forums with experts and the public to present and obtain feedback on the work plan. Involvement of water users, local communities, NGOs in water resources management and conservation of ecosystem shall be made through their participation in the National Inter-sectoral Water Council, RBC of various levels, Working groups and participation in decision making process in public hearings. Representatives of water users and other stakeholders shall actively participate in planning, control over water use, water sharing on the cost of their own fund and other financing sources. All mass media means, including radio and TV will be engaged in dissemination of information on progress of the Programme implementation and raising public awareness on advantages of IWRM.