ASBP-3

The Action Program for Assistance to the countries of the Aral Sea basin for the period 2011-2015 (ASBP-3) was developed on the basis of the decision of the Heads of State of Central Asia on April 28, 2009.

The development Programs of the EC IFAS jointly with the participation of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC), Interstate Commission on sustainable development (IACSD), as well as national experts from Central Asian countries and in close cooperation with the donor community, including the World Bank, the European Union, USAID, German Society for Technical Cooperation and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to become a general, unifying the aspirations of Central Asian countries, donors and civil society.

The development and approval of ASBP-3 took about 3 years. Its development was started in 2009, and the program itself was approved by the IFAS Board in 2012 by a survey.

ASBP-3 consisted of about 50 project proposals, corresponding to the following four areas:

• Integrated use of water resources;   
• Environmental;
• Socio-economic development;        

 Improvement of institutional and legal mechanisms.

According to available information, out of about 50 regional projects envisaged for the period up to 2016, the IFAS Executive Committee, in close cooperation with a number of international organizations and financial institutions and donors, implemented 6 regional projects worth about USD 100 million.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of financial resources, many regional projects of ASBP-3 remained unrealized.