[{"bbox": [96, 153, 1134, 392], "category": "Text", "text": "priorities set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the EU strategy on Central Asia and the EU policy objectives and priorities on water diplomacy. It will contribute to SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages; SDG 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all; SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns; SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; and SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems; sustainably manage forests; combat desertification; and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. The Action will also support the objectives of the external dimension of the European Green Deal and of NDICI-Global Europe, insofar as they are compatible with the Kyrgyz Republic's national policies and international commitments, including those under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and relevant UN conventions."}, {"bbox": [96, 418, 1134, 551], "category": "Text", "text": "In Kyrgyzstan, the design and implementation of bilateral Team Europe Initiatives are currently not possible due to the absence of Member States' development agencies in the country. However, this programme is part of the regional Team Europe Initiative/Global Gateway flagship initiative in Central Asia on Water/Energy/Climate Change. This synergy will allow a port of entry for Kyrgyzstan to profit fully from the regional TEI through the implementation of its national water strategy."}, {"bbox": [96, 552, 1134, 658], "category": "Text", "text": "In the framework of the Central Asia Water and Energy Program (CAWEP 4), the EU will fund the preparation of the proposed Kambarata-1 Hydro Power Plant (HPP). The Kambarata 1 HPP, currently under development, is a transformative greenfield regional project, emerged among the least-cost projects for expanding clean energy resources in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Central Asia region."}, {"bbox": [96, 682, 1134, 791], "category": "Text", "text": "These Global Gateway investments will foster regional cooperation and help Central Asian governments to strengthen their resilience. Hence, there will be a co-ordinated approach to promoting water and energy resources sustainably, addressing environmental challenges and tackling climate change in the region, while aiming at regional solutions for climate neutrality and environmental sustainability."}, {"bbox": [96, 815, 1134, 923], "category": "Text", "text": "An additional benefit of the Budget Support programme will be to contribute to bolstering the resilience of the Kyrgyz Government's national programmes and strategies, at a time in which it is faced with the spillover effects of the invasion of Ukraine and international sanctions on Russia, price pressures and reduced remittances inflow², which form the backbone of the Kyrgyz economy."}, {"bbox": [96, 948, 1134, 1158], "category": "Text", "text": "The Integrated Water Resources Management Budget Support programme will prolong the work made in the sector in partnership with a range of development financial institutions through the EFSD+ investments in the last and current MIP periods, in line with the conclusions of a recent Strategic Evaluation on Blending and Budget Support, which preconised the complementary use of the two instruments. Investments without reforms are not sustainable in the long run. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure the sector's sustainability by stimulating reforms and adopting an integrated approach to water resources management, looking at the competing uses of water and related issues: irrigation, drinking water, industrial uses, hydropower, transboundary issues, climate change and environmental concerns."}, {"bbox": [85, 1261, 340, 1292], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [96, 1307, 1134, 1547], "category": "Text", "text": "Water management is a key political topic for the Kyrgyz Republic. It is an upstream country in Central Asia, containing the source of one of the region's two big rivers (the Syr Darya) and one of the two sources of the other (the Amu Darya). This status gives it geopolitical importance within the region, creating both a risk for transboundary conflict and an opportunity for regional leadership. While the first has materialised through border disputes over water with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the second has yet to follow suit, with Kyrgyzstan being the most reluctant participant in the regional organisation on water management (the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea – IFAS). Climate change is fragilising Kyrgyzstan further by putting strain on its hydroelectric resources, with important glacier losses. The Kyrgyz government is faced with the difficult equation of satisfying its developing population's water needs for domestic consumption, agriculture and energy, avoiding regional"}, {"bbox": [85, 1620, 812, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² Personal remittances, received (% of GDP) - Kyrgyz Republic | Data (worldbank.org)"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1144, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 34"}]