Iran is cooperating with the member states of the Regional Center for Urban Water Management for upgrading urban water management, utilizing new technologies in water and wastewater fields and monitoring drought and climate change, the energy minister said.
Reza Ardakanian made the statement at the 12th meeting of the RCUWM governing board, held via videoconference on Wednesday, which was attended by water and energy ministers as well as high-ranking officials of 18 other countries and a number of international organizations.
RCUWM was established in 2002 in Tehran, following an agreement between Iran and UNESCO.
The regional center contributes to water-related projects of UNESCO’s strategic program by capacity building, knowledge sharing and research at regional and international levels.
At the 12th meeting, chaired by Ardakanian, the center’s activities in the last year were reviewed and the participants discussed proposals for mutual cooperation until 2024.
“A number of projects were approved and will be carried out, one of which is the improvement of urban water management in the Central and West Asian region. The project will be funded by a German government center active in the field of integrated water management,” he told reporters after the meeting.
“Another project is using new technologies in water and wastewater treatment. There will also be an online training program for specialists and enthusiasts in the field.”
The minister expressed hope that closer ties would be established between the countries of the region in the field of water and wastewater, and up-to-date knowledge of the field would be transferred from developed countries to the region.
Unconventional Water Resources
The center will help pool and share knowledge from regional countries about unconventional water resources.
Unconventional water is different from groundwater and water in dams. Unconventional water resources are generated as a byproduct of specialized processes such as desalination and need suitable pre-use treatment for farming.
“Several other projects related to the monitoring of drought in the region and the issue of climate change were approved, and we hope that each of them will be carried out as soon as possible so that the center can play a major role in improving water and wastewater sectors, in urban and rural areas, in the coming years,” Ardakanian said.
RCUWM’s governing board consists of the member states of Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Syria, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Senior representatives from international bodies such as UNESCO, World Meteorological Organization, Islamic Development Bank, Economic Cooperation Organization, World Health Organization and International Water Resources Association, as well as the UN resident coordinator in Iran, also attended the virtual meeting.
RCUWM’s main activities include holding training courses and capacity building programs on various topics, such as water scarcity adaptation and demand management, supporting joint research and technology transfer projects, plus partnership and networking at regional and international levels.
The agreement between Iran and UNESCO regarding RCUWM has been extended till 2023.
Since establishment, RCUWM has signed MoUs with more than 10 international organizations, supported 12 joint research projects in the region and held 50 educational events for more than 20,000 people.
