Uzbekistan reached a significant milestone in strengthening water security and preventing accidental water pollution through two national meetings held in Tashkent on 30 June and 1 July 2026, according to a press release by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The meetings brought together government institutions, industry, academia, civil society, and international partners. Participants endorsed a roadmap for the formal adoption of Uzbekistan’s targets under the Protocol on Water and Health in 2026. They also reviewed progress in implementing the project’s work plan. Attendees agreed on the next steps towards the country’s accession to the UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents.
Uzbekistan ranks among the world’s most water-stressed countries, with stark rural-urban disparities in safe drinking water access at 75% rural versus 89% urban, and only 32% of domestic wastewater safely treated. Acute water-management challenges in this double-landlocked Central Asian country are driven by arid conditions and heavy reliance on transboundary flows, with around 80% of its water resources originating outside its borders. These pressures are intensifying with climate change and rapid population growth. UNECE’s recently launched Fourth Environmental Performance Review of Uzbekistan found that allocations for sewerage and wastewater treatment remain too low. It recommends that the Government significantly increase funding for drinking water supply, sewerage infrastructure, and wastewater treatment.
The meetings were convened under the project Strengthening Action on Water and Sanitation and Protection of Water Resources from Accidental Pollution in the Face of Climate Change, implemented by UNECE with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The initiative promotes integrated and cross-sectoral water governance and strengthens water, sanitation, and health systems. It also enhances the safe management of mining waste, or tailings, facilities. Additionally, the project builds countries’ capacity to prevent and respond to accidental water pollution and natural hazard-triggered technological (Natech) risks. In Uzbekistan, it supports implementation of the UNECE–WHO/Europe Protocol on Water and Health while advancing the country’s accession to the UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents.
“Today’s meeting brings together representatives of key government agencies, the scientific community, international organizations, and our partners to discuss issues of strategic importance for the sustainable development of our country,” said Aybek Muhamedjanov of the Industrial, Radiation and Nuclear Safety Committee under the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan.
He added that ensuring environmental safety, preserving water resources, and preventing industrial accidents require comprehensive, inter-agency, and international cooperation. Andrin Fink, Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Uzbekistan, noted that Uzbekistan’s determined steps towards acceding to the Industrial Accidents Convention, alongside the imminent national adoption of its intersectoral targets under the Protocol on Water and Health, demonstrate that safety, health, and sustainability are inseparable pillars of sound governance. He affirmed that Switzerland stands alongside Uzbekistan and UNECE on this journey. Fink expressed confidence that the foundations laid would protect people, water resources, and ecosystems for generations to come.
Uzbekistan’s progress in advancing implementation of the Convention will contribute to the broader agenda at the Convention’s 14th Conference of the Parties, scheduled for 9–10 December 2026 in Geneva. The intersectoral targets expected to be adopted in late 2026 under the Protocol on Water and Health will boost the country’s action towards SDG 6 and SDG 11. Political momentum is reinforced by the 2026 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York from 6–16 July 2026. The SDG 6 Special Event at the HLPF will launch the SDG 6 Country Acceleration Case Study for Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan’s progress with the Protocol’s targets will also speak to the global agenda at the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi from 8–10 December.
