LocationsStakeholders in Tajikistan convened at the first Kofarnihon River Basin Council meeting of 2026 to advance gender-responsive and climate-resilient Integrated Water Resources Management through strengthened coordination, planning, and inclusive basin-level governance.
Advancing Gender-Responsive and Climate-Resilient Water Governance in the Kofarnihon River Basin
June 3, 2026
Stakeholders from government, development partners, civil society, and local communities gather during the Kofarnihon River Basin Council meeting to strengthen inclusive and climate-resilient water governance.
Sadullo Ishankulov/ UNDP Tajikistan
The first coordination meeting of the Kofarnihon River Basin Council in 2026, brought together representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, the Committee for Environmental Protection, the Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation, the Agency for Hydrometeorology, the Main Department of Geology, the Academy of Sciences, development partners, civil society organizations, water user associations, women’s groups, and other local stakeholders to strengthen collaboration on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
The meeting marked an important milestone in the operationalisation of the Kofarnihon River Basin Council (RBC) and the Kofarnihon River Basin Organisation (RBO) as the central platforms for multi-stakeholder dialogue and gender-responsive and climate-resilient water governance at the basin level.
The agenda focused on the introduction of newly appointed Council members, approval of the Rules of Procedure, and the appointment of two Deputy Chairs — a process renewed every five years to ensure continuity, legitimacy, and effectiveness of basin-level governance. The meeting also included presentations on the National Water Strategy until 2040, which reaffirms the national policy direction following water sector reform, and the Kofarnihon River Basin Plan 2026–2030, which sets out priority actions for water resources management, infrastructure development, climate adaptation, and stakeholder coordination over the next five years.
The Women’s Forum of the Kofarnihon River Basin presented its work, underscoring its growing role in ensuring that women’s perspectives and priorities are meaningfully reflected in basin-level decision-making.
Jamshed Shoimzoda, First Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan, addresses participants on the importance of inclusive participation and coordinated action for sustainable and climate-resilient water governance in the Kofarnihon River Basin.
Sadullo Ishankulov/ UNDP Tajikistan
Opening the meeting, Jamshed Shoimzoda, First Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan, highlighted the importance of inclusive participation in water governance, including the active role of women.
“Water governance can only be effective when it reflects the voices of all stakeholders. Women play a vital role in water management at the household, community and institutional levels, and their participation strengthens the quality and sustainability of our decisions.”
He noted that Tajikistan's eight water-related initiatives have been endorsed at the UN level and reaffirmed the Strategy 2040 as the framework guiding reforms to improve efficiency, reduce losses and expand safe water access.
Lazima Onta Bhatta, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Tajikistan, highlights the importance of inclusive participation and the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women and vulnerable groups in water governance processes.
Sadullo Ishankulov/ UNDP Tajikistan
Lazima Onta Bhatta, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Tajikistan, highlighted the increasing impacts of climate change on glaciers, water availability and local communities, particularly women and vulnerable groups who are disproportionately affected by climate-related risks.“Climate change affects women and vulnerable groups in different and often more severe ways. Inclusive water governance is stronger and more sustainable when women actively participate in consultations, planning and decision-making processes,” she said.
As a stakeholder consultation platform under the IWRM framework, the Council also provided space for a frank discussion of the barriers and challenges faced by women in the water sector and in water governance more broadly. Despite Tajikistan’s strong legal and policy framework on gender equality, participants identified three key challenges: nomination practices that reflect the current gender composition of participating institutions, the limited pool of women technical specialists in the water sector, and the underrepresentation of women in water-related technical education.
Stakeholders from government, development partners, civil society, and local communities gather during the Kofarnihon River Basin Council meeting to strengthen inclusive and climate-resilient water governance.
Sadullo Ishankulov/ UNDP Tajikistan
Shoimzoda emphasised that the establishment of RBOs and RBCs is a sustainable outcome of Tajikistan’s Water Sector Reform. He noted that gender-responsive targets are embedded in both the National Water Strategy until 2040 and the Kofarnihon River Basin Plan 2026–2030. Translating these commitments into practice, he said, requires joint action through coordinated nominations, mentoring, training, and the promotion of technical education for women. Sustained progress on these fronts is essential not only to meet national gender commitments but also to ensure the long-term sustainability of basin governance interventions and the resilience of communities.
The event was organised with the technical and financial support of UNDP under a Letter of Agreement with the Kofarnihon in the framework of the project "An Integrated Landscape Approach to Enhancing the Climate Resilience of Small-Scale Farmers and Pastoralists in Tajikistan," implemented by UNDP and the Committee for Environmental Protection, with financial support from the Adaptation Fund.
Through this partnership, UNDP supports the RBO for facilitating the regular functioning of the Basin Council, organising stakeholder consultations, and strengthening the institutional foundations needed for sustainable, gender-inclusive basin governance under conditions of growing climate variability.
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