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The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has taken another step towards strengthening regional cooperation in hydro-diplomacy education through the signing of two agreements aimed at advancing a joint Master's Program in Water Diplomacy and Water Resources Management.
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Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Switzerland has long recognized the crucial role of water in fostering peace, stability, and regional cooperation. The Blue Peace Central Asia initiative, launched in 2010, promotes water cooperation across borders, sectors, and generations.
Since 2017, partners have combined hydro-diplomacy, regional water projects, expert training, and youth participation. The Blue Peace Central Asia platform serves as a venue for dialogue and enhanced water governance supporting sustainable development.
Working together with leading international organizations and regional institutions to advance water cooperation in Central Asia.
Core Partners
Government Partners
Partners & Collaborators
Strengthening water quality monitoring across Central Asia through regional cooperation and shared data systems.
The programme deploys sensor networks along the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river systems, trains local technicians in data collection and analysis, and publishes open-access water quality dashboards to build transparency and public trust across all five riparian states.
Building adaptive capacity to respond to glacier melt, changing precipitation, and increasing water stress.
Initiatives include glacier monitoring partnerships, climate-smart irrigation pilots in the Fergana Valley, early-warning systems for glacial lake outburst floods, and policy dialogues on aligning national adaptation plans with shared watershed realities.
Fostering inclusive governance frameworks that balance national interests with regional cooperation.
Blue Peace supports inter-state water commissions, facilitates ministerial-level roundtables, and provides legal and technical assistance for updating bilateral and multilateral water-sharing agreements to reflect contemporary hydrological and demographic realities.
Investing in the next generation of water professionals through education, research, and cross-border exchange.
Programmes include the Blue Peace Youth Network connecting over 500 young professionals across five countries, summer schools on hydro-diplomacy, university research grants, and mentorship with senior water negotiators to ensure continuity and innovation in water governance.
Shared water resources can serve as a foundation for regional cooperation, climate resilience and sustainable development. Central Asia's five nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — with over 83 million inhabitants depend on shared water and energy infrastructure. Switzerland launched Blue Peace Central Asia in 2017 to strengthen transboundary cooperation.
Promoting fair access to and sustainable use of shared water resources, ensuring benefits are balanced across countries, sectors, and communities.
Encouraging confidence-building through open dialogue, inclusive decision-making and reliable data exchange.
Supporting flexible and forward-looking approaches to water management that respond to environmental change.
Emphasizing water's interconnectedness with energy, food, ecosystems and society, fostering joint planning across sectors.
Advancing regional expertise by supporting youth engagement, gender equality and academic cooperation.
Switzerland launches the global Blue Peace initiative.
Blue Peace Central Asia initiative officially starts.
Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan establish bilateral water cooperation.
Regional Working Group on Water Quality spans all Central Asian states.
New phase with expanded scope and deeper regional integration.
Across diplomatic, operational, and academic tracks — what BPCA Phase 1 (2018–2024) made possible.
Bilateral working group on water quality in the Syr Darya basin established to coordinate monitoring between the two countries.
Sustained convening at venues such as the Astana Economic Forum and CACCC, enabling institutional dialogue across riparian states.
Ongoing support for the Regional Working Group on Water Quality, bringing the relevant ministries of all five Central Asian states together.
Central Asian delegations travelled to Senegal to learn from one of the world’s most established benefit-sharing river basin authorities.
Six joint meetings, field visits, and harmonisation of monitoring methodologies between Kazakh and Uzbek laboratories.
Key stations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan rehabilitated, with water accounting automated and an operational management system in place.
Partnership with the University of Fribourg for cryospheric monitoring and cross-border data exchange supporting river-flow forecasting.
Integration of digital tools into hydrometeorological services across Central Asia in partnership with Hydrosolutions (Switzerland).
Five university laboratories established for drinking and wastewater quality, with updated guidance on hardness and salinity in Tajikistan.
Scholarships for the Integrated Water Resources Management programme at the Kazakh–German University, training the next generation of specialists.
Support for the Central Asian Network of Academic Societies, strengthening cooperation among universities on water and energy management.