BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 11. Kazakhstan and France are jointly developing a Master Plan for the conservation of Lake Balkhash.
This is stated by the press service of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan.
An open meeting of the working group on the development of the Master Plan for preserving the ecosystem of Lake Balkhash was held in Astana. The project is being implemented within the framework of cooperation between the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan, the French Development Agency (AFD), and the French Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM).
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Information and Analytical Center for Water Resources, as well as French project partners and others.
“Experts from France presented interim results of research in key areas of the project. Participants of the meeting were briefed on the results of work in agriculture, hydrology, assessment of glacier runoff contribution, hydrogeology, water use, and modeling of water resource distribution,” the ministry said.
Particular attention was paid to sustainable water resource management in the Lake Balkhash basin under climate change conditions.
Experts presented approaches to forecasting river runoff, assessing future changes in glacier-fed inflows, studying the interaction between surface and groundwater, and using modern modeling tools to support decision-making processes.
Separate discussions focused on the prospects for using modern digital tools to analyze water distribution scenarios and prepare basin management plans.
Following the discussions, experts were able to integrate research results across various fields into a unified assessment system of the Lake Balkhash catchment area and identify priority issues requiring further work. The completion of the Master Plan and presentation of its final results are expected by the end of 2026.
“Following the visit of French experts, further stages of the Master Plan development will be clarified, including the preparation of forecast scenarios for water management development until 2040, the selection of climate models, and additional research in specific areas. Until the end of 2026, joint work between Kazakh and French experts will continue on integrating research results, improving model calculations, and preparing the final document. The Master Plan will serve as a scientific basis for long-term decision-making on the conservation of Lake Balkhash’s ecosystem and sustainable water resource management in the basin,” said Chairman of the Board of the Information and Analytical Center for Water Resources, Kairatgali Khairullin, during the meeting.
Meanwhile, the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan, to be built by Russia’s Rosatom, is planned near Lake Balkhash, in the village of Ulken in the Almaty region
