Almaty – IOM and UNDP Kazakhstan co-host roundtable to present research findings on nexus between water management techniques and environmental degradation.

High-level roundtable is scheduled for 14 December 2021. The event will take place with the support of the Kazakhstan President's Academy of Public Administration. Dr. Stefanos Xenarios, Nazarbayev University, to present preliminary research findings. Also invited, Dr. Alex de Sherbinin, Columbia University, to speak about climate change and migration futures.

The United Nations Migration Agency (IOM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan are now entering the next phase of their joint project: "Mainstreaming evidence-based Migration and Climate Change Policies into the Development Agenda of Kazakhstan, with a special focus on water security.” On December 14, 2021, the two UN agencies will host a high-level roundtable to present the preliminary research findings of the scoping study "Mapping Water Management Techniques as a Form of Adaptation to Slow-Onset Environmental Degradation in Kazakhstan.” The study was conducted by Dr. Stefanos Xenarios, associate professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at Nazarbayev University.

The Kazakhstan President's Academy of Public Administration will support the roundtable. It will be moderated by the Academy’s Vice-Rector, Aigul Kosherbayeva. Opening remarks will be delivered by Zeynal Hajiyev, Sub-Regional Coordinator for Central Asia and Head of IOM Missions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, Yakup Beris, UNDP Representative in Kazakhstan; and Erbolat Makhambetovich Abulkhatin, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Labor, Social Protection and Migration. In addition, Dr. Alex de Sherbinin, a senior scientist, and associate director for scientific applications at Columbia University's Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), will present the results of his research on human mobility and climate change in Kazakhstan.

The roundtable on 14 December is part of an event series to raise awareness for the joint project among representatives of national and local governments. It was preceded by three training sessions on the same topic last week.