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Building Capacity through Engaging Academic Stakeholders

UNDP-GEF Kura II Project

By IW:LEARN

December 14^th, 2018

A key tenet of stakeholder engagement in the Kura River Basin is bringing together academic stakeholders across Azerbaijan and Georgia to facilitate information exchange and build regional capacity in water management. In this spirit, on November 27th and 28th, 2018, the UNDP-GEF Kura II Project: Advancing Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) across the Kura River Basin through implementation of the transboundary agreed actions and national plans (Kura II) co-sponsored an international conference in Baku with the Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction, titled “Water, Energy Supply, and Environmental Problems in Modern Construction.” The conference was attended by over 200 people, including experts from Georgia.

Panel on the Kura River Basin. Credit: UNDP-GEF Kura II Team

Dr. Mary Matthews, Chief Technical Advisor and Regional Project Coordinator of the Kura II Project, was the co-chair of the Scientific Committee for the conference. She presented in the opening plenary session the topic of nature-based solutions for water management infrastructure in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals. Dr. Jeanene Mitchell, Stakeholder Engagement Expert for the Kura II Project, also chaired a panel on water management challenges in the Kura River Basin. This panel included experts from Azerbaijan and Georgia, with paper topics including erosion management in the Kura Basin, flood management and response in urban areas, the effects of climate change in the Kura River Basin, and water quality monitoring in the river.

The conference provided an important opportunity for the Kura II Project to engage with academic stakeholders in disseminating contemporary research on the Kura River Basin while raising awareness of the activities of the project. Equally important was the opportunity for Azerbaijani and Georgian academics and experts to come together in order to share research on the basin and foster regional connections.

Building Capacity through Engaging Academic Stakeholders

In order to further build regional connections and capacity among academics, on November 26, 2018, the Kura II Project hosted the inaugural meeting of the Kura River Basin Academic Council (KRBAC) as a side event to the conference. The mission of the KRBAC is to foster regular interdisciplinary cooperation and information exchange among academics at the regional level between Azerbaijan and Georgia. At the meeting of Azerbaijani and Georgian academics, the structure of the KRBAC organization was discussed, as well as topics for a 2019 conference in Georgia and its associated publication.

It is envisioned that the KRBAC will be a sustainable output of the Kura II Project, creating the structure for continued regional academic cooperation after the project has concluded.