ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN – This week nearly 70 faculty members of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Gumilyov Eurasian National University learnt about the interactions between water, energy, food and environment security through the Nexus Simulation Game as part of the series of training sessions organized by the European Union funded project “Nexus Dialogue in Central Asia” together with the USAID Regional Water and Vulnerable Environment Activity.
The Nexus Simulation Game represents a facilitated process of playing five different scenarios for developing the territories upstream and downstream while addressing water needs of population, industry and agriculture and taking into account climate change challenges. It is a good training tool for policy makers to practice how different water management policies could facilitate sustainable development in harmony with the environment. Equipped with training materials and practical skills, the faculty members will pass newly acquired knowledge on to their students.
"Teaching the Nexus intersectoral approach in an interactive format helps to gorm a comprehensive understanding of the water-related challenges. All relevant sectors need to be involved in finding the best solutions to tackle challenges to develop our region in a sustainable way,” noted Raushan Dulambayeva, Professor at the Institute of Management of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
“Ensuring water, food and energy security is at the top of today’s global development agenda. Nexus simulation is a great tool to learn to appreciate many interconnected challenges arising from the interactions between the water, energy, food sectors and ecosystems. It is valuable for training future specialists who will work in these key sectors to manage vital resources in the most efficient way to make our economy more resilient to climate change and revert environmental degradation,” stated Dana Akhmedyanova, Head of the International Relations Department of the Gumilyov Eurasian National University.
It is expected that the Nexus Simulation will be incorporated in the curricular to complement the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Gumilyov Eurasian National University. To this end, memoranda of cooperation were signed and two sets of the Nexus Simulation were handed over to each educational establishment.
Similar training sessions with more than 100 participants for a number of leading universities and civil service academies have been conducted by the EU funded project in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in 2022.
The EU-funded project "Nexus Dialogue in Central Asia" is implemented by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC). The project’s duration: June 2020 – May 2023; total budget: EUR 1.25 million with the EU’s contribution of EUR 1 million.
The second phase (2020-2023) of the European Union project "Central Asian Dialogue to Promote Sectoral Financing through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus" is a continuation of the first phase (2016-2019) and is being implemented by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC). The project’s duration: June 2020 – May 2023; total budget: EUR 1.25 million with the EU’s contribution of EUR 1 million. The project is a part of the global Nexus Dialogue Programme, which is supported by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in five regions.