International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea
About IFAS
The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) was established by a decision of the Heads of CA states on the 4th of January 1993 with the aim of developing and funding environmental and applied research projects and programs in order to improve ecological situation in the areas affected by the Aral Sea catastrophe and address the socio-economic issues in the region.
The founding states of the Fund are Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.
The organizational setup of IFAS:
The chairmanship of IFAS is transferred on a rotational basis every three years to one of the Central Asian countries.
Council of Heads of the Founding States of IFAS
Council of Heads of the Founding States of IFAS is the supreme body of IFAS.
The Council of the Heads of State develops and recommends a policy to bring the production forces of the region in line with its natural resource potential, recommends for approval interstate legal and regulatory acts, principles common to all states of the region for the management, use and protection of water resources, regulates interstate relations in the field of water management and environmental activities.
Meetings of the Council of the Heads of State of the founders of IFAS (IFAS Summits) are held once during the chairmanship of each of the founding states of the Fund and within their framework decisions are made on the most important issues of the regional agenda in the field of water resources, environmental protection and improvement of th socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea basin.
The IFAS summits also provide the countries of Central Asia with a unique platform for regular political dialogue at the highest level on water management and environmental issues and thus unite joint efforts for further prosperity and sustainable development in the region.
During the activity of IFAS were held:
Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State – founders of IFAS, 5 September 1995, Nukus city, Republic of Uzbekistan
Meeting of the Council of the Heads of States – Founders of IFAS, 28 September 1997, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan
Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State – the Founders of IFAS, 9 April 1999, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Meeting of the Council of the Heads of States – Founders of IFAS, 28 December 2001, Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan
Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State – Founders of IFAS, 6 October 2002, Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan
Meeting of the Council of the Heads of States – Founders of IFAS, 28 April 2009, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan
Joint Statement of the Heads of States – Founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea
Meeting of the Heads of States – Founders of IFAS, 24 August 2018, Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan
Joint Communique of the Council of the Heads of the states – founders of IFAS
Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State – Founders of IFAS, 14-15 September 2023, Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan
Dushanbe Statement of the Heads of Founding States of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea
President of IFAS
IFAS is headed by the President elected among the Presidents of Central Asian states for 3 years.
IFAS Board
The Fund is managed by the Board, which includes the Deputy Prime Ministers of the IFAS founding states. The Board of the Fund meets at least twice a year. Founding States may propose additional meetings of the Board.
IFAS Revision Commission
The commission is entrusted with the function of verifying the financial activities of the Fund. However, due to the fact that the Fund does not accumulate the general funds of the founding states, and each founding state finances its projects as its contribution to the activities of the Fund, the Commission is still being created, but its meetings have not been held.
The Revision Commission is delegated by one representative from each of the founding countries at the level of deputy ministers of economy and finance, responsible for budget contributions to the Fund.
The Executive Committee of IFAS
The Executive Committee of IFAS is a permanent body of the Fund and is created by the decision of the President of the Fund,and located on the basis of rotation in the country presiding in the Fund. The IFAS Executive Committee consists of 10 members – two representatives from each of the founding countries. The IFAS Executive Committee is managed by the Chairman, who is appointed by the President of the Fund in agreement with the Heads of the founding states.
Regulation on the Executive Committee of IFAS is approved by the decision of the President of the Fund. The main tasks of the IFAS Executive Committee are:
• practical implementation of decisions of the Heads of State
• implementation of relevant projects and programs of the Aral Sea basin
• coordination of the branches activities in the territory of the founding states
• promotion of ICWC and ICSD activites
• cooperation with international organizations, donor countries, environmental and other funds to enhance activities to address environmental issues
• attract the funds for project and program management
• preparation of documents and meetings of the IFAS Board, as well as conferences and meetings of the Heads of State on the problems of the Aral Sea.
The Executive Committee has branches in the countries.
