The Ural-Caspian Basin within the Republic of Kazakhstan covers the territory of 415 thousand sq. km and is considered as extremely water-deficient. Besides, public and water-users are not included in a process of discussion and decision-making of problems connected with water resources. UCBC (Ural-Caspian Basin Council) could become a dialogue platform, where Agreements, Reports, Memorandums and other documents determining region and national water policy will be discussed at the international level with attraction of all interested parties, including water-users and the public.

The basic problems for basin water economic administration today is:
-lack of necessary methodical materials, information about creation and activity of similar bodies in other countries;
-weak public potential in decision of problems of protection and rational use of water objects due to insufficiently familiarity with opportunities of participation in decision-making process and poor involvement in corresponding procedures, etc.

For successful realization of new approaches to water resources management not only initiative from wetland administration, akimats, other local state bodies, representatives of water-users and NGOs is needed, but also clear understanding of how to start establishment and operation of water basin councils and how to make them viable, claimed and sustainable.

The project is aimed at creation of a dialogue platform for realization the right of the public to participate directly in development and acceptance of administrative decisions conected with use and protection of water resources through Ural-Caspian Water Basin Councils.

Project tasks:
1. To create UCBC
2. To conduct information campaign to raise awareness of local authorities, maslikhats, scientists, multinational corporation, industrial enterprises and territorial state bodies and departments experts, NGOs, mass-media and water-users about basin councils in Republic of Kazakhstan
3. To develop mechanisms of UCBC sustainability

Expected outputs:
1. UCBC documents (official standing, structure, rules of work and membership) are developed and authorized.
2. UCBC is established and operates.
3. The first session of UCBC is carried out. UCBC work plan on 2007-2010 with determined objectives, tasks, UCBC priorities and expected outcomes from UCBC activity is developed
4. Recommendations on financial and organizational UCBC sustainablity are developed:
- Work groups in four regions which will work between UCBC sessions are created;
- Questions of delegation from the public in working groups and UCBC are solved;
- Questions of participation state and business structures in UCBC are solved.
5. The mechanism of water-users and public participation in UCBC is developed.
6. The dialogue platform for public and basic water-users is created as distribution list which will enable to reveal the actual problems connected to water in regions.