Paper Title
Economic Growth and Responsible Water Utilization: Case of Kazakhstan

Abstract
Economic development has always been associated with a rise in the use of natural resources, particularly water. However, responsible production principles suggest the opposite. The need to separate economic growth from the consumption of limited freshwater gave rise to the concept of decoupling. The concept is highly relevant for achieving sustainable economic growth while diminishing the use of natural resources. This paper aims to analyze the current decoupling state of the kazakhstani economy from freshwater resources consumption as well as decoupling trends over a certain period. The research was conducted in two stages: (1) statistical analysis of the resource decoupling in Kazakhstan on freshwater resources; (2) a regression model for evaluating dependence of economic growth in Kazakhstan on the consumption of freshwater resources. Analysis showed a presence of absolute decoupling from freshwater resources while dynamics of available freshwater volume were unstable. Keywords - Decoupling, Economic Growth, Freshwater Consumption, Responsible Production.