Background

From cities to remote desert, across the nation’s entire territory, water management plays a defining role in all aspects of life in Turkmenistan.  Water management encompasses a wide range of natural and human-managed features, including rivers, other water sources, dams, 15 reservoirs, irrigation networks, interdistrict and interfarm canals, drainage collectors, and a far-flung complex of built structures for diverting and pumping water. 

Water resources of Turkmenistan come mostly from four transboundary rivers – the Amu-Darya, the Murghab, the Tejen, and the Atrek – with volumes based on shares negotiated with other countries through which these waterways pass.  The Amu-Darya, which is Central Asia’s longest river, provides about 88 percent of Turkmenistan’s water for human use. Water is distributed throughout Turkmenistan via networks of canals, extending over 42,500 km, as well as a collector-drainage network over 35,000 km.  The longest among these is the Karakum Canal (known also in the country as the Karakum River), which extends over more than 1300 km across almost all of Turkmenistan’s length and nearly reaching the Caspian Sea.

Management of water resources of Turkmenistan is implemented in three administrative tiers. The Ministry of Water Economy of Turkmenistan (MWE) oversees water management across the country.  The Ministry of Nature Protection (MNP) is responsible for implementing state policy in protection and rational use of natural resources, also at the national level.  Both Ministries operate under the general authority granted to them by the Constitution and the national Water Codex and Land Codex, as overseen by the President and the Cabinet of Ministers. 

Water management in Turkmenistan is centrally planned and implemented by the Government via MWE, largely in isolation from market dynamics. MWE owns essentially all water management infrastructure from canals to pumps, from the source all the way to the farmer or other end user.  The state budget is the source for all investment funds for new and upgraded infrastructure.  Water is supplied within approved limits free of charge to both agricultural and residential consumers as a benefit contributing to overall social welfare. There are therefore essentially no financial incentives for end users to conserve water within their approved quotas.

The current water management system of Turkmenistan serves its essential purpose of supplying water to end users. But Turkmen officials and scientists note deficiencies.  Distribution of water is inequitable over the hydrographic network, with shortages at the ends of canals in water-stressed years. Both within watersheds and in parts of the system that interconnect among various sources, disagreements emerge about management solutions for lack of a sufficiently clear and rational legal framework.  Deficiencies in the legal and policy framework also lead to gaps among various levels of government agencies and resource management water users.  Greater clarification and integration are needed. 

Moving billions of cubic meters of water over thousands of kilometers requires vast inputs of energy.  Turkmenistan’s networks of canals and drainage collectors, as well as its wells, are served by approximately 3500 pumping stations with a total installed electric power capacity in excess of 250 MW. Most of this powered infrastructure dates back to the Soviet era and has not been replaced. Due to its sheer size, but also inefficiencies resulting from age, insufficient maintenance, and other factors water management is the second largest power-consuming sector in Turkmenistan, accounting for about 25 percent of total power consumption.

In addition, in remote areas not connected to the electric grid, especially in the Dashoguz velayat, diesel fuel is used to run approximately 1179 pumps.  This equipment varies widely in water-pumping capacity and energy consumption rates, with most consuming about 14 liters of diesel fuel per hour of operation.  Based on a conservative estimate of 700 hours of operation per year per pump, the project team estimates that diesel-powered water pumps in Turkmenistan collectively consume about 15 million liters of fuel per year.

There are three major ways to raise energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and curtail associated GHG emissions from the water management sector.  The first is to reduce water losses and consumption, thereby reducing pumping volumes and pumping energy consumption throughout the system.  The second is to increase the efficiency of pumps and other energy-using infrastructure.  The third is to replace pumps and other infrastructure with more efficient or renewable technology.  The proposed UNDP/GEF project will pursue all three of these paths.

For more detailed information about this project as well as other UNDP Turkmenistan environmental projects please visit: www.undptkm.org.

Project strategy

As problems of water management, energy consumption, land degradation (salinization), and agricultural productivity are all closely intertwined in Turkmenistan, so too are potential solutions.  The project will address these problems through integrated activities, with a goal toward achieving multiple benefits in different areas.  Thus improved water management will lead not only to greater water availability, but also to significant energy savings, avoided GHG emissions, and reduced salinization.  Application of new renewable-energy solutions in water management will lead not only to avoided GHG emissions, but also to greater water availability in remote populated areas.  This integrated approach will be practically applied and technically proven first at specific sites in the Akhal velayat, then replicated across the country through region-specific planning and outreach, as well as supporting policies and investment at the national level.

The project’s activities are organized into four components:

  • Component 1 will introduce new technologies in irrigated agriculture and pumping for energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainable land management (SLM);
  • Component 2 will scale-up investment in new and expanded efficient water-management infrastructure;
  • Component 3 will deliver local and region-specific planning and educational outreach for IWRM and SLM among farmers and water-sector designers and managers;
  • Component 4 develops and supports implementation of policy reform for IWRM.

The first two components will constitute the technical foundation of the project.  For agriculture and infrastructure, respectively, these components will identify, verify, and document the most promising ways to save water, increase energy efficiency, and reduce water-related root causes of land degradation in Turkmenistan.  The components will generate technical and financial performance data and practical experience to be used to plan and provide necessary justification to scale-up public investment and technology deployment nationwide. 

While the first two components define the technical opportunity and priorities for replication, the second two components will seek to carry actual replication out on a national scale. The third component supports replication from the bottom up via development of action plans at the regional and district levels across the country, as well as educational outreach and capacity-building among farmers and local water-management personnel.  The fourth component will work from the top down, defining and implementing policies, programmes, and investment plans for integrated water management and SLM at the national level.

This project embodies the notions of integration and integrated water resource management (IWRM) in an unusually wide variety of senses.  Its most narrow technical meaning applies in the project’s vertical integration of end-use irrigation needs with upstream planning and management, as well as with drainage. The project also reflects integration in a more general sense pertaining to project design, with individual investment projects integrated with strategic approaches for scale-up, and local planning integrated with national policy and investment.  Most fundamentally, the project integrates various environmental and social goals of critical importance to Turkmenistan – water availability, water conservation, reduction of land degradation, agricultural productivity, and energy efficiency – with each other, and with the broader goals of sustainable national economic development and protection of the global environment. 

Component 1: Technology transfer and knowledge development in support of innovation in EE water management and SLM in agriculture:

Green Polygon - Technology proving site and educational platform for low-water irrigation and SLM in agricultural croplands.

This project, conceived by MWE and State Institute of Water Management Design (SIWMD), will be carried out in the Akhal velayat.  SIWMD will be the lead partner, in conjunction with local farm associations.  The work will be carried out on a 170-hectare plot owned by SIWMD, and already confirmed as available for this purpose.  Here, SIWMD and the project will deploy and evaluate various types of low-water irrigation, including drip, rotating sprinkler, portable sprinkler, and other irrigation.   A portion of the site will also be devoted to simple improvements to furrow irrigation, using pipes to deliver water to sections of furrows, thereby reducing water losses and increasing uniformity of yields at very little cost.
It is expected that innovations at this site will dramatically reduce water losses, reduce energy consumption for pumps, increase yield per hectare, and also thereby reduce the labor, material, and energy needed per unit of crop yield.  The new water management approaches will dramatically reduce salinization and practically eliminate the need for drainage. 
The demonstration will involve not only physical equipment, but also planning techniques and soil monitoring so that water would be delivered only where and when it is needed.  Informational feedback from “smart” systems will allow for reduced pumping when irrigation needs are low, thus lowering consumption of both water and electricity.
The entire process of planning, budgeting, and interagency administration for technology implementation will be documented.  Financial performance, water consumption, energy consumption, and other technical parameters will be monitored throughout at least two growing seasons.  Reduction of land degradation and increased crop yields will also be documented and compared with analogous sites with traditional irrigation schemes.  Based on collected evidence cost-benefit analysis of demonstrated technologies will be performed. Then the UNDP/GEF project team and national partners will compile and disseminate results as a written report, and as material for training seminars for water district officials, system designers, and farmers. Specific technical information and specifications for integrated system design will be compiled in addition to the written report and seminar material as needed.

Component 2: Scaling-up investment in improved water management infrastructure to reduce water losses, energy use, and land degradation:

The second project component focuses on scaling-up investment in improved water management infrastructure.  It is intended to achieve two related outcomes:

  • Reduction of water losses and associated energy consumption via direct investment in a large-scale infrastructure project on municipal water supply;
  • Technical, environmental, and financial justification to scale-up investment in canal linings and/or other widespread infrastructure improvements to reduce water losses, associated energy consumption, and land degradation.

Summary of baseline conditions for this component:

The Government of Turkmenistan has committed significant budget resources to construction and maintenance of water management infrastructure, including for the project period of 2015-2021.  Even so, however, the amount of state investment falls far short of what is needed to achieve the full technical potential to reduce water losses in the country.

Most canals in the country are unlined, including those that serve farms but also those that serve the municipal water supply system of the town of Kaakhka and other municipalities across the country.  There is no immediate prospect for a major program to line canals.
MWE operates three factories that produce materials such as concrete pipes and plates.  Modernization of products and production lines could lead to a dramatic increase in installation of canal linings and pipes nationwide, significantly reducing water losses, salinization, and other problems throughout the system.  Such modernization in turn requires research and investment.  
Incremental activities of the UNDP/GEF project

The town of Kaakhka (also sometimes transliterated as Kaka) is a district center in the Akhal velayat in the Kopet-Dag foothills in the southern portion of the country.  The town has grown rapidly since independence to a present population of approximately 35,000, including adjacent villages. 

The current consumption rate of municipal water in Kaakhka is approximately 14,000 m3 per day, or about 165 liters per second.  About 40 percent of Kaakhka’s water supply comes from groundwater extracted from 41 wells with electric pumps that run around the clock 365 days per year.  The remaining share of water is taken directly from the Layinsuv River via a separate canal approximately 20 km long.  Infiltration losses through the canal’s gravel bed are very high – approximately 50 percent, by MWE estimates.  Therefore, while about 200 liters are withdrawn from the river per second, only about half is delivered to the purification facility, with the rest entering groundwater.

MWE proposes to replace this inefficient system with a pipeline directly from the river, thus nearly completely eliminating infiltration losses and replacing electric wells with the simplest form of renewable energy – a gravity-based system with water flowing downhill.  Installation of the pipeline would obviate the need for continued operation of the wells for at least 10-15 years, by MWE forecasts, thus leading to huge electricity savings from avoided operation of pumps.  Furthermore, MWE foresees that the concentrated kinetic energy from the water at the end of the pipeline could be converted to electricity via a small hydropower installation, which could power the pumping station that directs water from the purification facility to the municipal distribution network.  (The change in elevation from the withdrawal point to the purification facility is about 400 meters).

In addition to material costs for the pipeline, UNDP will also provide in-country and international technical assistance in overall design and evaluation. MWE would cover a share of the cost of installation, plus any and all expenses associated with the hydropower addition.  (The project is expected to merit the investment even without hydropower.)

The UNDP/GEF project team and MWE recognize that investment of project funds in a municipal project needs to be carefully justified given that agriculture accounts for much more water use in Turkmenistan and indeed is the project’s main focus.  This investment/demonstration project in Kaakhka is attractive for several reasons:

  • It addresses one of MWE’s urgent priorities;
  • It has a greater potential impact in terms of affected population per dollar spent, in comparison with agricultural projects;
  • At the same time, the project is still relevant to agriculture because approximately 70 percent of Kaakhka’s population works in this sector;
  • It taps a very clear and well-understood technical opportunity for efficiency improvements in terms of both water and energy.  Notably, by completely removing well pumps from operation, the project is expected to generate potentially much greater energy savings than possible with many agricultural projects.  If hydropower proves feasible, then of course even more benefits in terms of avoided fossil energy use and GHG emissions will be possible;
  • It embodies perhaps the simplest form of renewable energy (water flowing downhill), plus the potential for small-scale hydroelectric generation.  Project linkages with hydroelectricity have been recommended as an area of potential interest during project review by the GEF Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP);
  • The project lends itself well to quantitative evaluation of energy and water savings;
  • It offers an opportunity for innovation completely without precedent in Turkmenistan;
  • There are more than 30 other communities in the Kopet-Dag foothills, with a total population of nearly 150,000 people, which could replicate results from this project;
  • Lessons learned from the pipeline could be applicable also to large-scale water management and agricultural applications nationwide.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of the assignment is to support UNDP Country Office in Turkmenistan and the Project team in implementing the Green Polygon pilot project and Kaakha pilot investment project within the Components 1 and 2 respectively. The assignment will include conducting a brief site assessment of both project sites, developing a detailed work plans, ToRs, projects design and cost estimations, technical options for the projects, supervising and monitoring of construction and installation works during the implementation, testing, recording and documenting the results and preparing a full report on technical performance, environmental benefits, and overall financial results, with recommendations and lessons learned for replication at other similar sites in Turkmenistan. The expected level of involvement will be up to 150 days (including seven 10-day missions) within this assignment.

Under the direct supervision of Project Manager, International Technical Advisor and overall supervision of UNDP Programme Specialist on Environment, the consultant's specific responsibilities, among others, will be to provide support to the local project specialists on agriculture and water management, specialists from local implementing contractor company and partner organisation in planning, organizing, implementing and completing the pilot projects, including support to the project team in providing recommendations and advices on other project activities related to irrigation methodologies, water engineering, water management and  energy efficiency. More concretely, the consultant is tasked to:

Assessment , Planning and Preparation

Lead in the preparation for and conducting the site assessment for the Green Polygon pilot project and Kaakhka investment project in close collaboration with Project local specialists on water management and agriculture:

  • Task Deliverable: a brief site assessments and drafts of an assessment report on the sites and baseline conditions for both pilot projects.

Lead and facilitate the preparation of a detailed operational work plan for the pilot projects with Project team and specialists from the local implementing partner organisation:

  • Task Deliverable: a detailed operational work plan with actions, roles, schedule and timing.

Lead the preparation of Terms of References and specifications, bill of quanatities and other required documentation for the supply of irrigation, construction and other materials and ToRs for the implementation of the pilot projects in close collaboration with Project team and local implementing partners:

  • Task Deliverable:  Drafts and final ToRs and tender documents for supply of irrigation and construction materials for the pilot projects for implementing contractors.

Support the Project team and specialists from national partner organisation in identifying technical specifications for and needed amounts of pipes and other construction materials to be used for the pilot projects:

  • Task Deliverable: Proposals and recommendations on technical specifications of pipes and other construction materials to be used in pilot projects. 

Provide technical expertise to support technical evaluations during the tendering and selections processes and provide clear questions and comments for clarifications or feedback:

  • Task deliverable: Reports with technical feedback, evaluation and comments on relevant tendering documents, bids, specifications, proposed works etc.

Lead and support the Project team and specialists from national partner organisation in developing a project design with technical parameters and cost estimations for the pilot projects:

  • Task Deliverable: project design with technical parameters and cost estimations for the Green Polygon and Kaakhka pilot projects.

Implementation, Monitoring and Visibility Support

Provide technical inputs and support the project team during the installation irrigation systems within the Green Polygon pilot project and construction pipeline within the Kaakhka project, including carrying out site visits and providing on/off site recommendations:

  • Task Deliverable: regular progress report on implementation of both pilot projects by the contractors, including technical quality assurance.

Support the Project team in preparation of launching the Green Polygon and Kaakhka projects, as well as monitoring and evaluation of all related field works within these projects:

  • Task Deliverable: M & E plan and report on commissioning of pilot projects.

Support Project team and specialists from the partner organisation in conducting necessary testing, check ups and providing relevant corrective measures to the operation of pilot projects if and when necessary:

  • Task Deliverable:  progress reports on performance of the pilot projects.

Support the project team in monitoring and evaluating the performance and operation of the pilot projects. Establish an effective monitoring system of operation and performance in consultation with partner organisations, UNDP and project team:

  • Task Deliverable: M&E system for performance and operation of the Green Polygon and Kaakhka projects drafted, mission report.

Support Project Manager and team in tracking and recording the progress, results and benefits of the Green Polygon and Kaakhka projects and drafting promotional materials and final report on completion of the pilot projects, including lessons learned, recommendations for improvements and replication elsewhere in the country:

  • Task Deliverable: Promotional and outreach materials and final report on completion of both Green Polygon and Kaakhka pilot projects with lessons learned and recommendations for replication.

The consultant is furthermore expected to provide regular support, guidance, coaching and expertise to the project manager and project team during his or her missions and via emails, skype and other media of communications.  

Time duration: This is a long-term (21 months) engagement. The consultant will be engaged under an Individual Contract, immediately after the completion of the selection process. The contract will be issued for a period of twenty-one months, expected to be mobilized in November 2015.

Travel: The consultant will be expected to provide long-distance advice and in-country consultations. Therefore, the consultant is expected to be able to travel to Ashgabat and pilot project sites near Ashgabat, pursuant to the work plan of project's activities. During the assignment, the consultant is expected to undertake seven missions (10 days each) to Ashgabat, which includes site visits to pilot project sites.

Deliverables and Time-Table

Deliverable:                                                                                                                   Deadline

  • Deliverable 1: Mission report outlining in detail consultancy inputs on tasks 1 and 2: November/December 2015, 25 consultancy days;
  • Deliverable 2: Mission report outlining in detail consultancy inputs on tasks 3 and 4: February/March 2016,  25 consultancy days;
  • Deliverable 3: Technical and mission reports outlining in detail consultancy inputs on tasks 5: May/June 2016,  20 consultancy days;
  • Deliverable 4: Technical and mission reports outlining in detail consultancy inputs on tasks 6: August/September 2016,  20 consultancy days;
  • Deliverable 5: Mission and progress reports outlining in detail consultancy inputs on tasks 7 and 8:  November/December 2016, 20 consultancy days;
  • Deliverable 6: Monitoring and mission report outlining in detail consultancy inputs on task 9: March/April 2017, 20 consultancy days;
  • Deliverable 7: Final mission report outlining in detail consultancy inputs on task 10 and 11: June/July 2017 20 consultancy days.

Payment will be done in 7 equal installments upon completion of each of the 7 deliverables.

Competencies

Core competencies:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Functional competencies:

  • Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
  • Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
  • Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • University degree in Infrastructure engineering, Water engineering and/or irrigation engineering with focus on municipal water supply issues and/or effective irrigation systems;
  • Advanced degree in water and irrigation management, infrastructure development, environment and energy related issues is considered as an advantage.

Experience:

  • Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in designing, construction and implementation of the water infrastructure projects and low water irrigation systems, additional experience in energy efficiency water projects will be viewed as an advantage;
  • Proven experience and success in implementation and supporting similar projects (or its sub-components);
  • Good knowledge of international and/or regional best practices in similar fields, state of the art approaches in the specific areas the project and its subcomponents are dealing with;
  • Previous relevant working experience with UN or other international organizations;
  • Preferably working experience in the region of Central Asia;
  • Familiarity with UNDP and GEF requirements.

Language:

  • Fluency in English and Russian.

Submission of applications:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

  • Methodology

All applicants shall submit a detailed methodology indicating phases, tasks, methods, techniques, time, resources, accessibility and tools to be applied for successful completion of assignment.

All applicants shall submit a detailed, carefully considered and justified financial statement based on a lump sum, which should include: a consultancy fee, administrative expenses (if applicable), travel expenses (if applicable), and/or any other expenses the applicants deem necessary to incur during assignment. Interested candidates should take into account those expected seven travels to Turkmenistan, and showing in their financial proposals breakdown of financial expenses for consultancy fee, DSA (currently, DSA for Ashgabat stands at 249 USD per day), round-trip tickets and concomitant terminal expenses.

Evaluation

The Individual will be evaluated using best value for money approach, which takes into account  a combination of the Offerors’ qualifications and financial proposal: 

Technical criteria -70%, which includes:

  • Appropriate education -25;
  • Relevant experience – 25;
  • Methodology - 10;
  • Additional skills (language, etc.) - 10.

 Financial proposal – 30%

Additional requirements for recommended contractor:

Recommended contractors aged 62 and older, and if the travel is required, shall undergo a full medical examination including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. The medical examination is to be cleared by the UN physicians, and shall be paid by the consultant.