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.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of the assignment is to support UNDP and the project team in planning and educational outreach for IWM and SLM within the Component 3, including review and assessment of current training programmes of the MWE and the State Institute of Water Management Design (SIWMD) for water management staff and farmers, developing new training programmes and modules on IWM and SLM based on best regional practice and lessons learned as well as developing promotional materials related to IWM and SLM to be used in trainings and dissemination among rural specialists and farmers. Consultant is also expected to review the current training programme and short-term courses of the Agricultural University in Ashgabat (and its colleges in provinces) related to water management and make relevant recommendations for improvements and on including IWM and SLM aspects. The expected level of involvement will be up to 25 days (including an 11-day mission to Turkmenistan) within this assignment.

In accordance with the aforementioned objectives, an International Consultant will work under the supervision of Project Manager and UNDP Programme Specialist to achieve the following results.

Key Outputs and Deliverables Expected:

  • Current capacity building programme of MWE and SIWMD related to water management reviewed and assessed, Agriculture University’s training programme reviewed, gaps in terms of IWM and SLM identified and registered (Deliverables 1 and 3 below);
  • A new short-term training programme and relevant modules on IMW and SLM developed separately for the water management specialists and farmers. (Deliverable 2 and 3 below);
  • A presentation based on the results of review and assessment of the MWE’s current training programme and on international and/or regional best practices in the field of IWM and SLM developed and delivered. The presentation should be focused on the legal aspects and aspects of the institutional capacity, practical aspects of development and fulfilling the IWM and SLM, as well as lessons learned and recommendations on how these practices can be adapted and implemented in Turkmenistan (Deliverable 2 and 3 below);
  • A set of promotional materials on IWM and SLM to be used in trainings and for dissemination purposes developed (Deliverable 1 and 4 below).

Deliverables and Timeframe:

Deliverable 1:

A presentation developed and supplementary information materials collected/prepared describing at least 5 different modern practices in the field of IWM and SLM with preferably 2-3 from Central Asia.

Location: Home based. Timeframe: 5 days.

Deliverable 2:

A presentation on best practices of establishing and functioning of the IWM and SLM systems conducted during the Project Inception Meeting. This presentation will be part of an 11-day mission to Turkmenistan.

Location: Turkmenistan. Timeframe: 1 day.

Deliverable 3:

This result consists of two parts:

Part 1

  • A report on the review and assessment of the current training programmes of the MWE/SIWMD for water specialists and farmers and training programme of the Agricultural University and a set of recommendations for an updated short-term training programme and relevant modules with aspects of IWM and SLM prepared and submitted to the UNDP;
  • Training and promotional materials (brochures, leaflets, info graphic etc.) on IWM and SLM in Turkmenistan developed.

Location: Turkmenistan. Timeframe: 11 days (including 1 day for travel).

    Part 2.

  • A mission report describing the mission, its results, detailed description and recommendations on the ways to integrate/mainstream IWM and SLM into the policy development process in Turkmenistan prepared and submitted to the UNDP;

Location: Home based. Timeframe: 9 days.

Note:

All deliverables, reports and relevant materials should be prepared in English language.

Payment conditions:

This is a lump-sum contract that should cover costs of consultancy required to produce the above deliverables, including all travel costs related to an 11-day mission to Turkmenistan. Payments under this contract will be linked to the achievement of the outputs described above. The final schedule of payments will be agreed upon contract signing. Payments will be made in two installments: 50% - for deliverables 1 and 2; 50% - for deliverable 3 conditioned on the timely submission of the reports to UNDP in Turkmenistan.

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;
  • Good understanding and experience in the field of capacity building;
  • Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • University degree in agriculture, agriculture economics, land management and/or water management; Advanced degree in aforementioned relevant fields will be viewed as an advantage.

Experience:

  • Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in designing, development and conducting the capacity building and training programmes on sustainable water and land management, additional experience in IWRM policy development will be viewed as an advantage;
  • Proven previous successful experience in implementation and supporting of similar capacity building programmes on IWRM, IWM and SLM;
  • Good knowledge of international and/or regional best practices in similar fields, state of the art approaches in the development and implementation of capacity building programmes;
  • Previous relevant working experience with UN or other international organizations is an asset;
  • Working experience in the region of Central Asia is an asset;
  • Familiarity with UNDP and GEF requirements.

Language:

  • Fluency in English language;
  • Working knowledge of Russian language.

Submission of applications:

Interested candidates 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 expected travel 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 -15
  • Relevant experience – 20
  • Methodology – 15
  • Knowledge and experience of work in the countries of CIS – 10 points
  • 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.