Background

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 investmen 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. The project has started in July 2015 and will be completed in July 2021.

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

The project envisages the following activities within the Component 1 to improve the use of irrigation techniques

Green Polygon pilot project - Technology proving research site and educational platform for water saving irrigation and SLM in agricultural croplands. This pilot project, conceived by Ministry of Agriculture and Water Economy (MAWE) and the Water design Institute “Turkmensuvylymtaslama” (WDI), will be carried out in the Gokdepe county of Akhal province.  WDI will be the lead partner, in conjunction with local farm associations.  The work will be carried out on a 145-hectare plot owned by WDI, and already confirmed as available for this purpose.  Here, WDI and the project will deploy and evaluate various types of water saving irrigation types, 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.

The project also plans to cooperate with the Agricultrural university in Ashgabat in conducting research activities at the Research site. The Agricultural university provides 5-year Bachelors courses on agronomy and hydromelioration, which are related to project activities and . The University also has 600 ha of arable land, where the university teachers and students carry our various practical works and research activities. Cooperation with the university would allow the project to join the efforts in conducting research works, to attract local expertise and to disseminate the results of the research to a wider audience. The joint research activities with the university would also enable the UNDP to create a basis for closer cooperation and a research platform for further pioneering of an environment related masters courses at the univerity in the coming few years.

The project now plans to recruit an international scientist to perform the actions outlined below for the Research site (145 ha) in Gokdepe.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Scientist will report to the EERE Project Manager and will be under the overall supervision of the UNDP Programme Specialist on Environment.  The duties of the Scientist will include the following:

• Set out the research questions to be addressed and define in great detail the methodology to implement EACH research question. The research questions will focus on reducing salinity levels, improving soil quality and nutrient levels, optimum water amounts for wheat and cotton crops, the recommended types of irrigation and needed levels of drainage canals to reduce salinity levels using different irrigation types on clearly defined plot sizes. The research period is seeing as 5 years;
• Provide the Specification for all proposed equipment to be used in the research;
• Provide  technical advice to the national  irrigation engineer/site manager and research technician  on how to  establish the research site including all the related equipment;
• Develop an overall Research Plan for the Research site with types of research questions, methodology, needed local staff, resources, tools and timeframe phased over the next five years;
• Provide all the templates required to collect data for each research question;
• Provide all the formulas and calculations required to be used to analyze the data for EACH research question provided;
• Provide  regular technical expertise to the national irrigation engineer/site manager and research technician  to ensure the methodologies are carefully implemented and data is regularly collected;
• Review the results prepared (at agreed intervals) by the national irrigation engineer/site manager and research technician and prepare the final research results report;
• Provide recommendation on how to cooperate with the S.A.Niyazov Turkmen Agricultural University on research works implemented by the Project;
• Discuss the potential of drainage salty water cleaning for re-use and propose in detail possible options;
• Provide  regular technical expertise to the national irrigation engineer/site manager and research technician  to ensure the methodologies are carefully implemented and data is regularly  collected;
• Prepare a report at the end of 2016 of results achieved, lessons learned. The report will also set out clear recommendations for improvements in 2017 and the focus of the research in 2017.

Map of the Project Research site in Gokdepe county can be found at the following link: http://www.tm.undp.org/content/dam/turkmenistan/docs/TOR/Annex1_Map_of_the_Project_Research_site.docx .

Deliverables and timeframe:

The contract in 2016 will be for one year (60 days).  At the end of the 2016 a review will be undertaken to establish what International scientific expertise   will be required in 2017. The following deliverables and indicative schedule are expected from the consultancy contract. The final schedule will be agreed upon in the beginning of consultancy assignment.

Deliverable 1:  50 %

Timeframe: By 30th of April 2016, 25 working days of which 15  are in country:

• The research questions to be addressed are set out and the methodology to implement EACH research question defined in great detail. The research questions will focus on reducing salinity levels, improving soil quality and nutrient levels, optimum water amounts for wheat and cotton crops, the recommended types of irrigation and needed levels of drainage canals to reduce salinity levels using different irrigation types on clearly defined plot sizes. The research period is seeing as 5 years%;
• Specification for all proposed equipment to be used in the research provided;
• Technical advice to the nationalirrigation engineer/site manager and research technician on how to establish the research site including all the related equipment provided;
• An overall Research Plan for the Research site with types of research questions, methodology, needed local staff, resources, tools and timeframe phased over the next five yeas developed and proposed;
• All the templates required to collect data for each research question;
• All the formulas and calculations required to be used to analyze thedata for EACH research question provided.

Deliverable 2: 25%

Timeframe: By the 15th September, 20 working days of which 10 are in country:

• Regular technical expertise provided to the national irrigation engineer/site manager and research technicianto ensure the methodologies are carefully implemented and data is regularly collected;
• Reviewed the  results prepared (at agreed intervals) by the national irrigation engineer/site manager and research technician and prepare the final research results;
• Recommendations on how to cooperate with the S.A.Niyazov Turkmen Agricultural University on research works implemented by the Project provided;
• Discuss the potential of drainage salty water cleaning for re-use and propose in detail possible options.

Deliverable 3:  25%

Timeframe: By the 15th December, 15  working days, of which 6 are in country:

• Regular technical expertise provided to the national irrigation engineer/site manager and research technicianto ensure the methodologies are carefully implemented and data is regularly collected;
• A Reportat the end of 2016 of results achieved, lesson learned. The report will also set out clear recommendation for improvementsin 2017 and the focus of the research in 2017.

Payment conditions

This is a lump sum contract that should include costs of consultancy and travel costs required to produce the above deliverables. Payment will be made in 3 installments according to these TOR as per Deliverables outlined above to be certified by the Project Manager and accepted by the UNDP Programme Specialist on Environment, as follows:

• 1st installment (50% of the total contract amount) to be made upon achievement of Deliverables 1;
• 2nd installment (25% of the total contract amount) to be made upon achievement of Deliverables 2;
• 3rd installment (25% of the total contract amount) to be made upon achievement of Deliverables 3.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, age sensitivity/adaptability;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
• Positive, constructive attitude to work.

Technical /Functional Competencies:

• Good understanding of climate change issues and traditional water collection and supply techniques under limited water availability;
• Higher degree in agriculture, soil science, cropland irrigation or related field;
• Strong communication and analytical skills;
• Excellent ability to communicate in English both written and spoken;
• Good writing skills and computer literacy;
• Ability to meet deadlines;
• Excellent organizational, communicative, time-management and teamwork skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:        

• Postgraduate Degree in the field of agriculture or water engineering or similar filed related to soil physics and/or water management.

Experience:       

• At least 10 years of practical experience (including university lecturing) in the design and/or implementation of field and/or lab research related to agriculture irrigation, soil salinity and degradation issues and/or water management systems; 
• Demonstrated experience in improving water management practices;
• Experiences Scientist in water, irrigations, or hydrogeology, soil physicists or related areas;
• Working experience in developing countries and CIS countries is an asset.

Language:

• Proficiency in English, excellent analytical and presentation skills;
• Good knowledge of written and spoken Russian is an asset.

Others:                     

• Good understanding of soil physics and/or subsoil drainage water related issues. Outstanding time-management, organizational and interpersonal skills.

Submission of applications:

• Methodology: All applicants shall submit a brief methodology indicating phases, tasks, methods, techniques, time, resources, accessibility and tools to be applied for successful completion of assignment;
• Financial proposal for implementation of the assignment in a form of the Offeror’s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability. Template of the form can be found at: http://www.tm.undp.org/content/turkmenistan/en/home/operations/jobs. 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 (three missions) to Ashgabat, and/or any other expenses the applicants deem necessary to incur during assignment. Interested candidates should take into account those expected three 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.
• Updated P11 form;
• Personal CV.

Evaluation:

The Individual will be evaluated against a combination of the Offerors’ qualifications and financial proposal: 

Technical criteria -70%, which includes:

• appropriate education -20;
• relevant experience – 30;
• methodology - 10;
• additional skills (language, etc.) – 10.

Lowest – price 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.