Historique

Turkmenistan is a water stressed country and has one of the harshest climates in the Central Asian region. Climate change modeling indicates significant increases in temperature and reduction in rainfall. Temperatures are expected to increase by 20C by 2040, with precipitation declining across all agro-ecological zones by 8-17 percent between 2040 and 2100, which coupled with increase in temperature, will lead to a decrease in total volume of water availability that is likely to have a profound impact on agricultural production systems and local farmers.  The long-term solution envisaged by the Government of Turkmenistan is to mainstream climate change adaptation at the community, district, provincial and national levels in order to secure climate resilient livelihoods in agricultural communities.  To help the Government meet these outcomes, the project will support three inter-related components, namely:

• Improving climate related socio-economic outcomes in targeted agricultural communities in Lebap and Dashoguz velayats through the implementation of community-based adaptation solutions;
• Mainstreaming climate adaptation measures in agricultural and water sector development strategy and policy; and
• Strengthening national capacity for iterative climate change adaptation planning, implementation and monitoring in the country.

The project will directly strengthen the adaptive capacity and reduce the vulnerability of around 40,000 to 50,000 persons (of which around 51.2% would be women) in the Lebap and Dashoguz velayats by helping them improve the productivity of farm operations, be better prepared for increasing water scarcity and by introducing alternative income sources.  Improved water efficiency and crop production systems will bring approximately 20,000 ha of agricultural and 500,000 ha of pastoral lands under climate resilient technologies resulting in a real net household income increase of at least 15­­­% for participating households (including at least 20% of women-headed households).  The replication potential of successful efficient water management and climate resilient practices and of new climate-friendly sectoral planning, legislative and capacity development measures would indirectly benefit around 500,000 people in Turkmenistan, of which around 50% would be women).

The project will work in two etraps (districts) of two different velayats (provinces) of Turkmenistan.  These are the Gerogly etrap of Dashoguz velayat and Galkenesh etrap of Lepab velayat. The etraps were identified at the recommendation of the Government. The project has selected three pilot daikhan associations and a livestock farm in the two velayats and will start working with these daikhan associations and farms, including individual farmers/households and private farms, in the initial phase of the project to demonstrate adaptation options for various types of agricultural activities (crop production, horticulture and livestock). The pilots are the Yagtylyk daikhan association and Garagum livestock (cattle ranch) farm in the Gorogly etrap of Dashoguz velayat and the Vatan and Parakhat daikhan associations in the Galkynysh etrap of Lebap velayat.

As a decision-making tool, a clustering approach will be used to analyze the current situation and determine optimized skope of actions and possible solutions and probability of success in terms of agrotechnology, climate change and economic.

This approach based on deep learning of past climatic, soil, water conditions in area of interest and building multilevel clusterization. It enables modelling for signing similiraty and asimilarity in the area and recognition of possible gaps and its circumstances. As a result it minimizes number of actions and leverage its effectiveness.

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

Devoirs et responsabilités

International Consultant on Economically Sustainable Adaptation Planning (Consultant) will report to the SCRL Project Manager with overall reporting to the UNDP Programme Specialist on Environment.

The duties of the International Consultant include the consultations of SCRL project specialists to make correct choice and adequate application of the climate change adaptation technologies which enable to consume water resources efficiently and preserve soils from degradation. These adaptation technologies will consist of efficient, flexible and cost-effective irrigation solutions that deliver increased productivity per unit of resources, improve yields, and support a sustainable future. The international consultant will apply a clustering approach in advising on selection of adaptation measures in order to ensure the socio-economic attractiveness for local farmers.

In collaboration with national experts he/she will carry out comprehensive analysis and assessment of the social and economic outcomes obtained from implementation of the adaptation practices.

International consultant is in charge for attendance in the meetings and workshops to be organized by SCRL Project and to introduce an international experience on innovative irrigation technologies applicable for the drought-prone areas of Turkmenistan.  He/she will prepare a reports upon each mission as well as Plan of actions at the end of 2017 of results achieved, lessons learned. The report have to also set out clear recommendations for improvements in 2018 and the focus of the research and adaptation measures in 2018.

Deliverables and timeframe:

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:

Deliverables and timeframe:

Deliverable 1 (25%) to contain the following:

• Prepare a workplan in consultation with project manager and project team;
• Prepare and provide presentation of best international practices on innovative land and water management with application of innovative and effective practices and technologies and leading to increased local livelihoods;
• To carry out the comprehensive analysis of the SCRL project’s intended approach for achievement of the project objectives and to introduce modification, if needed;
• Preparation of initial climate clusterization for targeted areas based on gathered information from the vulnerability and risk assessment and other information sources available, including data on;
• - Open source data soil, weather, water parameters, vegetation, topography, infrastructure in local pilot areas;
• - Initial mapping and clustering of gathered data for preprartion of preliminary conclusions;
• - Analysis of main climate risks maps and identify gaps for further mapping;
• - Analysis of social and economic factors and its correlation with regional climatic conditions;
• Field visits to farm associations of Gorogly and Galkynysh etraps to analysis of the current situation of the water and land management in the pilot regions and assessment of operating conditions of water infrastructure. This analysis will enable to reveal the advantages and gaps in the current water management practices and to propose recommendation for improvement.
• Consultation to local farmer of the farm associations to make a correct choice of innovative technologies and practices on irrigation and cultivation, advisable with application of renewable energy (solar, wind, biofuel etc.). Special attention and priority should be given to technology promoting effective use of any type of resources (water, land, energy etc).
• In addition to pre-identified inventory of adaptation measures and technologies, provide recommendations on other alternatives successfully tested in similar climatic conditions, such as smart greenhouses, solar based water pumps and water treatement systems and other innovative effective solutions that will boost economically attractive and climate friendly farming businesses and practices.
• Preparation of the proposals on introduction of different principles and approaches to find irrigation solution in the context of the soil salinity and water deficiency;
• Study the water and soil monitoring equipment procured within SCRL project in order to reveal the need in procurement of additional equipment;
• Undertake regular communication (via skype, email, phone and other means) with project manager and project team and provide regular guidance and inputs with regard to the implementation of above tasks.

Location: Home based and mission to Turkmenistan. Number of days: 30 working days (including 7-10 day mission). Tentatively due June 2017.

Deliverable 2 (25%) to contain the following:

• Participation at the meetings to introduce international experience on application of innovative irrigation and land management solutions in connection to the specific soil-climate and morphological conditions;
• Preparation of detailed clusterization of water balance in targeted areas, specifically including:
• - Deep analysis of water balance in the region based on the clustering approach – precipitation quantities and trends, waste-water data and management capacity, qunatities and qualities of ground and surface waters;
• - Mapping main water management risks from climate change perspective, including on waste water, ground and surface waters and soil condition;
• - Expected climate change and socio-economic influence of proposed solutions at short, medium and long range.
• Field visits to farm associations of Gorogly and Galkynysh etraps to assist the porjet manager and team in supervising the application of the identified adaptation measures and technologies. Provide advisory guidance to project manager, project team and beneficiaries on ways for improvement;
• Consultations to local farmers of the farm associations to ensure their growing understanding of innovative technologies and practices on irrigation and cultivation, in particular the ones (if exist) with application of renewable energy (solar, wind, biofuel etc.). Special attention and priority should be given to technology promoting effective use of any type of resources (water, land, energy etc);
• Provide recommendations on strategic upscale of other alternatives, such as smart greenhouses, solar based water pumps and water treatement systems and other innovative effective solutions that will boost economically attractive and climate friendly farming businesses and practices, including engagement of local private sector in technology production to cut the cost and increase their economic attractiveness;
• Undertake regular communication (via skype, email, phone and other means) with project manager and project team and provide regular guidance and inputs with regard to the implementation of above tasks;
• Drafting missions reports on results achieved and lessons learned during 2017 and a Plan of Actions for 2018.  

Location: Home based and mission to Turkmenistan. Number of days: 30 working days (including 7-10 day mission). Tentatively due October 2017.

Deliverable 3 (25%) to contain the following:

• Provide regular technical expertise to the Project Manager and Specialists to ensure the proposed methodologies and approaches are carefully implemented;
• Provide methodological and advisory support to project manager, project team and beneficiaries in calculating and understanding of economic benefits from the newly introduced adaptation measures and technologies and provide advice on upscale to the neghbouring areas with similar contexts;
• Continue preparation of soil and water clusterization in targeted areas:
• - Update analysis of soils in the region based on clustering with relevant chemical and physical data and parameters based on open source data;
• - Expand the mapping exercise to cover climate change related land management risks, specifically focusing on crops, fertigation, plant protection, irrigation and other related aspects;
• - Expand the analysis on socio-economic climate change influence of the proposed solutions with short, medium and long-term perspective;
• Based on the finding from the newly applied measures and analysis above, provide advisory assistance in preparing a full inventory of economically viable adaptation measures and practices that will be included into strategic planning processes within the pilot areas;
• Propose methods on optimization of mineral nutrition by agricultural crops in the closed ground (greenhouses) through introduction of the fertigation system; Provide advisory guidance to project manager, team and beneficiaries on application and upscale of smart greenhouses and other innovative measures;
• Conduct consultations to local specialists on utilization of laser equipment setup levelling of the arable lands and provide assistane to the project in calculation and proper documentation of climate change related and economic benfir from application of this technology; Provide assistance in determining potential nationwide benefit in case this technology is upscale throughout the country;
• Undertake regular communication (via skype, email, phone and other means) with project manager and project team and provide regular guidance and inputs with regard to the implementation of above tasks.

Location: Home based and mission to Turkmenistan.Number of days: 30 working days (including 7-10 day mission). Tentatively due April 2018.

Deliverable 4 (25%) to contain the following:

• Develop recommendations on effective mainstreaming of climate change adaptation measures to National agriculture and water economy sectors development policies and programs;
• Preparation of the final report based on full clustering analysis, with detailed description of social and economic benefits:
• - Multilevel cluster shall be based on sub-clusters: Water, Soil, Climate, Topography, Infrastructure;
• Provide consultations on calculation of the social and economic benefit gained from implementation of all adaptation measures;
• Provide advisory supervision and guidance to project manager, team and beneficiaries in developing a submission-ready strategic roadmap (concept) for upscale of most relevant and appropriate adapation measures and technologies nationwide, including specific advice on potential of arranging local production and thus increasing the economic value of long-term application of sustainable adaptation measures;
• Participate at the discussions devoted to the Training Program to be elaborated by the project team and introduce modifications, if needed;
• Undertake regular communication (via skype, email, phone and other means) with project manager and project team and provide regular guidance and inputs with regard to the implementation of above tasks;
• Preparation of the final progress report with appropriate recommendations.         

Location: Home based and mission to Turkmenistan. Number of days: 30 working days (including 7-10 day mission).Tentatively due July 2018.

Payments will be done in 4 equal (25%) installments upon delivery of ea?h respective deliverable as described above.

Compétences

The consultant should have the following competencies:

Corporate Competencies:

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, age sensitivity/adaptability;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.

Technical Competencies:

• Experienced engineer in water, irrigations, or hydrogeology, soil physicists, climate change or related areas;
• Good understanding of climate change issues and traditional water collection and supply techniques under limited water availability;
• Graduate degree in agriculture, soil science, cropland irrigation or related field.

Functional competencies:

• 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;

Personal Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
• Positive, constructive attitude to work.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:                 

• Graduate Degree in the field of hydraulic engineer or land recultivation or similar filed related to soil physics and/or water management;

Experience:                

• At least 10 years of practical experience in the design and/or implementation of field related to agriculture irrigation, soil salinity and degradation issues and/or water management systems; 
• Demonstrated experience in improving water management practices;
• Working experience in developing countries and CIS countries is an asset. Experience of work in Turkmenistan will be a plus.

Language requirements:        

• Proficiency in English and Russian, analytical and presentation skills

Other requirements:                      

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

Submission of applications:

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

• Brief (1-2 pages) description of the methodology for the assignment;
• Financial Proposal with the references to (1) the daily rate for the assignment and within the timing scale indicated in the present TOR, and (2) any other expenses (including transportation costs, accommodation costs, the possibility of vaccination and etc.), round-trip tickets and concomitant terminal expenses. Template of the form can be found at: http://www.tm.undp.org/content/turkmenistan/en/home/operations/jobs. The UNDP will enter into an Individual Contract based on a lump sum amounts. The financial proposal shall represent a detailed, justified and “all inclusive” amount.  In order to assist UNDP in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount, including: a daily fee for the tasks and an estimated duration as specified in this announcement, travel (to and from the missions), per diems (currently, DSA for Ashgabat stands at 249 USD per day), any other possible costs (including vaccinations, dwelling, communication etc.);
• Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable candidate for the assignment;
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc.

Evaluation of proposals:

Individual Consultants will be evaluated based on combined scoring methodology. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/ compliant, and
• Having received the highest score – out of 100 points

Out of the maximum score, the score for technical criteria equals 70% - maximum 70 points, and for financial criteria 30% - maximum 30 points.

The technical evaluation will take into account the following as per the scoring provided:

Technical criteria -70%, which includes:

• Education in the field of agriculture or water engineering or similar filed related to soil physics and/or water management -20 points;
• Professional experience (including university lecturing)- 20 points;
• Demonstrated experience in improving water management practices-10 points;
• Working experience in developing countries and CIS countries is an asset- 20points;
• Methodology – 20 points;
• Additional skills (languages, etc.) – 10 points.

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.