International Consultant (Hydrological Engineer / Expert in Irrigation Canals)
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.
The need to reduce water losses and associated land salinization from canal infiltration extends across the entire country, at all levels of the water management system, from long-distance distribution to farms. The greatest potential for the project to generate rapid, cost-effective, large-scale results with canal linings lies on the domestic production side, where there are urgent untapped opportunities to update materials, increase output, and raise efficiency. The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Economy of Turkmenistan (MAWE) currently operates three factories – one each in the Akhal, Mary, and Dashoguz velayats. These facilities produce mostly reinforced concrete pipes and plates for canals.
This component will include some investment in needed equipment and facility upgrades. Its main focus, however, will be on technical assistance in formulating the products, preparing production lines, conducting field research and testing, and then planning and implementation of expanded production and installation. The UNDP/GEF project and MAWE will work jointly on field testing and demonstration of all new products.
New canal lining products will be documented with regard to production processes, technical performance, environmental benefits, and cost. Results and analysis will be compiled into a report, including reco