“Capacity Building for Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management in Central Asia” Project

Implementation area: Central Asia — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Project value: EUR 584,239.
Lead organizations/partners: IHE-UNESCO and the Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC).
Donor: Government of the Netherlands.
Implementation period: June 2009 – March 2013.

Objectives and results

The main objective of the project was to consolidate experience in training activities, train trainers, develop training modules in four areas for use in Central Asian countries, establish opportunities for continuous professional development of water-sector specialists, and improve the Aral Sea Basin Management Model (ASBMM).

The project focused on the following activities:
- jointly developing and implementing a certified training programme;
- updating and improving the Aral Sea Basin Management Model;
- publishing the book “Water in Central Asia: Past, Present and Future.”

Key results
- the leading role of the Scientific Information Center of the ICWC in capacity building at regional and national levels was strengthened. Thirty-four national trainers from the five Central Asian countries were trained in IWRM;
- training programmes and modules were developed in the following areas:
- “Integrated Water Resources Management”;
- “Irrigated Agriculture Development”;
- “International Water Law and Policy”;
- “Regional Cooperation on Transboundary Rivers”;
- a training needs assessment was completed and a draft strategy for professional development of specialists from water management organizations in Central Asia was developed;
- the main components of the Aral Sea Basin Management Model (ASBMM) were reviewed and updated. The database was modernized, the hydropower module was integrated with hydrological and socio-economic models, national and regional planning modules were improved, and data import and export capabilities were enhanced;
- the book “Water in Central Asia: Past, Present and Future” was published, providing an overview of accumulated experience, relevant facts and analytical findings.