The Cooperative Program for Capacity Building for Integrated Water Management and Planning for Central Asia is implemented by SIC ICWC in association with the International Institute for Water Education UNESCO-IHE.

Project Coordinators are Prof. Victor Dukhovny, Director of SIC ICWC, Joop de Schutter, Deputy Director of UNESCO-IHE.

Project duration 2009-2012.

The purpose of this program is to ensure the ICWC Training Center sustainability by developing pilot training courses for advanced training of the water management specialists of three levels: high, middle, and low.

In this connection, SIC ICWC experts have developed Thematic Blocks on four areas:

1. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) – Mirzaev, N.N.
2. Advanced Irrigated Agriculture (AIA) – Khorst,М.G.
3. International Water Law and Policy (IWLP) – Rysbekov, Yu.Kh.
4. Regional Cooperation in Transboundary Rivers (RCTR) – Sorokin, А.G.

Each block has not only all necessary theoretical information, but they also describe its practical application based on the experience of more then 10 cooperative projects during 18-year activity of SIC ICWC.

To participate in this project, ICWC members have assigned four specialists from each country as future trainers, each specializing in one of the above-listed four blocks and, at the same time, is supposed to be able to conduct and take part in discussions related to other three blocks. In order to develop these blocks, analytical work was carried out and the best specialists, who have long regional experience, were selected to prepare relevant training modules on each block. That work was performed thoroughly enough, the composition of the blocks was carefully studied, and their contents were prepared for discussion at the orientation workshop together with future trainers from each country.

Three regional workshops were held in Tashkent in which selected representatives of the five Central Asian Region countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) as well as UNESCO-IHE representatives (Deputy Director Joop de Schutter, senior trainers Dr. Krishna Prasad and Dr. Shreedhar Maskey) took part.

It is also important to note the participation of universities in this project. Representatives from Kazakh national technical university named after Satpaev, Kyrgyz national agrarian university, Tajik agrarian university, Tashkent institute of irrigation and land reclamation participated and built up experience in regional training.

Project Objectives:

The main objectives of the proposed program are the following:

• strengthening capacity building potential among CA countries with ICWC TC as a nucleus

• promotion of advanced concepts and tools for water management including the application of ASBmm model

• improved understanding of transboundary co-operation between upstream and downstream riparians

• promotion of principles of international water and environment laws and conventions and facilitation of the process of adherence by the Central Asian countries to these conventions through increased awareness-raising among water and environment professionals

• enhanced capacity among the water leadership in Central Asia

• contribute to a transition “from vision to action” to implement a region wide integrated water resources management approach including involvement of complementary fields of science such as environment, agriculture and power

• technical supporting to and institutional strengthening of the existing regional Training Centre

• building a strong network among workshop and training participants based on a common framework for research and training and on mutual confidence and co-operation

• contribute to the further development and enhancement of the knowledge base and information exchange system at national and regional levels through linkage with the CAREWIB system

• transfer from certificate training towards certified training courses for a number of key subjects (e.g. IWRM, IRBM, Water Law, etc.) in close cooperation with the SIC-ICWC TC partner institutions.

Project Tasks:

• provide support to and institutional strengthening of the existing regional TC in Tashkent

• implement a water sector capacity building needs assessment in the countries of Central Asia and agree on base funding by the ICWC member states

• conduct ToT (training of trainers) courses at ICWC TC on the basis of identification of candidates to become local teaching staff in branch offices and related institutions

• develop a detailed description and lecture notes with supporting material for the main training courses, which should include (i) integrated water resources management, (ii) advanced irrigated agriculture, (iii) transboundary water resources management and strategies to improve regional cooperation; The ASBmm and the Water in Central Asia publication will be an integral part of the instruction material to be used by the TC

• provide all participants and training course alumni with up-to-date materials and information on a regular basis through both the, web based, information system CAREWIB and through distribution by e-mail, publication etc

• share training material with water education and research institutions in the region in order to contribute to their education programs and provide assistance to development of learning modules upon the request of candidate institutions

• promote advanced water and environmental management concepts through development and delivery of tailor-made training workshops and programs on legal, institutional, governance, conflict resolution and other related aspects of water and environmental management; Part of these workshops will be done in exchange with partner institutions of the APWF network.

Selection of participants: 

To ensure high efficiency and relevant participation inclusive as well as appropriate feedback into their organizations the ICWC members (mainly water ministers of Central Asian states) will play a central role in identification and selection of participants in accordance with opportunities provided and funds available. As explained, a needs assessment will be conducted giving consideration to on-going projects in Central Asia and the training workshops being held. When necessary, participation of water experts outside the direct Government linked institutions (ministries) may be agreed with the responsible ICWC members. Selection of participants from other economic sectors and fields of science at the level of state ministries and agencies is subject to permission by the leadership of these organizations. The following prerequisites are examples to be taken into account by the ICWC TC for the selection process:

• experience with a “hands on” position within their organization or within a rural community (WUA’s, village, farm, NGO, etc.)

• working experience with water related issues on various levels (regional managers, primary and secondary canal management, water use planning on farm level, etc.)

• ability to promote implementation of recommendations and strategies taught and developed during the training course (persons should preferably have management positions in their organizations)

• possibility and ability to disseminate information among other colleagues (persons linked to ministries and large design institutions are a high potential group for this option).

Training Process:

To ensure a task-oriented and problem based participation of trainees an interactive workshop training format will be used. Workshops will be designed for specific target groups (tailor made) of water users or water planners and managers. Basic training materials and lecture notes will be prepared by local experts together with their international counterparts and distributed to participants well in advance of each training session. A considerable part of the lecturing material will be made available in electronic format and through the TC website. Training workshop methods will include round-table discussion periods, group debates, and exchange of opinions between trainees during breakout sessions and group assignments. This process will be guided by experienced workshop moderators in and is thought a most suitable approach to enhance mutual understanding and develop a shared IWRM framework between participants.

An important part of the training will be in the format of model supported role plays where participants will act as “negotiators” representing different countries, economic sectors and other stakeholder groups. Moderators will guide case study processes in order to achieve insight and (possibly) consensus on intra-sectoral and interstate levels. For example the ASBmm will play an important role as it’s model simulations can be used in a large variety of situations for evaluation of water resources management issues.

Project outputs and sustainability:

Training workshops and training material developed and delivered under this 3 years project will address a range of contemporary issues and challenges that Central Asian countries are facing today. First of all, it will utilize new approaches to build, modify and create functional relationships among water professionals and institutions involved in planning and decision-making based on new standards for technical and operational excellence. This is necessary for enhanced professional competence and effectively functioning institutions in the region and in order to create an enabling environment for sustainable water management decisions. The hope and expectation is that more effective institutions will ultimately work on the basis of increased public trust and support. This should also ensure more appropriate funding for these institutions in order to fulfill their mandates and create wider public participation in decision-making processes on water and environmental matters.

The enhanced capacity of the Training Centre should make it possible that more funds for trainee fellowships and organization of tailor made training programs become available to the region. Main funding opportunities should be generated through cooperation with SDC (Swiss), GTZ (German) and Asian Development Bank (APWF). Both SDC and GTZ have made commitments for short term support and ADB has made commitments to fund trainee fellowships in the framework of APWF cooperation recently.

The current situation in the irrigated agriculture sector in Central Asia is one where the rural populations suffer most of a combination of the lost management and organization structure on farm level and the continued underinvestment in the sector. This is most evident from the income situation and the living conditions, which have been extendedly researched by national and international organizations in the last decade. The need for agriculture sector reforms in many ways including land ownership structure, cooperative structures for water management, water pricing and agriculture knowledge and skills development among farmers is evident. A strategy for poverty alleviation among the rural population of Central Asia should be based on a combination of structural reform and capacity development and this proposed project, together with the ICWC Training Centre which, is well positioned in the region and has the potential to make an important contribution.

The training of trainer workshops will adopt various new and interactive learning methods, round-table discussions and (partly web based) forums among professionals to impact the water resources and environmental management decision-making process and to improve transboundary “hydro-diplomacy” for consensus building and conflict prevention. It is supposed that the effects of these processes will increase wider involvement of better informed stakeholders and enable cross-sector and trans-boundary public support.

In addition to the mentioned formally planned results (Outputs and Impacts) of the Training Project there are a multitude of overall and side-effects as a result of the improved human and institutional capacity, as well as far-reaching cumulative impacts to important sectors in the region such as hydropower, agriculture and nature protection. In the longer term also Afghanistan is expected to join the ICWC initiative as a sixth riparian country in the Aral Sea Basin.

I Regional Workshop June 7-16, 2010

II Regional Workshop October 26-31, 2010