Comparison of practices

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources
• Environmental protection

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources

Country: Turkmenistan

Country: Tajikistan

Province: Districts of Republican Subordination

District: Vahdat

Other settlement: town of Vakhdat

17,238 ha of barkhan (sand dune), takyr (dry-type playa) and solonchak (moist-type playa) sites of the Kara Kum Desert; deep ground water occurrence

Located in the Kafirnigan River Basin (river catchment area)

Start date: 01.01.2012

End date: 31.12.2016

Start date: 01.10.2016

End date: 31.12.2016

Desertification and decreased productivity of desert pastures due to over-grazing around existing cattle watering sites

Poor technical condition, operation and maintenance of the irrigation system

Technology of building sardobas (stone-dome covered water collection and storage reservoirs) to enhance pasture water supply

MASSCOTE methodology

Main actions:

• mudflow and flood risk assessment and surveying local population regarding sardobas’ locations.

Actions:

• selection of takyrs to construct sardobas jointly with local cattle-farmers;
• construction of sardobas jointly with local cattle-farmers;
• cleaning takyr surfaces.

Results:

• pastures that were not previously utilized due to absence of water sources returned to pasture rotation;
• pastures destroyed due to over-grazing started to restore;
• increased herd productivity due to reduced passage distances and higher fodder value of pastures.

Actions:

Mapping of the system and services depending on canals’ purpose.

Results:

Financial and economic:

economically effective, fair and sustainable water resource management.

Ecological:

integrated protection of key environmental elements, including prevention of raising ground water level and secondary soil salination as well as irrigation-induced soil erosion, etc.

Technical:

improved technical characteristics of municipal water supply to different stakeholders.

Social:

enhanced welfare of farm employees due to increased income.

Lessons learnt:

Construction of sardobas in takyr areas allows enhancing pasture water supply, thus, leading to the restoration of over-grazed pastures.

Recommendations:

The practice requires long-term planning and an integrated response with the early-on engagement of desertification experts (designing a set of measures to protect takyrs from sand drifts), state agencies (technical assistance) and pasture users (observance of pasture rotation schemes, prevention of takyrs from contamination and pollution).

Lessons learnt:

Express assessment based on MASSCOTE methodology allows to improve the planning of upgrading efforts to ensure better servicing of diversified water uses requiring higher supply flexibility and cost reduction.

Recommendations:

It is necessary to widely deploy the MASSCOTE methodology of express assessment of the condition of irrigation systems and enhancing their operation.

Traditional tools transferred from generation to generation that proved their efficiency in modern conditions

Foreign tools (transfer of foreign experience)

1. Cost of implementation: Low

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha: $1,000-5,000

3. O&M costs: Low

4. Expert support: Needed at implementation stage

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

Project title: Responding to climate change risks for dekhan farming system of Turkmenistan on national and local levels.

Project duration: 2012-2016. 

Project goal and objectives: build the adaptation capacity to respond to climate change impacts, including variability on local and national levels. 

Project beneficiaries: Bori Settlement (over 1,100 people) and Bo-Kurdak Settlement (about 4,500 people).

Project implementer: Ministry of Nature Conservation and UNDP

Project title: Using MASSCOTE methodology for express assessment of the condition of Vakhdat municipal irrigation system.

Project duration: 2016.

Project goal and objectives: designing the irrigation system upgrading and management plan based on MASSCOTE methodology of process diagnostics and assessment of irrigation system performance.

Project beneficiaries: land and water users.

Project implementer: UN FAO.

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SIC ICWC

SIC ICWC