UNDP raises awareness of water specialists on the issues related to the impact of climate change on water resources of Turkmenistan

September 18, 2023

UNDP raises awareness of water specialists on the issues related to the impact of climate change on water resources of Turkmenistan

UNDP Turkmenistan

Within the framework of the project "Developing the National Adaptation Planning Process in Turkmenistan", implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the financial support of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, a new series of three-days workshops for water specialists were launched. The aim of the workshops is capacity building of water specialists on issues related to the impact of climate change on water resources on a regional and national scale and the implementation of adaptation measures related to the water availability in various sectors of Turkmenistan’s economy. 

The event brought together specialists of city and etrap divisions of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Committee of Water Management, Hyakimlik of Ashgabat, the State Agricultural University named after S.A.Niyazov and the Dashoguz branch of the Directory of International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). 

Agenda of the workshop covered a wide range of topics, including the sustainable use of water resources of Turkmenistan in drinking and municipal water supply, variation of meteorological climate indicators in Turkmenistan and their impact on water consumption, the impact of climate change on the irrigation regime of agricultural crops, innovative measuring instruments as a tool for adaptation to the effects of climate change. 

The series of workshops is organized in partnership with the Scientific-Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (SIC ICWC) and Scientific-Information Center of the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (SIC ICSD) of IFAS to serve as a platform for strengthening ties between water scientists from Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries, opening opportunities for exchange and collaboration among specialists. 

Representatives of the “Ashgabatagyzsuw” Production Association of the Department of Public Utilities of the Ashgabat Hyakimlik presented the results of their work, including the modern technologies for wastewater treatment and best practices for the reuse of treated wastewater and drainage water for technological needs.

The participants visited the new drinking water plant of Ashgabat, where they learned about operations of a water treatment plant designed to provide high-quality drinking water to the population of Ashgabat. The visited plant has a production capacity of 250,000 cubic meters per day and is the fourth in the system of drinking water plants and wells of Ashgabat that form a single loop water supply system of the capital.