TA to MEW to better mgmt and sustainable protection of water & land use

Provision of TA to MEW to contribute to better management and sustainable protection of water and land use throughout the Panj-Amu Darya River Basin

The overall objective of the Project, of which this contract is part, is ‘to contribute to the improvement of rural livelihoods (food security and farm incomes) and thus to the overall economic recovery of Afghanistan, respectfully of the natural resource base.’. The purpose of this TA contract, which will contribute to the overall Project objective, is: ‘Water and land resources are more economically and equitably managed and sustainably protected.’

Results to be achieved through the contract include:

• Result 1: Integrated River Basin (RB) and project management capacity at central government, Panj-Amu River Basin and Upper & Lower Kunduz / Taloqan Sub-basin levels is further enhanced:




• Result 1.1: Basin and sub-basin organisations are in place while project management capacity is enhanced at central government level in relation to river basin;


• Result 1.2: Capacity for integrated river basin management further enhanced;


• Result 1.3: Land and water planning tools at basin level are operational;




• Result 2: Hydraulic systems are sustainably improved and Water Users' Associations / Groups (WUA/Gs) strengthen the existing Mirab system to allow a more equitable distribution of irrigation water and more efficient Operation & Maintenance (O&M) by the water users:




• Result 2.1: Irrigation, drainage and water flow control assets and structures in selected hydraulic systems in the Upper & Lower Kunduz and Taloqan sub-basins are rehabilitated and sustainably improved where appropriate;


• Result 2.2: Targeted communities represented by their WUAs have the technical, business and management skills required to improve the management of irrigation water and enhance its equitable distribution and ensure the application of their agreed O&M plans;




• Result 3: Biomass increases and physical and biological erosion control measures are adopted and replicated in selected sub-catchments;


• Result 4 (horizontal):




• Result 4.1: Any necessary administrative assistance is provided to the Contracting Authority in the management of the Programme;


• Result 4.2: Liaison, synergies and complementarities within the Programme and between the Programme and other similar initiatives are developed and lessons learned through programme implementation serve to improve the relevant sector policy development and programming (incl. institutional replication in other basins);


• Result 4.3: Local and governmental monitoring capacity is strengthened.

• Management of large-scale EC projects, preferably in a post-conflict environment and/or in Central or South-Asia, with a focus on institution building