Project Description

FAO Climate Water Resilience Management Turkmenistan 

Donor:  Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)|   Duration: August 2024 – December 2024  |  Location: Turkmenistan

Project Background:

Turkmenistan’s agricultural sector is a significant component of the national economy, contributing approximately 11.5% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012 – 2020. In terms of employment, the sector engaged about 22.67% of the total workforce in 2022, making it a vital driver of economic development and food security.  

However, the agricultural sector is a significant contributor to environmental degradation, generating around 12,44% of the nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while contributing to land degradation and biodiversity loss. These emissions are compounded by inefficient agricultural practices, excessive water use, and land degradation, underscoring the urgent need for transformative action. 

Turkmenistan’s land resources, including its 4.6 million hectares of agricultural land and unique ecosystems such as the tugai forests and desert landscapes, hold immense potential to mitigate climate change. However, challenges such as salinization, which affects over 50% of irrigated lands, and waterlogging due to inefficient drainage systems have diminished the ability of these landscapes to function as effective carbon sinks. The Amu Darya River, a critical water source for agriculture, is over-utilized, leading to reduced flow rates and heightened salinity levels, further exacerbating ecological degradation.

Project objective

The overall objective of the project is to support the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)’s activities and the preparation of PRODOC in order to enhance ecosystem services, sustainable utilization of natural capital and increased resilience to climate change impacts in Turkmenistan. Specifically, the project aims to deliver two outputs:

  • Increased technical capacity of farmers and government staff in the Lebap region in applying NbS practices;
  • Supporting the preparation of the PRODOC of a GEF-8 project, “Catalyzing the Nature-Positive Transformation of the Agricultural Sector in Turkmenistan towards Enhanced Resilience to Climate Change

Project activities

The objectives of the project are to be achieved through the following activities:

  1. Identify the existing situation hindering or facilitating the implementation and scaling up of NbS; 
  2. Based on information collected by the national consultants in FAO on biogeological description, climate conditions, environmental challenges, etc., identify the relevant NbS practices; formulation and evaluation of adaptation options, including, but not limited:
  • solutions aiming to increase the water storage in the soil root zone;
  • solutions to protect watercourses and field boundaries;
  • water sowing and harvesting, including water treatment.
  1. Identify capacity-building experiences and socio-economic needs for the implementation of proposed NbS;
  2. Provide technical support to the national consultants in organizing and presenting at the workshop on the assessment of NbS capacity in the Lebap region;
  3. Identify the relevant NbS practices for demonstration plots: a) practices aiming to increase water storage in the soil root zone, b) interventions to protect watercourses and boundaries (vegetative buffers and barriers,) c) green infrastructures to retain, regulate and store water in the farm or agricultural watershed);
  4. Support the GEF design specialist to prepare the logframe and the results-based framework for the GEF project jointly with the national consultant; in particular, the component related to the implementation of NBS practices and investments;
  5. Review background information on land degradation and NBS in Turkmenistan;
  6. Analyse and synthesize current NbS practices in Turkmenistan and barriers for its implementation and scaling up;
  7. Analyse key policies, stakeholders and initiatives in the country that are relevant for land degradation, environmental management and NBS and summarize the findings in the form of specific prodoc sections (e.g. stakeholder engagement, capacity development, knowledge management);
  8. Mainstream the identified NBS practices (land and water) in TCP into the PRODOC, including its impact; and
  9. Synthesize the information gathered above in a written format to be used in different PRODOC sections and annexes, (baseline scenario, barriers, description of components, knowledge management, etc.), related to NbS and the overall intervention of the project.