Transforming Water Management for Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Resilience

1. DCC Working Group 2 "Water and Climate Change"MTDS (GoT) priorities for the sector Under 4.7 Habitat of the MTDS, Working Group 2 deals with: • Increasing access to safe drinking water, and improving hygiene and sanitation • Development of governmental sole forecasting and response system against natural disasters (through strengthening resilience to flood and droughts thanks to improved water management) Under 3.2.  Agrarian Sector: Food Security and Access to Quality Nutrition we deal with the following lines of action: • The principles of integrated water resources management and river-basin management approach implemented, which provide for transition from administrative water resources management to hydrological boundaries (of river basins). Four national River Basin and four River Sub-basin organisations established, focusing on addressing operational issues in the field of irrigation. • rehabilitating irrigation systems, and facilitating sustainable functioning of the irrigation and drainage infrastructure operation and maintenance system in order to promote sustainable agriculture and food security.

2. DCC Working Group 2 "Water and Climate Change"Development Partners’ interventions / Donor’s support • Water Sector Reform Programme 2016-2025 approved by the GoT 30 December 2015 • Coordination Unit for implementation of reforms established to ensure effective cooperation among state agencies and between them and development partners • US$ 240 million contribution by development partners in the water sector includes: • support to reform implementation, building viable capacities of national and basin authorities to effectively implement the reforms, • Enhance capacity to support IWRM at central (MEWR), basin and sub-basin level, including development of norms and standards, policy and strategy development, application of common approaches in all basins and sub-basins • Develop land and water planning tools and related capacity, ongoing review of the river basin planning, catchment assessments and baseline data collection . • Improve water control/availability and increased water distribution/equity for water users, technical and legal support for WUA • Support provided to KMK regionalization process – establishment of pilot regional water companies • Rehabilitation of irrigation and drinking water infrastructure • Rehabilitation of irrigation and drinking water infrastructure

3. DCC Working Group 2 "Water and Climate Change"What is missing? But is important for the sector development • The Water sector is one of the most important sectors in Tajikistan, in support of agriculture, industry, environment, energy and others, not mentioned in the MTDS, nor in NDS. • One main issue in implementing water reforms is confused and overlapped (current) regulations and charters of state agencies, mixing policy, regulation and operations • Other issues are legal and fiscal (taxation) status of WUA, tariffs, mechanisms to ensure the Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) sector’s financial autonomy • Therefore, MTDS should clearly state that there is an urgent need for existing charters and regulations to be reviewed and revised • Sustainability is a major issue, which WSS sector is facing. • Rural water supply and sanitation sub-sector is underfunded.

4. DCC Working Group 2 "Water and Climate Change"Priority areas / Results to be achieved by 2020 • Issues mentioned in the MTDS  in 3.2. and 4.7 will be addressed, as follows: • Development of water sector reform strategy and implementation of water sector reform • Development of a whole range of legislative frameworks, including development of a new edition of the Water Code and the Law on WUAs, in line with IWRM principles and River Basin Management (RBM) approaches; • Developing a set of necessary strategies, notably National Water Strategy as the umbrella for the entire water sector, followed by irrigation and drinking water strategies; • Institutional reforms: • defining roles and responsibilities of state institutions with clear separation of policy and regulation on one hand and operation and maintenance on the other hand • new institutions need to be created and developed, such as the National Water Council, River Basin Organisations (RBOs) and River Basin Councils (RBCs),

5. DCC Working Group 2 "Water and Climate Change"Priority areas / Results to be achieved by 2020 - continued • Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) • Development of Regulatory frameworks allowing for integrated water resources management; • Enhanced capacity to regulate control and support IWRM at central, basin and sub-basin level • Targeted communities and water users benefit from improved water control/availability and from increased water distribution/equity • Land and water planning tools are operational and related capacity is developed, including at sub-basin level • Infrastructure developments • Improved water supply, reduced water losses and improved water metering in some Tajik cities, towns and settlements • Our intervention in the water sector is directly related to the adaptation to the impact of climate changes and disaster risk reduction (preservation of natural resources - irrigation and drinkable water, soil, arable land, erosion control measures, etc.)