Kyrgyz Republic seeks river basin planning consultant

The Department of Water Resources and Land Improvement of the Kyrgyz Republic seeks to appoint an International River Basin Planning Consultant for the Karadarya-Syrdarya river basin. Expressions of interest from qualified consultants should be submitted by 18 March.

The objective of the National Water Resources Management Project Phase 1 assignment is to introduce a mechanism for improving the river basin plans to meet international standards and approval by the River Basin Councils.

The River Basin Plan should be developed to an international standard and should include (but not necessarily be limited to) the following key elements: an assessment of the quality and quantity of water resources within the river basin; an identification of current and anticipated future types and quantities of water use; an evaluation of the quantity of water available for additional use, if any, taking into account environmental requirements and any obligations under international law; identifies a need for water for ecological and human needs (including environmental flow needs, as defined by the project environmental team); an assessment of the risks of water shortages, drought, flood, pollution and dam failure within the river basin and the costs of preventing, reducing or mitigating of such risks; an identification of areas in which there are particular risks of diffuse source pollution; a review of existing protection zones; identification of the areas at risk from floods and mudflows and types of activities that should be prohibited or restricted in such areas; preparation of appropriate maps and graphs to clearly illustrate spatial and temporal variation of hydrological parameters (such as are available for the river basin); a clear identification, both descriptive and in tabular form of the problems and issues related to water resources in the river basin; a clear presentation of potential actions, projects and programmes to address identified problems and issues and achieve the stated objectives; a preliminary identification of implementing agencies and sources of funding for short to mid-term actions and projects; and, a clear schedule for plan implementation with scale appropriate for short-, medium- and long-term actions and programmes. The full text of the Terms of Reference can be viewed on the websites www.nwrmp.water.gov.kg and www.donors.kg.

A letter of application and CV in Russian and English should be submitted either to nwrmp@elcat.kg or in person to: Almaz Umetaliev, National Water Resources Management Project – Phase 1 Implementation Unit, under the Department of Water Resources and Land Improvement, Office 302, 4a Toktonaliev str., Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic; Tel: +996 312 54 91 03; Fax: +996 312 54 49 72; Email: almaz@water.gov.kg.