Watershed Based institutions in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

The project “Capacity Building for Sustainable Management of Mountain Watersheds in Central Asia and the Caucasus” – GCP/SEC/002/TUR – is funded by the FAO/Turkey Partnership Programme (FTPP). With the support of the Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), FAO Sub Regional Office for Central Asian Countries (FAOSEC) and the Ministry of Forests and Water Affairs of Turkey, it has been implemented in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

With the line of this project it has been prepared a report on watershed based organizations in these countries as of December 2014.

Turkey

Watershed management policies and activities are centrally planned in Turkey. National public institutions/agencies are in charge of planning, development, management, maintenance and monitoring and evaluations of programs related to land use and water resources. Local governments are typically involved during the implementation phase and non-governmental organizations are also indirectly involved in many activities.

When we examine the main watershed-based organizations in Turkey, as December 2014, the three Ministries appears to come first. They are The Ministry of Forests and Water Affairs, The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Together with these Ministries, Ministry of Development plays an important role with its agencies.

The Ministries and their relevant agencies with watershed management could be listed like below;

Ministry of Forests and Water Affairs

• General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion
• General Directorate of Forestry
• General Directorate of Nature Protection and National Parks
• General Directorate of Water Management
• General Directorate of State Hydraulics Work

Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock

• General Directorate of Agricultural Reform
• General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policy

Ministry of Environment and Urbanization

• General Directorate of Naturel Heritage Protection
• General Directorate of Spatial Planning
• General Directorate of Environmental Impact Assessment, Permit and Inspection
• General Directorate of Environmental Management

Ministry of Development

• Southeastern Anatolia Project Regional Development Administration
• Eastern Anatolia Project Regional Development Administration
• Eastern Black Sea Project Regional Development Administration?
• Konya Plains Project Regional Development Administration
• Development Agencies

Prime Ministry-   The Presidency of Disaster and Emergency Management- AFAD

 Other Stakeholders;

• Civil society organizations
• Unions, Chambers
• Cooperatives
• Watershed Associations
• Rural communities living in the watersheds
• Urban communities
• Science and educational institutions (TUBITAK-
  THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF TURKEY, Universities, Research Institutes etc.
• Private sector

Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan there are several institutions, Ministries involving for watershed management. They can be listed like below:

Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources

• Division of Ecology and Nature Protection
• Division of Environmental
• Department of Investment Innovation and Environmental Projects
• Department of Protection of Biodiversity and  Development of Especially Protected Natural Reserves
• Scientific Center of Complex Hydrometeorology and  Environmental Research
• Department of Environmental Protection
• Department of Forest Development
• Department of Reproduction and Protection of Bioresources at Reservoirs
• Department of National Hydrometeorology
• State Information Archive Foundation on Environment and Natural Resources
• Azerbaijan Greenery and Landscape System Public Corporation

Ministry of Agriculture

Ministry of Energy

Ministry of Emergency Situations. This Ministry is a central executive body responsible for protection of the population from natural (geophysical, geological, meteorological, hydrological, maritime hydrological contingencies, natural fires, etc.) and man-made disasters, fire security including forest fires, safety of people in water basins.

Azerbaijan Amelioration and Water Farm Joint Stock Company (OJSC).OJSC is one of the main institutes responsible for watering and sanitization. The President of this organization is being appointed by the President of Azerbaijan. The official web page is http://www.mst.gov.az The main unit based on Baku and it has regional/sub regional offices throughout the country.

Kyrgyzstan

Like in the other project countries, several institutions and initiatives involved watershed management in Kyrgyzstan.  They could be listed like below;

• State Agency on Environment Protection and Forestry under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic- Http://Www.Nature.Kg
• Ministry of Agriculture and Melioration of the Kyrgyz Republic.
• Ministry of Emergency Situation
• National Academy of Sciences, Biology and Soil Institute

• Forest Ecosystems and Protected Areas Department
• Forestry Management Department
• Forestry and Hunting Department
• International Relations Department

Rangelands are very important for watershed and daily life of the people. In Kyrgyzstan rangelands are under the responsibility of Ministry of Agriculture and Melioration.

Development Agencies like Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA[2]), GIZ[3], USAID, Swiss Aid and others are actively involved watershed related projects.

Some other initiatives like the National Policy Dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management which is an ongoing initiative of the Ministry Of Agriculture And Melioration Of The Kyrgyz Republic (Department Of Water Management And Melioration) and European Union Water Initiative National Policy Dialogue Component for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, also play a crucial role.

According to the management structure of Kyrgyz Republic, State Agencies like the State Agency on Environment Protection and Forestry has the same statute with the Ministries. The President of this Agency has been appointed by the President and participates to Ministerial Meetings.

National Centre of Mountain Regional Development of Kyrgyz Republic^[4] could be a good example for other official initiatives.  Several Civil Society Organizations also have important role on watershed management in Kyrgyzstan. CAMP Alatoo www.camp.kg  could be considered one of them.  It is a non-profit and non-governmental organization founded in 2005 and a successor organization of the Central Asian Mountain Partnership (CAMP), a programme financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Jointly with its partner organizations in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, CAMP Alatoo forms part of the CAMP Network, and its overall goal is to contribute to the improvement of people’s livelihoods in the mountain villages of Kyrgyzstan by encouraging a more sustainable use of natural resources.

Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan; The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources is the leading and responsible ministry for Watershed Management.  Systematic management of forests in Uzbekistan dates back to 1897 when the first legislation related to forestry in Turkestan, the “Regulations on Forest Protection” was promulgated. This legislation framed the basic regulations for forest management and established a forest land-use register. Later, following the First Turkestan Congress of Foresters held in 1899, the “Law on Nationalization of Lands and Forests” was adopted in 1918. In compliance with this law, all forests in the Turkestan Republic became part of the State Forest Fund (SFF).

All forestland is the property of the State. The Main Department of Forestry and Nature Protection, which was originally established in 1945, went through a number of reorganizations and was transformed into the Main Forestry Department (MFD) in 2000 and was placed under the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources. The MFD is the principal government agency having the direct responsibility for administering the State Forest Fund (SFF). It consists of six divisions and manages 97 local departments and forestry enterprises

The State Committee for Nature Protection (SCNP) is responsible for coordinating nature protection activities, including implementing government policy on protection of the natural environment and use and restoration of natural resources. Within the SCNP, the State Biological Control Service (SBCS) is responsible for regulating the conservation of flora and fauna and for the sound management of protected areas. .The law on “Water and water use”  was adopted in 1993 and 1996 respectively.

The Department of Hunting, Reserves and National Parks (DHRNP) is directly responsible for the management of national parks, nature reserves and natural monument. In 2005, the Republican Scientific Production Center on Decorative Horticulture and Forestry (RSPCDHF) was established under the MFD on the basis of the former Uzbek Research Institute of Forestry.

 

Tajikistan

The following governmental institutions involved to the watershed works in Tajikistan:

• Environmental Committee Under Government Of Tajikistan
• Agency On Forestry Under Government Of Tajikistan
• Ministry Of Agriculture
• Ministry Of Energy And Water Resources
• Agriculture Academy Of Science Of RT
• Agency for Melioration and Irrigation under the Government of the Republic Of Tajikistan.

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), German Technical Cooperation Agency (GIZ), Swiss Development Agency, JICA, KOICA, USAID are among the international development agencies working in Tajikistan.

FAO, IFAD, the World Bank, the GEF are among the United Nations institutions working actively. European Union supports some projects and plays a vital role in some initiatives.

The following non-governmental institutions are also involved to the watershed works in Tajikistan:

• Aga Khan Foundation and The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) ,
• Caritas International-CARITAS,
• German Agro Action-GAA

Many local NGOs are receiving fund from the donors and international organization for watershed related issues, mostly from the GEF Small Grant Fund (UNDP), Christian Fund, EU and WB. Unfortunately the reports and information on the implemented projects are not available.

International Initiatives Organizations and CSO’s in Five  Countries

Order	Name	Web Page
1	The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council)	http://www.turkkon.org/
2	The Parl?amentary Assembly Of Turk?c-Speak?ng Countr?es	http://www.turk-pa.org/
3	Turkish World Parliamentary Association	http://www.turkdpd.org/
4	Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency	http://www.tika.gov.tr/
5	International Organization of Turkic Culture	http://www.turksoy.org.tr/
6	Republic of Turkey Turks and Related Communities Abroad Presidency	http://www.ytb.gov.tr/
7	Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey	www.mfa.gov.tr
8	Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey	http://www.tarim.gov.tr/
9	Ministry of Forests and Water Affairs of Turkey	www.ormansu.gov.tr
10	The TEMA Foundation (The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats)	www.tema.org.tr
11	The Foundation of Euro-Asia Nature and Training-ADEN
12	The People Caring for the Future-CARFU	www.carfu.org
13	USAID	http://www.usaid.gov/
14	Aga Khan Foundation	http://www.akdn.org/akf
15	GIZ	http://www.giz.de/en
16	Asian Development Bank	http://www.adb.org/
17	CAMP Alatoo	http://camp.kg/?lang=en
18	Central Asian Countries Initiative for Land Management (CACILM)	http://www.thegef.org/gef/projects/CACILM
19	Central Asian Mountain Partnership (CAMP)
20	The World Bank	www.worldbank.org
21	Economic Cooperation Organization	http://www.ecosecretariat.org/
22	FAOSEC	http://www.fao.org/europe/sec/sec/en/
23	Organization of Islamic Cooperation	http://www.oic-oci.org/oicv2/home/
24	Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation	https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza/en/home.html
25	The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)	http://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html
26	the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)	http://www.bsec-organization.org/
27	The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)	http://www.koica.go.kr/english/main.html
28	MountainPartnership	http://www.mountainpartnership.org
29	National Policy Dialogues (NPDs) on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS)	http://www.unece.org/env/water/npd/countrydialogues.html
30	the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation	http://www.sectsco.org/
31	The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS)	http://ec-ifas.waterunites-ca.org/
32	The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)	http://www.s-cica.org/
33	United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification	www.unccd.int
34	CARITAS	http://www.caritas.org/
35	German Agro Action	http://www.globalhand.org/en/organisations/24915
36	The Federation of Eurasian Soil Science Societies	http://fesss.org/