On 14 December 2022, 13 representatives of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Turkmenistan and the design institute “Turkmen Water Project” of the State Committee of Water Management of Turkmenistan met to study the optimization of the efficiency of water resources use while maximizing productivity for agriculture, energy and other sectors of the economy, the Regional Environmental Center of Central Asia reports.
At the session organized by the European Union with the assistance of the USAID Regional Project on Water Resources and the Environment, a simulation game Nexus was organized, which asked players to deal with a number of hypothetical scenarios for managing upstream and downstream relationships while addressing water needs of residents, industry and agriculture within the framework of a changing climate.
In practice, the game teaches players how to apply various types of water policy and regulation to promote the sustainable development of water and other resources.
“The Interactive Nexus Simulation is an excellent tool for training future specialists who will work in key sectors and manage such vital resources as water, energy and food. Ensuring the interconnection of these resources will help the Central Asian countries solve environmental issues and make their economies more resilient to climate change,” said Berdyev Babakhan, Coordinator for International Relations at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Turkmenistan.
The participants were also trained on how to conduct the game to play with the students:
“Taking into account the challenges faced by the environment today, the relevance of the introduction of the intersectoral Nexus approach is undeniable in ensuring water, energy and food security in Turkmenistan,” said Georgy Kurtovezov, Head of the Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Use of the Institute “Turkmen Water Project”.
The EU and USAID conducted similar trainings with more than 100 participants from leading universities and public service academies throughout Central Asia.
The EU-funded project “Central Asian Dialogue to Promote Sectoral Financing through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus” is being implemented by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CARECECO) in the period 2020-2023. The total budget of the second phase of the project is 1.25 million euro; the EU contribution is 1 million euro.
This project is part of the global Nexus Dialogues Program held in five regions of the world with the financial support of the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).///nCa, 16 December 2022