Last week in Ashgabat, USAID hosted a national workshop to familiarize government officials in Turkmenistan with the latest innovations for improved forecast modeling of natural resource use in the Amu Darya River Basin.
The workshop focused on software packages — Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP), Low-Emission Analysis Platforms (LEAP) and others — to help participants visualize the impacts of various decisions on water and energy forecasts in the basin and to identify best pathways for ensuring sustainable development of the basin.
The seminar was attended by 10 specialists from the State Committee of Water Management, the Design Institute “Turkmensuvylymtaslama” (Turkmen Water Project), the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna, the Hydrometeorological Service, the Ministries of Energy and Finance. The national expert of the project, trained by USAID to work with this software, demonstrated the technical capabilities of these programs and acquainted the participants with the results of using these tools in the Syrdarya River basin, and also spoke about the intermediate results of modeling in the Amudarya River basin.
USAID’s training program on innovative water resources management tools is helping specialists from Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries gain the skills they need to apply these tools in their work. The program is also promoting intersectoral cooperation, which is essential for more sustainable water management in the region. ///nCa, 4 September 2023 [photo credit – USAID]
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