Developing a National Adaptation Planning Process in Turkmenistan

The project “Developing a National Adaptation Planning Process in Turkmenistan” aims to strengthen Turkmenistan’s adaptive and resilience capacities by strengthening institutional framework and evidence base for climate change adaptation including adaptation planning.  

Turkmenistan is vulnerable to climate change due to the steady temperature rise and increasing water deficiency. While the changing climate is impacting the entire economy, the water sector is suffering most acutely. To address these vulnerabilities, the project focuses on water resources at the national level planning and specifically on the water sectors of the City of Ashgabat and at the sub-national level the Province of Dashoguz. The water sector has been selected as the priority issue to start the NAP process due to being both a key sector of economy and a core contributing factor to other national priority sectors. In addition, the project will support the establishment of systems, processes and capabilities to build an effective NAP process. Further sectors such as agriculture, health and urban areas will be gradually added.

The project activities will address the following barriers: (1) An absence of an institutional coordination mechanism for adaption planning and implementation of the Paris Agreement; (2) Insufficient information for developing policies and plans to conduct effective adaptation planning and inform development planning as it relates to water resources; (3) Insufficient capacity of key institutions to conduct adaptation planning; (4) Private sector actors in the agriculture sector are not sufficiently informed about the climate change risks and adaptation opportunities. The project’s results will complement other key foundational measures including Turkmenistan’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), the Third and the Fourth National Communication, and the National Climate Change Strategy. 

The following results are expected to be delivered under the three outcomes: 

• The institutional framework to implement the Paris Agreement is established; 
• A coordination mechanism to implement the adaptation components of the Paris Agreement established and operationalized;
• Updating of the adaptation components of Turkmenistan’s NDC 2020 supported;
• Climate risks identified, assessed and prioritized;
• Entry points for incorporating climate risks into policies and plans related to water resources are identified;
• Adaptation options identified, budgeted, prioritized and supported by concept notes;
• The capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection is enhanced;
• The capacity of water planners is strengthened (at the national level and in Ashgabat and Dashoguz);
• Private Sector is informed about adaptation challenges, options and opportunities in the water resources sector.

Project updates

The project team has started the project implementation by conducting a gender analysis and preparation of the Gender Action Plan to ensure gender mainstreaming in all project activities. Currently, the NAP Baseline Assessment is being conducted including the assessment of public expenditures in adaptation measures and capacity building activities are being carried out to strengthen the coordination mechanisms for the NAP process in Turkmenistan.