EVAL_ENV_FinalPR_DamSafety_31Dec2024
Evaluation of the Project
Capacity Building for Cooperation on Dam Safety in Central Asia (July 2021)
Final Progress Report as of 31 December 2023
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Evaluation of the Project Capacity Building for Cooperation on Dam Safety in Central Asia (July 2021)
Final Progress Report as of 31 December 2023
# Recommendation Management response Responsibility Date of implementation/comments
1 UNECE to continue supporting national and regional capacities on hydraulic and hydro- electric structures and cooperation on dam safety, in close cooperation with relevant global and regional organizations, and donors.
UNECE partially accepts the recommendation. Depending on available funding UNECE will continue to support cooperation on dam safety if a proper regional institution willing to address the dam safety challenges is allocated. However, supporting capacities on hydro-electric structures has never been the focus of UNECE initiative. UNECE will explore cooperation opportunities with the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) which is mandated to address the dam safety challenges in the region.
Project Manager Closed without implementation in June 2023 During the reporting period efforts were made to identify a regional institution mandated to address the dam safety challenges in Central Asia. On 27 July 2021, a letter was sent to the Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) with the proposal to lead and coordinate the work on dams’ challenges in the region. A reminder was sent on 3 December 2021. As of June 2023, no response has been received regarding the letter addressed to the IFAS. In addition, the project manager raised this issue during a meeting with the Executive Director of IFAS. Despite the expressed importance of this area for the region, the Executive Director did not welcome the inclusion of this matter in IFAS’ activities. .
2 UNECE Secretariat to present the findings of this review to the Committee on Environmental Policy to continue promoting dam safety awareness across all government agencies and among general public.
UNECE accepts the recommendation. The results of the evaluation and the management response will be presented at the next CEP meeting in November 2021.
Programme Manager
Implemented as of 30 June 2022 The results of the evaluation and the management response were presented at the Committee on Environmental Policy, 3-5 November 2021 https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2021- 12/Item_3_presentation_Dam_Safety_project.pdf
3 During the future similar project designs UNECE should include explicit provisions to address gender equality, vulnerable people and disabled in project activities, outcomes, as well as reporting. One of the directions
UNECE partially accepts the recommendation. 1. Gender assessment is part of the standard template of the concept note and it was addressed at the design stage of the project. As to the vulnerable and disable people this aspect
Project Manager and PMU
Partially implemented as of 31 December 2023 1. The updated ECE Concept Note and Project Document template includes requests to assess stakeholders’ vulnerabilities and how the intervention attempts to bridge them. It also asks an assessment of how the project addresses gender equality, human rights,
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# Recommendation Management response Responsibility Date of implementation/comments could be to make a study/assessment of how gender roles, as well as situation of vulnerable/disabled people could be influenced by displacement and environmental migration as a consequence of a major dam accident. National crisis management agencies should be actively integrated in these efforts
was not part of the project template and can be added subject to amendment of the concept template.
2. Follow-up projects on dam safety will assess in the inception phase the potential impact of the project on gender equality and the situation of the vulnerable groups, as reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Leaving no one behind and disability inclusion. 2. As of 31 December 2023 there was no follow up project on dam safety. This recommendation is closed as not implemented.
5 In the future projects UNECE should systematically assess, monitor and document the usefulness and expected impact of the capacity development workshops by canvassing feedback from the participants through a well-tailored questionnaires, quiz approach application and internet based tools as e.g. Survey Monkey. These assessments should include a space for qualitative comments and improvement proposals by participants
UNECE accepts the recommendation. This recommendation will be brought to the attention of the Director of Environment Division and will apply in future Dam Safety projects if any.
Project Manager Implemented as of 30 June 2022 The recommendation was brought to the attention of the Director of Environment Division and will apply in future dam safety projects.
6 The purposes of sustainability in development of legal, regulatory and technical frameworks on dam safety in Central Asia, UNECE should maintain frequent engagement with Governments and other partners through, but not limited to, advisory missions
UNECE accepts the recommendation. The challenges and the need to strengthen cooperation in the area of dam safety in the region as well as the results of the UNECE initiative will be presented at the various events (SPECA Working Group on Water, Energy and Environment, relevant regional platforms; Water MoP) conducted in the region. UNECE will also provide advisory, intermediary, mediation services to other donor and development organizations (e.g. IWAC, GIZ, AFD) interested in addressing the Central Asian countries' dam safety challenges. In addition, it will be implemented through various relevant missions including conducted by the Regional Advisor on Environment.
Programme Manager and
Regional Adviser
Implemented as of 31 December 2023 The project results, lessons learnt as well as the dam safety challenges in the region are regularly presented at the regional and national events that are conducted in Central Asia. The final results of the project were presented at the SPECA Working Group on Water, Energy and Environment, 10-11 November 2021. The project manager is regularly contacted and consulted by governments and regional organizations that are engaged or plan to engage in the dam safety activities in the region. For example, inputs were provided to the work plan of the International Water Assessment Center (IWAC). UNECE has continued to raise awareness about the project results in subsequent years. A presentation was delivered at the 25th meeting of the SPECA WG on Water, Energy and Environment. UNECE staff attended
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# Recommendation Management response Responsibility Date of implementation/comments the 2nd International Training Workshop on the Safety of Hydraulic Structures (https://iwac.kz/index.php/en/news/340-central-asian- experts-will-share-experiences-in-ensuring-the-safety-of- hydraulic-structures-at-a-workshop-in-bratislava ) organized by the International Water Assessment Center in cooperation with Government of Slovakia Cooperation on water resources and dam safety was a topic for discussion of a meeting between the UNECE ES and a staff member with the Slovak organizations dealing with these issues (23 November 2022). UNECE received a letter from the Ministry of Water Resources of Uzbekistan with a request to support addressing dam safety in the country. On 20 April 2023 the need to strengthen dam safety cooperation was discussed at the regional meeting organized by the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA). Initiating new activities on dam safety was also discussed with the OSCE Office in Dushanbe on 5 May 2023.