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Community Flood Management and Livelihood Protection in Takhar Province : Afghani., Is Rep. of

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Community Flood Management and Livelihood Protection in Takhar Province : Afghani., Is Rep. of

Timetable

TA Name

Community Flood Management and Livelihood Protection in Takhar Province

Country

Afghani., Is Rep. of

Project Number

41042- 01

Thematic Classification

Economic growth

Description

The project will help the Government reduce flood risk and improved livelihoods for targeted flood-affected communities in Takhar Province. The key outcome will be improved flood management planning, flood preparedness, mitigation, and emergency response for communities and local government at district level.This will include capacity of communities and government officials at provincial and district levels in flood preparedness and mitigation. Flood and riverbank protection infrastrucure will be constructed at critical points to protect community assets including irrigation intakes and canals.

Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

Water is one of Afghanistan's most valuable resources. Given Afghanistan's mountainous topography and variable climatic regime, the country is prone to natural disasters such as flood and drought. In certain areas of the country, floods are a regular occurrence during the seasonal snow/ glacier melt period.
One province that is particularly affected is Takhar Province, located in northern Afghanistan, and which is bordered by the Amu Darya River and its upstream tributary, the River Pianj. The province has a vast flood plain (in the northern part of the Province), currently providing livelihood to a large population of small and isolated rural communities who are generally poor. Agriculture and livestock are the predominant farming enterprises, and these are characterized by low productivity, and there is very limited and inefficient access to markets. The area is subject to heavy seasonal floods from the glacier melt of the Pamir Mountains, and these floods damage and destroy local villages and rural livelihoods. Further, the long period of conflict has resulted in destruction of most of the public infrastructure.

To increase household livelihoods on a sustainable basis in Takhar Province will require the development and improvement in flood management strategies, practices and systems that these rural communities are able to adopt and maintain, and support to improve farm and non farm enterprise returns.

The Government of Afghanistan has indicated that establishing systems to reduce flooding, and for improving flood management is a very high priority in Takhar Province. Further, given that ADB is planning work on the other side of the Pianj River, opposite Takhar Province, in Tajikistan on flood management to assist the Government of Tajikistan in the design and execution of the Khatlon Flood Management Project, the opportunity exists to undertake complementary work on the flood plains in Takhar Province. Key interventions to assist the rural communities on the flood plain would involve improved flood monitoring and management systems, low cost community based protection schemes, and improving livelihood opportunities. A further benefit would be the strengthening of bilateral cooperation with Tajikistan in terms of the hydrological data, flood warnings, adoption of a more integrated river approach to management of these recurrent floods.

The proposed ADB Tajikistan project aims at protecting the rural communities and their agricultural lands from the same recurring floods in the River Pianj through rehabilitation of existing dikes and strengthening the flood preparedness and disaster management capacity in the Tajikistan government and the communities. A PPTA for this project was approved in 2006, and the TA consultants are expected to be fielded within October 2006.

Geographical Location

Takhar Province.

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