Advanced Science and Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED)
On July 11, ASPIRED signed a Memorandum of Collaboration with the Sustainable Energy Development Fund (SEDF) based on their common interest in promoting the use of sustainable energy sources in Armenia. SEDF will provide technical assistance to the beneficiaries of the pilot projects initiated and/or co-financed by the ASPIRED project, which promote the use of solar technologies by the communities and fish-farms of the Ararat Valley.
On July 10, the ASPIRED Project organized a one-day training on sustainable agriculture for the farmers – beneficiaries of the irrigation project in Sayat-Nova community. The main objective of the training was to provide hands-on knowledge to participants regarding crops and irrigation methods, safe use and disposal of fertilizers, nutritional value of crops, as well as common pests and diseases damaging plants. The trainer particularly focused on the use of water-saving irrigation methods, and cultivation of high-value crops, taking into account their seasonal demand, which can provide bigger income to farmers. The training was conducted in the CARD Agricultural Support Center in Darakert, the specialists of CARD Credit and Card Agroservice presented their services available for farmers, including leasing, new machines and tools, seeds and fertilizers.
Scope of Work
Development of a legal package for adopting requirements for protection of water resources in recreation zones of the Ararat basin management area of Armenia.
The Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) Project, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is a 5-year initiative (2015-2020) designed to support sustainable management of water resources in the Ararat Valley through the use of science, innovation and partnerships. The Project is implemented by the Armenian Branch of ME&A.
Within the framework of the Project, the ASPIRED supports the Government of Armenia (GOA) in improving water sector legislation. Under this task, the Project will collaborate with the Ministry of Nature Protection (MNP) of Armenia in implementing priority measures for effective management of water resources in the Ararat Basin Management Areas of Armenia, as stipulated in the Government Decision N: 338-N, dated March 31, 2016 on approving the management plan for the period of 2016-2021 for the Ararat basin management area and priority measures.
Detailed information on the ASPIRED Project activities can be obtained at http://www.aspired.wadi-mea.com
The incumbent in the position of Legal Expert will serve under the general direction of the Project Chief of Party. As part of this Statement of Work, activities will be implemented to provide legal expertise towards improving Armenia’s legislation on protection of water resources in the recreation zones of the Ararat basin management area of Armenia. An Interagency Task force will be established by the ASPIRED Project in collaboration with the Government of Armenia to work on this issue.
The following major tasks are envisaged to be implemented under this SOW:
3. Deliverables
Unless otherwise specified, reports, decisions/legal acts drafted and other related materials shall be submitted in Armenian language and include, but not limited to the following:
All documents shall be submitted in electronic version in MS Word and/or Power Point Presentation formats.
4. Required Expertise
The applicant shall hold advanced university degree (Master’s or PhD) in area of expertise (Law or equivalent in the area of legislation);
5. Timing
It is anticipated that the Contract will be awarded in July 2018. The assignments described in the SOW shall be carried out and completed within 2 (two) months after award of the contract.
Scope of Work
Development of requirements for protection of water resources in recreation zones of the Ararat basin management area of Armenia
The Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) Project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is a 5-year initiative (2015-2020) designed to support sustainable management of water resources in the Ararat Valley through the use of science, innovation and partnerships. The Project is implemented by the Armenian Branch of Mendez England & Associates.
Within the framework of the Project, the ASPIRED supports the Government of Armenia (GOA) in improving water sector legislation. Under this task, the Project will collaborate with the Ministry of Nature Protection (MNP) of Armenia in implementing priority measures for effective management of water resources in the Ararat Basin Management Areas of Armenia, as stipulated in the Government Decision N: 338-N, dated March 31, 2016 on approving the management plan for the period of 2016-2021 for the Ararat basin management area and priority measures.
The incumbent in the position of Hydrologist/Hydromorphology Specialist will serve under the general direction of the ASPIRED Project Chief of Party. As part of this Statement of Work, activities will be implemented to provide technical expertise towards improving Armenia’s legislation on protection of water resources in the recreation zones of the Ararat basin management area of Armenia. An Interagency Task force will be established by the ASPIRED Project in collaboration with the Government of Armenia to work on this issue.
The following major tasks are envisaged to be implemented:
Unless otherwise specified, reports, documents and other related materials shall be submitted in Armenian and include, but not limited to the following:
All documents shall be submitted in electronic version in MS Word and/or Power Point Presentation formats.
The applicant shall hold advanced university degree (Master’s or PhD) in the relevant field – hydrology, hydro morphology or any other related field;
It is anticipated that the Contract will be awarded in July 2018. The assignments described in the SOW shall be carried out and completed within 2 (two) months after award of the contract.
On June 19, ASPIRED Project presented the results of the land-cover/use classification on Ararat Valley to the representatives of the Ministries of Nature Protection, Agriculture, Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources, research and academic institutions. One of the objectives of the ASPIRED Project is to improve the data on the groundwater resources of Ararat Valley, by enhancing current mechanisms of data collection, processing and maintenance.
Simon Papyan, the Head of the Environmental Monitoring and Information Center of the Ministry of Nature Protection thanked USAID for continuous efforts to develop the water management sector of Armenia. Acknowledging the sophisticated analysis done by the ASPIRED Project team, he emphasized that the environmental challenges of the region should be considered in the context of the nexus between the land use and water use issues of the Ararat Valley. The ASPIRED Project used high-resolution satellite imagery Sentinel-2 and the European Environmental Agency’s CORINE (Coordinated Information on the Environment) system to perform the land cover and land use classification of the Ararat Valley. The satellite images were processed to identify the problematic areas requiring additional clarification through ground-truthing with the use of GPS devices. As a final product, ASPIRED has a land cover/use map prepared for the Ararat Valley which was provided to the stakeholders along with the available databases.
The Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources, Vardan Gevorgyan, mentioned that the Republican Geological Fund also possessed significant amount of data and materials. There may be a need for technical discussions between the ASPIRED and the Ministry specialists to verify the consistency between the two data sets.
The land use/cover data will help to generate the precipitation/run-off curves and estimate the hydrological balance, and, more importantly, the water demand and supply balance of the Ararat Valley’s Artesian Basin. The potential applications of these analytical tools are numerous, from environmental protection and hydrology to resource management and agriculture, providing the basis for more informed decision making on the use of available groundwater resources in the Ararat Valley.
Armen Harutyunyan, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, valued the lasting partnership between USAID and the Ministry of Agriculture. Discussing the modern techniques to data collection, Mr. Harutyunyan raised the importance of having a comprehensive electronic map of Armenia that would consolidate of diverse data from nature protection, agriculture, energy and other relevant sectors. He further noted that this might become the next important project of USAID and the Government of Armenia in the nearest future.
On June 6, ASPIRED presented the Ararat Valley groundwater model with the specialists of the Ministry of Nature Protection. The objective of the groundwater modeling is to provide decision support tools on the Ararat Valley groundwater basin, aimed at ensuring efficient management, improving monitoring and control mechanisms over the consumption of the groundwater resources. It’s also an important instrument to assist in planning the long-term demand for water and developing the groundwater resource protection policies.
The groundwater modeling task involves the following steps:
The modeling is carried out in ArcGIS environment, with the use of Arc Hydro Groundwater (AHGW), Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) և MODFLOW software tools.
At the initial stage, the ASPIRED team developed the conceptual model of the Ararat Valley artesian basin which introduces the purpose of modeling, major steps involved, the methodologies, data sets and tools applied as well as expected outcome. The model will cover the Ararat Valley artesian basin within the borders of Armenia up to 900 m altitude. Ararat Valley is one of the priority regions of Armenia due to its agricultural importance, economic value, the population density and the groundwater abstraction rates. The region accounts for nearly 50% of the groundwater abstraction throughout the country.
The development of the groundwater model of the Ararat Valley is indispensable without support of the Ministry of Nature Protection, particularly the experts of the Environmental Monitoring and Information Center (EMIC). During the meeting, both the ASPIRED and EMIC representatives emphasized the importance of the team work in the accomplishment of this challenging task given the size and the geological complexity of the Ararat Valley’s artesian basin.
The pilot project is implemented in partnership with Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling company as part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed on July 20, 2016. Twenty groundwater abstraction points at the fisheries of Ararat Valley will be equipped with the flow meters and data loggers to transmit the data to the remote server installed in the Ministry of Nature Protection. The data will be updated every five minutes and stored on the server for up to five years.
At the pilot stage, the system covers four large fisheries of the Ararat Valley – Alex Grig, Inter Aqua, Max Fish, and Unifish companies with limited liability. After the successful launch of the system, the Government plans to extend the network onto other fisheries of the Ararat Valley.
The installation of the automatic monitoring system will ultimately help to enhance the monitoring of the groundwater use in the Ararat Valley and control over the compliance with approved water use permits. Moreover, availability of a reliable data system and analytical tools will provide the basis for more informed decision-making on water resources in the Ararat Valley.
The clarifications to the pre-bid meeting held by the ASPIRED Project under the IFB # 040418-01 Supply of PE Pipes and Fittings, and Pipeline Mounting Work under Sayat-Nova Water Reuse/Irrigation Rehabilitation Project can be viewed (in Armenian) via the link Pre-bid clarifications_sayat-nova bid
Construction of the pumping station is underway for the irrigation improvement project in Sayat-Nova village. The main building is nearly completed and the sub-contractor supplied the pumps ready for installation. The pumping station is built at Masis-Dzuk fish-farm, the owner of which endorsed the idea of channeling the fish farm outlet water to the farmlands of Sayat-Nova community. The newly built network will allow irrigating 60 ha of land at the moment, with further potential for expansion. More information on the project and partners here.
Invitation for Bids (IFB)
for Supply of PE Pipes and Fittings, and Pipeline Mounting Work,
under Sayat-Nova Water Reuse/Irrigation Rehabilitation Project
ASPIRED is soliciting Bids for the supply of PE pipes and fittings and provision of PE pipe welding and pipeline mounting work under a broader project on water reuse and irrigation rehabilitation in Sayat-Nova Village. The bid requirements can be viewed in the attached document: IFB_Sayat Nova_Pipes_eng
Bids must be submitted no later than 17:00, Yerevan Time, on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Each bidder must submit one hard copy of the bid to USAID ASPIRED Project office at CITADEL Business Center, 105/1, Teryan Street, Suite 204, Yerevan.