Aral Sea Water and Environmental Management Project - Implementation Completion Report. 2004. (148 KB)
An accurate rating of project outcomes would be "moderately satisfactory". However, this ICR rates the project as “unsatisfactory,” since no “moderately satisfactory” category exists in the PDS format. The "U" rating has been given for three reasons: First, overall financial management in particular, was weak. Second, the project lacked ownership by the five countries as project implementation was dominated by the leader of the project management and coordination unit (PMCU) based in Uzbekistan; line agencies in the other countries were not properly represented in decision making during project implementation. Third, the project did not achieve the stated objective of reducing withdrawals of water for irrigation by 15% over the project period. This was intended as a target of the overall Aral Sea Basin Program. However, the Water and Environment Management Project documents also show this as a project target. It was unrealistic to state this ambitious goal as the target of a US$20 million project. (p. 2)
73: Water and Environmental Management in the Aral Sea Basin