Task Orders
Lebanon: Litani River Basin Management Support Project (September 2009 – September 2012)
IRG is applying the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) through a single river basin authority, the Litani River Authority (LRA), and providing technical assistance and commodities to increase the capabilities of LRA to conduct integrated water management in the Litani Basin. IRG will accomplish this through integrating water management on a basin-wide scale by institutional strengthening, capacity development, and training of the LRA; enhancing stakeholder involvement; assisting LRA to improve monitoring the existing Quaraoun Dam to protect that critical structure, assisting LRA to improve monitoring and managing the surface and ground waters of the Litani Basin; and improving the agricultural practices within the basin to increase economic benefits and reduce pollution in a sustainable manner.
Life - Integrated Water Resource Management II, Egypt (January 2009 - September 2012)
IRG is assisting the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation to expand community and organizational development for integrated water resource management with a focus on sustainability and impact. The IWRM II program will extend previous successes at decentralized water management and decision-making by rural residents achieved under IWRM I. The present program results will support recent reform efforts by the Government of Egypt to help promote the sustainability of the water and waste water sectors in Egypt.
The Program objectives are :
Regional Water Management Benchmarking in MENA Region (August 2008 - July 2011)
This 18 month $1.5 million task order addresses non-structural methods of assisting Middle East North Africa (MENA) region with aridity and a shortage of renewable freshwater resources. Population growth and increasing demands for food, housing and jobs place extreme pressures on water resources throughout the region.
The main tasks under this activity are:
El Alto - Lake Titicaca Pollution Management (Bolivia)(September 2008 -September 2012)
The IRG Team was awarded this 5 year , 5.8 million task order to support eversing the degradation of Lake Titicaca and its impact on the lake's rich biodiversity polluted water feeding the lake sometimes flow red and black and are too contaminated for human or animal consumption.
Recognizing the immeasurable value of Lake Titicaca - designated a Ramsar Site of international importance. The program will begin reversing the degradation and reducing the threats to the biodiversity of the lake's ecosystem, broadly defined as a landscape of marine and terrestrial flora and fauna. Achieving these goals will require using the program's limited resources catalytically and leveraging them by capitalizing on other donor programs, on private sector support through mechanisms that include public private partnerships and Global Development Alliance (GDA) financing, and on methodologies, tools and resources that have been proven successful.
The objectives of this program are the following :
Needs Assessment for Aceh Province, Indonesia (March 2005 - June 2005)
IRG received, on a sole-source basis, the first task order under this contract to conduct a needs assessment for the Aceh Province, Indonesia, to identify opportunities and constraints for rehabilitation of coastal resources and their communities based on the December 2004 tsunami. The assessment included documenting the opportunities for restoring the environmental conditions, livelihoods of the coastal communities over the long term, and the possibilities of developing local institutional/government capacity for participatory coastal planning and management. The IRG Team deployed to Aceh immediately after receiving the Task Order, meeting with key USAID personnel, conducting site visits, and preparing the final report.
Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Development Project (October 2005 - March 2008)
The IRG Team was awarded a two-year, $6 million task order under the water IQC to support the development of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS), in coordination with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, other donor nations, and national governments in the region.
U.S. activities supported each of the essential elements of an IOTWS, including: risk assessment; hazard monitoring, detection and prediction; formulation, dissemination and communication of warning messages; and knowledge and preparedness to act. The program provided targeted technical support to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives in developing and implementing various components of an IOTWS at national and local levels.
Under this task order, the IRG team served as the program integrator, providing technical assistance, coordination, logistics, training and administrative support to USAID's Regional Development Mission/Asia and to international, national and local organizations involved in the development of an IOTWS. The team provided overarching services and coordination support to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and U.S. Forest Service.
Panama Improved Management and Conservation through Critical Watersheds (December 2006 - September 2009)
The IRG team was awarded the Improved Management and Conservation through Critical Watersheds task order in Panama. The successful implementation of USAID's Panama Canal Watershed (PCW) Program FY2007-2009 will foster the sustainable management of water resources and increase biodiversity conservation within four key sub-watersheds and tow protected areas while providing ways to enhance the economic well-being of local residents.
Under this program, USAID/Panama focuses its investments on mitigating key threats facing the ecosystems in the Panama Canal Watershed to maintain the hydrological functioning of the system, protect biodiversity and enhance development services. To that end the program comprises three strategic focus areas for its activities in and around the Panama Canal Watershed:
