EMBASSY DUSHANBE REQUESTS EMBASSY SCIENCE FELLOW

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SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, PERLA R. LUCERO AT OES/STC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT APER KSCA TSPL OTRA SENV TI
SUBJECT: EMBASSY DUSHANBE REQUESTS EMBASSY SCIENCE FELLOW

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1. Embassy Dushanbe requests an Embassy Science Fellow for the
proposals below. The projects described below benefit the
environment and have a direct effect on the well-being of the
people of Tajikistan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union,
Tajikistan's impoverished status has directed scientific work
towards improving the health and environment sector.
Tajikistan's scientific community is open to international
cooperation. An Embassy Science Fellow would help strengthen
ties with the community, transfer valuable knowledge and skills
as well as deliver concrete assistance from the United States.


2. Embassy Dushanbe also supports the Central Asia Regional
Hub's ESF request from Embassy Tashkent for a specialist to
assess national parks and forestry management in the region.


3. Proposal 1: Solutions for Water Potability and Water-borne
Diseases (EPA):

Embassy Dushanbe requests an Embassy Science Fellow to conduct
research on the overall situation and solutions for water
potability and water-borne disease in Tajikistan. In
Tajikistan, water-borne diarrheal diseases carry great danger
for the state and the health of the people. According to
available data, (which, notably is insufficient),74,318 (in
1999) to 66,629 (2003) cases of diarrheal diseases are
registered annually. Approximately 80% of these cases are
children under 14 years of age. The water supply quality is
greatly affected by bad sanitary technical conditions of pump
stations and distribution networks, lack of chlorine,
coagulants, and a lack of spare parts. In 2001, water analyses
in Tajikistan indicate that 35.3 % of the samples did not meet
the microbiological standards. The percentage of samples not
meeting the microbiological standards was reported to be 30.7 %
in 2002. The comparative analysis on gastrointestinal
infectious diseases for the last 5 years (1999-2003) has shown
that water is the major factor for infectious diseases
outbreaks. Moreover, treating diarrheal diseases is expensive,
since medical aid is often not sought until the latest stages of
the disease, when heavy dehydration requires expensive medicines
for the treatment. More than 568,000 or 4.5 % beds per day in
the hospitals of the Republic are occupied by patients with
diarrhea, which requires a large chunk of the state health
budget. Diarrheal diseases have a negative impact on the labor
market. No affordable and feasible solutions have been
presented to fix this rampant nationwide problem. An EPA Fellow
could complete the following activities:

-- Investigate the current situation water supply system and
water-borne diseases in Tajikistan.
-- Create a summary of the current national and international
programs in place to ameliorate the problem of water-borne
disease.
-- Present a concrete action plan for how Tajikistan can take
specific, affordable steps towards improving the supply of
potable water and decreasing the frequency of water-borne
diarrheal disease in the country.


4. Embassy Dushanbe was unable to host an Embassy Science
Fellow last year and would like to resubmit the following
proposals for reconsideration.


5. Proposal 2: Uranium Tailings in Khujand Region (USGS):

Ten uranium tailings sites in the Khujand region in northern
Tajikistan store 54 million metric tons of uranium waste.
During the Soviet Union, Tajikistan was a source for uranium
mining and processing. Tajikistan also has the unfortunate
legacy of uranium waste dumped in unsecured locations. The
majority of the sites were not properly constructed. Because of
this the radioactive waste could possibly contaminate
groundwater given an earthquake or flooding of some of the
rivers, and there are concerns that contamination has already
leached into the groundwater supply, causing many health
problems among the local population. A Fellow from USGS could
complete the following tasks:

-- Take samples of groundwater around uranium tailing sites for
a baseline
-- Train Tajik scientists in effective monitoring of groundwater
contamination
-- Examine the public health effects of radioactive waste
contamination
-- Draft an issue report on the status of radioactive
contamination in northern Tajikistan


6. Proposal 3: Pest Risk Assessment and Integrated Pest
Management
(USDA):

Tajikistan's economy depends primarily on agriculture. However,
more than 10 years after the fall of the Soviet Union,

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agricultural practices have not been updated and modernized,
leading to steady declines in production. Tajiki crops are
infested by pests and farmers must resort to pesticides.
However, these chemical inputs cause concern because of their
lack of long-term sustainability and environmental impact.
Tajik farmers are also not well aware of alternate methods of
pest control, and often do not plan pests. Post proposes a
science fellow with background in pest risk assessment and
integrated pest management (IPM) from the USDA to come to
Tajikistan for the following activities:

-- Work with the Ministry of Agriculture on a pest risk
assessment
-- Introduce the Ministry of Agriculture to modern pest control
methods, such as IPM
-- Hold seminars on IPM at the Agricultural University and for
the Union of Dekhan Farmers
-- Assist post with writing technical reports on the status of
Tajik farming.


7. Proposal 4: Seismology network and Sarez and Nurek
Assessments
(USGS):

Tajikistan is a seismically active country without the
technology and resources to adequately monitor earthquakes that
take place. Lake Sarez, located in the high Pamir mountain
range, was created in an earthquake and could inundate much of
the country if the natural dam breaks. Additionally, the
man-made Nurek Reservoir is essentially located on a major fault
line. The Soviets had a seismic monitoring system in Tajikistan
that has since crumbled after the fall of the Union. A USGS
Science Fellow could complete the following tasks:

-- Evaluate the seismic risk associated with Lake Sarez and
Nurek Reservoir
-- Examine the old earthquake alert system and make proposals on
how to rehabilitate it
-- Conduct seminars at the Academy of Sciences on earthquake
planning.


8. Additional skills required:

The Fellow must have strong research skills, as well as
networking skills. Knowledge of Russian language is strongly
preferred in addition to a basic knowledge of and experience
working in the former Soviet Union. The Fellow should have
strong knowledge of the proposal topics.


9. Preferred timeframe for hosting this fellow:

Embassy Dushanbe will be relocating during the summer months of
2006 and requests an Embassy Science Fellow no earlier than
September 2006. Post expects the Fellow's work to last one
month.


10. Proposed housing, office support, and in country travel
arrangements:

Post is prepared to provide the Fellow with housing, office
space, in-country travel arrangements and logistical support as
needed. In addition, Fellows will be able to use the following
Embassy services: CLO, security, mail, check cashing, and access
to Post Health Unit and recreational association facilities.
Post will assist in arranging meetings with appropriate contacts.


11. Clearances

Post requests the Fellow have a SBU security clearance at
minimum for the one-month duration. The Fellow should obtain
all necessary vaccinations and medication prior to travel to
Tajikistan.


12. Point of Contact:

Uyen Tang
Political/Economic Officer
U.S. Embassy Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Telephone: +992- 372-21-03-52
Fax: +992-372-21-03-62
HYPERLINK "mailto:tangut2@state.gov" tangut2@state.gov

Back up Point of Contact:

Elizabeth Horst
Political/Economic Section Chief
U.S. Embassy Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Telephone: +992- 372-21-03-52
Fax: +992-372-21-03-62
horstek@state.gov
HOAGLAND