ICWC TRAINING CENTER SEMINAR ON INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
From 16 to 19 February 2004, working seminar “Integrated water resources management at rayon level” was held in ICWC Training Center. The participants of the seminar discussed the current problems of water resources management and presented their proposals for introducing IWRM at the local level.
From the first days of the independence, the countries in Central Asia began to reform land use and agriculture, following which at rayon level thousands of water users appeared instead of the former collective and state farms. Thereafter, some break happened during the reforms between agriculture and water sector. This served as one of the main causes for such deterioration of the status of on-farm reclamation systems.
In the recent years, the transfer to basin principle of water management is being implemented in water sector of Uzbekistan. This management principle is new to some extent to many water specialists in the republic. That is why there is a need for acquainting the personnel of water organizations with the main principles of basin management and other peculiarities that can appear in day-to-day activity owing to the transfer. Toward this end, ICWC Training Center and the Ministry of Gariculture and Water Resources (MAWR) of Uzbekistan organized a seminar dedicated to IWRM.
The seminar was opened by Kh.K. Gapparov, Head of Balances Department at the MAWR of Uzbekistan, P.D. Umarov, Director of ICWC TC, and Z. Jurayev, Depute Head of Balances Department at the MAWR of Uzbekistan. The participants of the meeting were the representatives from the national water organizations of Uzbekistan, scientific-research institutes and SIC ICWC.
At the seminar, the participants were acquainted with various aspects of water resources use in Central Asia and a new water use plan model.
À) It was noted that water user rights, determined in the laws on water resources, were not always observed. Administrative intervention often negatively influences public opinion on water conservation. For providing integrated water resources management, it is necessary to prepare a legal base, which could give an opportunity to ensure IWRM in CAR.
Despite the fact that the agricultural reforms are going on long enough, up to now there are troubles in clear definition of agricultural organizations’ ownership patterns. Even in those areas where WUAs have been set up, this problem hampers their efficient activity.
Measures, proposed by the participants for improving institutional and legal situation:
- to improve water legislation, investment and tax policies, directed to promoting the implementation of IWRM principles;
- to develop clear bases for strengthening the interest of water users in water saving;
- to clearly define rights and obligations of agricultural organizations according to their ownership patterns.
B) Transferring the part of authorities of water organizations to water users is a dictate of time and the present stage of water sector development.
Social mobilization of the community plays an important role in providing rational water use. Such factors as public access to information can serve as instruments of social mobilization that helps to provide awareness and enhance the confidence of water users in water reforms, ensure education of the youth in the spirit of the old water traditions, etc. For raising public awareness of efficient water use, a lot of levers can be applied, for example:
- Water campaigns and special measures;
- Special programs by the radio, television;
- Open access to information;
- Organization of activity with school and kindergarten teachers;
- Participation of women in public opinion forming.
The participants noted specific measures in this field:
- to organize regional conferences, workshops in different directions of water sector and sectors, related to the issue of providing IWRM concept with involving NGOs;
- to prepare and disseminate materials on the fundamentals of IWRM concept for a wide public awareness in the region with the help of NGOs;
- to introduce “IWRM” specialty in higher education institutions for preparing young specialists;
- to create a Public Council for Basin Regulation;
- to organize a series of seminars in the oblasts for wider dissemination of IWRM ideas.
C) The transfer to basin principle of water management was regarded by the audience as a positive step. Unfortunately, the current economic state of the countries does not allow to provide sustainable water sector development. The deficiency of funds raises many problems to water specialists.
Since sustainable functioning of water organizations depends first on funding them, the participants of the seminar made the following practical proposals for improving economic and technical maintenance of the sector:
- to define potential financing mechanisms and sources, create a basis for attracting funds from these sources;
- to subsidize the maintenance of the main waterways, apply the advanced irrigation and vertical drainage techniques by both the government and stakeholders;
- to introduce water charge, based on block-tariff scheme;
- to gradually replenish the service yard of WUAs by acquiring the equipment through lease, credit and other agreements.
D) The participants of the seminar recommended the following measures for water saving:
- to apply collation acts of water use between rayons and oblasts in practice;
- to develop a mechanism for stimulating water users to water saving in the form of award pays at the amount of state water formation expenses, exempting from taxes or other material incentives;
- to develop consultation centers to provide consultative services to farmers on field certification and water productivity improvement;
- to widely apply information technologies and programs of planning and controlling over water consumption of agricultural lands;
- to strictly follow agro-reclamation requirements;
- to organize on-farm water accounting, and follow irrigation regimes.
ON OUR PROBLEMS IN THE PERIODICAL PRESS
POLITICALL IMPORTANT WATER PROJECT TO BEGIN
The implementation of politically important grand water project begins in Aksy district of Jalal-Abad district last week. New irrigation construction will direct water of Besh-Batman channel bypassing territory of Uzbekistan to the district, which will shorten the way of this precious commodity and its "transit consumption." According to the local state administration, the use of "Umut" station and approaching canal will allow to explore thousand of hectares of fertile lands in Kerben, Kosh-Dobe, Jergetal, and Kashka-Suu rural areas. Reclamation condition of two and half thousand hectares of tillage will also improve. According to the calculations of the specialists, there will be an opportunity to assign lands to thousands of the rural people who until now are without it. Two villages will be settled there. Many local organizations and enterprises will be engaged in construction.
The Bishkek Observer, 24.02.2004
KYRGYZSTAN FULFILLS HER OBLIGATIONS
On February 20, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev urged in Almaty his Kyrgyz and Uzbek counterparts to stimulate their governments to meet their obligations on rational use of region's water recourses saying otherwise Kazakhstan reserves the right to build a new, Koksaray, water reservoir on the Syr Darya. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Askar Aitmatov responded Kyrgyzstan fulfills all its obligations and even more, reduced electricity producing, which led to power outages in some regions of the country. Last week, Uzbek President Islam Karimov accused Kyrgyzstan of violating water agreements.
The Bishkek Observer, 24.02.2004
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