No. 25 (68) June 2004

WORKSHOP ON WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AT LOCAL LEVEL

On 28-29 June 2004, a workshop on exchange of experience in water resources management at local level was held. The workshop was conducted in 2 stages: practical part: with the visits to Ak-Altyn and Mekhnatabad rayons in Syrdarya oblast, and theoretical part: in Tashkent oblast (Chimgan).

The workshop organizers: MILIEUKONTAKT OOST-EUROPA (the Netherlands), non-governmental organization (NGO) “Logos” (Tashkent).

Sponsorship: MILIEUKONTAKT OOST-EUROPA: Program for the support of ecological organizations in Europe and Asia / Program for Central Asia; NRMP.

The participants of the workshop were chiefs, experts, senior specialists and officers from NGOs of ecological orientation (“Logos”, “Hayot”, “Suvchi”, “Armon”, “TSESI” – Tashkent; “ Union for Aral and Amudarya protection”, “Aral Ekostan” – Nukus; “For ecologically clean Ferghana”, “Yerdon suv” – Ferghana oblast; “Zarafshan”, “Khangul” – Samarkand; “Interkontakt” – Urgench); State Committee for the Environment of Uzbekistan; Harvard University (USA), a number of international organizations (MILIEUKONTAKT OOST-EUROPA; NRMP, SIC ICWC). As well, the chiefs and officers of Consultative Center “Agroconsult” in Ak-Altyn rayon, Syrdarya oblast, some water users associations (WUAs) of Syrdarya and Ferghana oblasts participated in the workshop.

The aims of the workshop were to exchange experience in irrigation and drinking water management at local level, develop proposals for improving agricultural production effectiveness and drinking water supply to population.

On 28 June 2004, the participants went to Ak-Altyn rayon in Syrdarya oblast. The planned measures included:

• familiarizing with the activities structure of the project being implemented and funded by the Uzbek Government together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• meeting with the heads of private farms (PFs), WUAs.
• exchanging opinions on the problems of functioning of PFs and their interrelations with WUAs on the matters related to improving water resources management.

In particular, the mentioned project (at the cost of $63.7 million) has such components as the creation of a machine-and-tractor fleet ($6.0 million), institutional support ($1.0 million), project management ($1.0 million), but the main purpose is to improve reclamation condition of irrigated lands by raising the efficiency of the existing open drainage system operation and constructing new open drainage systems.

During the talk with the heads of “Khumo” and “Mustakillik” PFs, “Ungtarmok” WUA (within the territory of the former “Andijan” and “Ferghana” shirkat farms) its was revealed that their problems were similar to the same ones of the most of PFs and WUAs in the republic. So, there are problems:

• providing with seeds of crops by the government contractual work;
• delivering seeds without recommendations for cultivation technique. Many local farmers received seeds of wheat of “Polovchanka” sort, and got low crop yields where irrigation was carried out in accordance with the traditional scheme made by farmers. High crop yields were got in the areas, which were “dried a little” (water lacked, farmers had not time to irrigate);
• low salary of workers at PFs. So, in 2004 it was prohibited to use part of lands on PFs (up to 10%) under vegetables, melons and gourds, but the heads of PFs were obliged to pay their workers 10,000-11,000 soums per month. By the words of the heads of PFs, many workers think it is more reliable to have a plot of land rather than that salary, which is not guaranteed, as a rule;
• interrelations with banks serving farmers. So, tranche means can be used by farmer only for the target that often results in impossibility to receive, for example, fertilizers, fuels and lubricants in time;
• interrelations with MTP, related to technical service. In general, farmers having own equipment feel relatively confident. The rest have to put up with the current state of affairs in a number of cases: to wait for their turn for serving (tillage, cultivation, harvest gathering). As a result of this, cultivation technique is broken, cultivated crop yield capacity reduces;
• timely receiving money for the produce given to the government;
• providing water to farmers having lands in end parts of feeder and so on.

The common problem of PFs in this zone is further deterioration of reclamation condition of lands, caused by the breakage of the most part of drainage network. About 85% of 216 vertical drainage wells existing in Ak-Altyn rayon was fully disabled, the rest require capital repair; due to the lack of means the most part of drainage network has been covered by the reed and requires cleaning. As a result, average cotton yield capacity for rayon amounts to 12-14 centner per ha (2003).

The disparity between purchasing and market prices for crops by government contractual work, especially cotton, remains the common problem of PFs of the whole republic.

The main problem of WUAs is the lack of financial assets on the current account and poor material and technical basis. The payment of water users for water supply services did not come to the accounts of WUAs in the recent two years.

In Mekhnatabad rayon of Syrdarya oblast, water-measuring facilities on canal outlets erected with the assistance of the USAID were inspected. Water accounting is the requirement of effective water resources management, that is why the equipment of irrigation network with water-measuring facilities should be supported and extended. At the same time, it seems that the water-measuring facilities of the USAID construction that were inspected by the participants of the workshop actually pass water less by 10-20% than the built-in calibrated metering stick shows (visual assessment of water discharge and conditions, which should be followed during the construction of flow meters in the channel).

The workshop (theoretical part) was continued in Tasshkent oblast (paper presentations, discussions, exchange of views, and making recommendations).

A wide range of issues was considered, in particular:

• experience of water resources management in the Netherlands;
• operational experience of WUAs in Syrdarya and Ferghana oblasts;
• drinking water supply to population at local level;
• role of NGOs in irrigation and drinking water management at local level, in raising public awareness of drinking water supply and quality;
• necessity of developing the network of water NGOs;
• organizational, institutional, legal aspects of water resources management at local level and issues of public participation in this process and so on.

The key paper – “About the organization of water resources management in the Netherlands” – was presented by Y. Ritsema, manager of programs for the support of ecological organizations in Central Asia. In whole, in the paper the emphasis was placed on the fulfillment of the European Union Water Directives requirements by the Netherlands, and the necessity to transit to IWRM at that the whole water resources management system in the country is perfect. The term “IWRM” first appeared in the national document on water management in 1989. The concept of an integrated approach to water resources management has since been strongly supported by the society and government, and is continuing to develop.

In particular, it was noted that national program documents on water management are developed by carrying out broad consultations between respective ministries, water commissions, provincial (conditionally, oblast), municipal (rayon) authorities and other parties concerned.

Along with 3 levels of authorities (national, provincial, municipal), there are Water Commissions (WC), which have an objective to manage water in their regions. Water Commissions do not depend on official powers, but are under their observation. WC has a Chairman, Executive Organ and General Council.

The Council consists of the representatives of groups, interested in water management organization. The principle of participation in the Council activities: the level of interest defines pecuniary contributions and, thereafter, a number of seats in the Council (“interest– fee – voice”).

These were defined as the factors for a successful functioning of Water Commissions:

• democratic structure (participation of all the stakeholders);
• financial independence (system of financing the activities – taxes);
• solid legal basis (guarantee of a good management, protection of interests).

During their speeches, other participants of the workshop (heads of WUAs in Syrdarya and Ferghana oblasts, representatives of NGOs, experts) talked about the experience and specificity of their activity on water resources management. In the course of view exchange and discussions, in particular, the following matters were considered:

• organizing training of farmers, heads of WUAs in diverse aspects of water resources management (water conservation; cultivation technique and others);
• creating a Training Center for farmers, heads of WUAs;
• propagation of foremost experience (domestic and foreign);
• providing transparency and accessibility of information on water quantity and quality in irrigation sources and water supply network for all the concerned parties;
• improving the legal bases for water resources management;
• public participation in water resources management;
• expediency of the creation of new water resources management structures in connection with the transition to IWRM (of institutional character).

On behalf of SIC ICWC, the reports on the need for developing the water legislation of Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries in view of the current realities (transition to basin management principle, experience and lessons of IIWRM principles application In Ferghana Valley, taking into account basic provisions of international environmental and water rights) were presented. Regarding the participation of NGOs in settling water and environmental problems, the attention of the participants was focused on the expediency of step-by-step analysis of legislative bases for the protection of lower-level water users’ rights and participation of public organizations in national water resources management:

• detecting breaches of environmental and water legislation;
• detecting the drawbacks of the present legislation;
• respectively, developing and sending proposals on amendments and supplements to water and environmental legislation to adequate instances, developing new normative and legal acts in this field taking into account increased demand for civil society construction. So, in the Law “About water and water use” of 1993 the public participation in water resources management is poorly represented.

The matters of receiving grants for the implementation of one project or another – project proposals – were discussed at the workshop as well. The common drawback of these proposals is the orientation, figuratively, “to patching holes” (“cleaning of drainage network in …”, improvement of drinking water supply to villages …” and so on), but not to obtaining results and knowledge, which can be disseminated in the areas with typical conditions.

In conclusion, the participants expressed satisfaction by the forum activity and emphasized a high level of organizing it.