Comparison of practices

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources
• Environmental protection

Country: Turkmenistan

Country: Uzbekistan

Province: Xorazm Region

District: Urganch District

17,238 ha of barkhan (sand dune), takyr (dry-type playa) and solonchak (moist-type playa) sites of the Kara Kum Desert; deep ground water occurrence

Khorezm Region lies in the northwest of Uzbekistan (between the latitudes of 40N and 42N and longitudes of 60E and 62E). The Region stretches for 280 km from northwest to southeast, and for 80 km – from west to east. The adyr relief is mainly formed by moist-type playa and, to a lesser extent, by meadow and grey-dessert soils; the depressions relief is formed by sands.

Start date: 01.01.2012

End date: 31.12.2016

Start date: 01.01.2004

End date: 31.12.2016

Desertification and decreased productivity of desert pastures due to over-grazing around existing cattle watering sites

Inefficient field-level use of irrigation water

Technology of building sardobas (stone-dome covered water collection and storage reservoirs) to enhance pasture water supply

Technology of furrow-based counter irrigation

Main actions:

• mudflow and flood risk assessment and surveying local population regarding sardobas’ locations.

Actions:

• selection of takyrs to construct sardobas jointly with local cattle-farmers;
• construction of sardobas jointly with local cattle-farmers;
• cleaning takyr surfaces.

Results:

• pastures that were not previously utilized due to absence of water sources returned to pasture rotation;
• pastures destroyed due to over-grazing started to restore;
• increased herd productivity due to reduced passage distances and higher fodder value of pastures.

Technology applicability

In the majority of Central Asian countries, irrigated agriculture is based on flooding irrigation (ex.: wheat) and/or furrow-based irrigation (other crops).  Against the background of climate change and global water shortage, the traditional and/or currently practiced irrigation methods have lost their relevance and are no longer justified, in particular, in the Aral Sea area.  In addition, watering the whole field of uneven relief based on traditional furrow-based technique requires long time. In many cases, traditional watering leads to uneven water distribution (alternating dry and bogging spots) across the field and rising ground water level.  The suggested technology of counter irrigation is suitable for watering areas with even/flat relief, i.e. flat/lowland territories of Central Asian countries.

Technology description

The technology is quite simple and consists of simultaneous irrigation of a field from two sides.  It was appraised in Uzbekistan’s northwestern part within the framework of the ZEF/UNESCO Project.  The technology’s pilot application demonstrated that furrow-based counter irrigation can be used as a technical option of irrigating undeviating (even) sites and increases water efficiency due to more uniform water distribution along furrows.  This effective water-conservation technology has been already widely tested in Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan (Syr Darya and Khorezm Regions) by SANIIRI.

Advantages

• Water-saving – results of the system’s field pilot testing show that compared to traditional furrow-based irrigation counter watering allows saving up to 20% of irrigation water during vegetation season;
• Decreased seasonal land salination at furrow ends – land salination at furrow ends due to poor absorption of irrigation water and high capillarity can be reduced by half;
• Increased yields – application of the method allows increasing crop yields in general by 30-35%, and specifically for cotton – by 0.5 tons/ha;
• Application and design enhancements of furrow-based irrigation (discharge optimizing, washing irrigation, field laser planning) allow increasing the technology’s efficiency from the current 45% up to 65%.

Lessons learnt:

Construction of sardobas in takyr areas allows enhancing pasture water supply, thus, leading to the restoration of over-grazed pastures.

Recommendations:

The practice requires long-term planning and an integrated response with the early-on engagement of desertification experts (designing a set of measures to protect takyrs from sand drifts), state agencies (technical assistance) and pasture users (observance of pasture rotation schemes, prevention of takyrs from contamination and pollution).

Lessons learnt:

The furrow-based counter irrigation technology is rather simple (entails simultaneous irrigation of a field from both sides) and represents a justified technical option of irrigating undeviating (even) relief land and increasing water efficiency due to more uniform water distribution along furrows.

Recommendations:

The irrigation technology is recommended for application by farmers prior to controlling ground water level and enhancing land reclamation condition via more radical measures.  Under the condition of available investment, this watering method can be widely introduced on engineered basis.

Traditional tools transferred from generation to generation that proved their efficiency in modern conditions

• Traditional tools transferred from generation to generation that proved their efficiency in modern conditions
• Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations)

1. Cost of implementation: Low

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha: $1,000-5,000

3. O&M costs: Low

4. Expert support: Needed at implementation stage

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

Project title: Responding to climate change risks for dekhan farming system of Turkmenistan on national and local levels.

Project duration: 2012-2016. 

Project goal and objectives: build the adaptation capacity to respond to climate change impacts, including variability on local and national levels. 

Project beneficiaries: Bori Settlement (over 1,100 people) and Bo-Kurdak Settlement (about 4,500 people).

Project implementer: Ministry of Nature Conservation and UNDP

Project beneficiaries: water consumers and WUAs.

 Project implementer: Central Asian Research Institute of Irrigation (SANIIRI)

tm.undp.org

1) Reference Book on climatically optimized investment in rural areas of the Aral Sea Basin (based on the examples of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), Tashkent 2016;

2) Paluashova, G.K., Shirokova, Yu.I. “Efficiency of furrow-based counter irrigation of cotton in Khorezm conditions” (http://www.cawater-info.net/bk /improvement- irrigated-agriculture/files/paluashova-shirokova.pdf);

3) Paluashova, G. (2005), “Investigating land saline regime due to changed irrigation technology in the conditions of Khorezm Oasis.  Materials of “Scientific Support as a Factor of Sustainable Water Sector Development” International Research and Applied Conference (Taraz, Kazakhstan).

SIC ICWC

SIC ICWC