Comparison of practices

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Country: Uzbekistan

Province: Fergana Region

Transboundary river

• Upper streams (Fergana Region) and mid streams (Syr Darya Region) of the Syr Darya River;
• Shallow occurrence of ground water

Start date: 01.04.2012

End date: 31.10.2016

Start date: 01.01.2010

End date: 31.12.2012

Imperfections of the water management mechanism in the Isfara small transboundary river basin

Overall poor performance of Reclamation Expeditions (RE) and speed of assessment of the reclamation condition of irrigated land

The principle of stakeholder engagement in decision-making associated with water management of small transboundary river;

IWRM planning technique

GIS-technologies and remote-sensing tools

The river originates in Kyrgyzstan in Ak-Suu Glacier on the northern slope of the Turkestan Ridge 3,193 m above sea level.  The Ak-Suu ruins are located close to the river source.  Near the settlement of Karavshin, the river is called the same name.  Crossing the national border, the river merges with the Kshemysh River (Kshemyshsai) and, further on, the river receives the name of Isfara.

 Actions:

Establishment of stakeholder groups, i.e. Small Basin Councils (SBC) representing local authorities, NGOs, water users and local communities.  SBC secretariats independently hold internal semi-annual meetings.  Thus, the SBCs serve as platforms to exchange opinions and information as well as take joint decisions associated with the enhancement of the overall situation in the river basin.

Results:

Creation of national Small Basin Councils (SBC) on the Isfara River allowed a platform for exchanging opinions and information as well as for drawing joint decisions to improve the overall situation in the Isfara River Basin, including the development of the IWRM basin plan for the target basin.

Before the introduction of GIS-technologies, REs performed all operations – including production of maps, identification of areas suffering from land salination, level of ground water mineralization, etc. 

 Actions:

1. Enhancing the technical capacity of REs: provision of necessary equipment and tools, licensed GIS software, GPS devices, equipment for chemical analysis, etc.
2. Enhancing personnel capacities:

• Trainings and consultations of the personnel of Basin Irrigation Water Administrations (BIWAs) and REs abroad and in Uzbekistan;
• Consultations by foreign and local GIS experts;
• Development and distribution of training materials.

 Results: 

Financial and economic:

Reduction of the number of drafting technicians, saving on stationery, etc.

Technical:

Increased productivity and quality of works by RE office personnel.

Lessons learnt:

Introduction of IWRM principles is the pre-requisite of stable and fair water supply irrespective of a given water user’s location.

Recommendations:

Currently, when local stakeholders are represented in SBCs and are engaged in joint water management, it is necessary to hold thematic seminars to ensure sustainability of SBC operations in the future.  In the long term, it might be possible to establish a joint body to manage the whole river basin.

Lessons learnt:

The practice has demonstrated the possibility and efficacy of successful and effective application of GIS-technologies for reclamation as well the overall demand for GIS-technologies and GIS-specialists in other areas (after project completion, the “drain” of GIS-specialists to other industries/organizations started).

Recommendations:

Financial incentives are necessary to keep GIS-specialists in the water sector. It is necessary to scale-up the GIS-practices in other regional REs of Uzbekistan and irrigation-related organizations, including Water User Associations (WUAs).

Foreign tools (transfer of foreign experience)

Foreign tools (transfer of foreign experience)

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

Development and implementation of basin plans constitute principal elements of integrated water resources management.  Multi-agency coordination mechanism via basin councils or coordination groups is an important advantage of IWRM.  This approach allows streamlined coordination and synergy of actions on all levels of management hierarchy.

Project title: Stakeholder partnership in joint policy-making: assistance to transboundary cooperation in small watersheds of Central Asia.

Project duration: Apr 2012-Oct 2016

Project goal and objectives: introduction of the integrated water resources management (IWRM) practice in three transboundary watersheds and its scaling-up in Central Asia.

Project beneficiaries: communities of the Isfara small transboundary river basin, specialists of water and environmental agencies, farmers.

Project implementer: USAID/CAREC.

Project title: Application of GIS-technologies for reclamation.

Project duration: Jan 2010-Dec 2012 (3 years).

Project goal and objectives: comprehensive support of Reclamation Expedition (RE) specialists; introduction of new technologies; enhancing RE technical capacities to ensure a more expedient implementation of projects to improve the reclamation condition of irrigated land with the aim of receiving better yields of agricultural goods with the simultaneous maintenance of environmental equilibrium in the area.

Project beneficiaries: Fergana Region and Syr Daria Region Reclamation Expeditions.

Project implementer: Management Department of the Foundation for Reclamation Improvement of Irrigated Land.

carecnet.org

"Environmental Digest" Journal, Issue 11, 2012.

SIC ICWC

SIC ICWC