Depending on type of governance, the following governance entities are grouped:

• State administration:
  • External governance: President, Parliament, Government.
  • Internal governance: water agencies (Ministry of Utilities, State Committee for Ecology and Energy, Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources, …,) and their bodies.
• Joint governance (Water council, Water commission).
• Community-based governance (WUA Council).

The state administration agencies for canal management are: the Osh Basin Water Authority for Aravan-Akbura Canal management and for the Right-bank Main Canal management; the Fergana Valley Main Canal System Authority for South-Fergana Main Canal management; and, the Tajik Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources for Khoja-Bakirgan Canal management.

Along with state administration agencies, representatives of water users (Unions of canal water users), i.e. the general public, participate in joint governance via Canal Water Committees.

The main difference between the governance body and the management body is that the former: 1) is comprised of elected representatives, 2) makes decisions through voting, 3) may not be a legal entity.

The governance body and the management body may be or may not be a part of the same institution. The example of this the same institution is WUA (WUA Council and WUA Administration).

In developed countries with the long democratic traditions the governance bodies are separate from the management bodies in WUA. Whereas in developing countries, such separation is also needed, but usually is not effective for some reasons: the governance body (WUA Council) is either inactive or passive.

A vision of the governance and management bodies in CAR, in line with IWRM principles and the division of functions are shown below (Figures 1, 2).

Figure 1. Water (supply) governance and management entities

Figure 2. Water use (demand) and land reclamation governance and management entities

Water supply governance entities:

• WC ASB – Water Committee of the Aral Sea Basin.
• WC IB – Water Committee of an interstate basin.
• WC ISB – Water Committee of an interstate sub-basin.
• WC B – Water Committee of a (state/national) basin.
• WC MS – Water Committee of a main system.
• WC WUA – Water Committee of WUA (WUA Council).

Water supply management entities:

• AASB – Agency of the Aral Sea Basin (Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC)).
• AIB – Agency of an interstate basin (Basin Water Organizations (BWO) for Amu Darya and Syr Darya).
• AISB – Agency of an interstate sub-basin (Territorial branch of BWO Amu Darya or BWO Syr Darya).
• BWA – Basin water agency (BISA).
• AMS – Agency of main system.

Water supply and demand governance entities:

• NWC – National Water Committee.
• WUA WC – WUA Water Committee (WUA Council).

Water supply and demand management entities:

• NWA – National water agency (Main Water Resources Administration).
• A WUA – Agency of Water User Association (WUA Administration).

Water demand governance entities:

• PWLC – Provincial Water-Land Commission.
• DWLC – District Water-Land Commission.

Water demand management entities:

• PWULRA – Provincial water use and land reclamation agency.
• DWULRA – District water use and land reclamation agency.

Author: Mirzaev N.N., SIC ICWC