Comparison of practices

Use of water resources

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

Country: Kazakhstan

Province: Karaganda Region

District: Shet District

Other settlement: Aksa-Ayuliye Rural District

Country: Uzbekistan

Province: Fergana Region

District: Kuva District

Other settlement: Khamroli-Ota Farm

The site is located in the area of acute shortage of irrigation and drinking water

The site is located in the zone of ground water shallow occurrence

Start date: 01.01.2015

End date: 31.12.2015

Start date: 01.01.2010

End date: 31.12.2012

Acute shortage of irrigation water

Flooding of settlements; salination of irrigated land

Measures to restore natural springs: arrangement of stone protection fencing around springs and installation of water-release pipes

GIS-technologies and remote-sensing tools

Actions
For project purposes, 10 springs were selected still able to exert water to the surface. Project actions included arrangement of stone protection fencing around springs to prevent cattle from trampling the springs. To allow water release, drain pipes were installed in protection stone walls.

Results
Financial and economic:
The economic effect of livestock production and irriga-tion development exceeding 100,000 USD.

Technical
Enhanced (by up to 30-40%) supply of irrigation and drinking water in the area; drafted “Rules of Using General Use Water Facilities for Personal and Domestic Needs Located on the territory of the Rural District”.

In 1980, specialists of NPO SANIIRI (Research and Development Association “Central Asian Research Institute of Irrigation”) designed and for the first time applied this type of drainage in the Qarshi Steppe where it demonstrated its efficiency.  The project was suspended due to lack of funding.  The re-launch of the project and installment of a combined drainage system in Kuva District (2010) once again confirmed its high efficiency and profitability, especially in areas of confined underground waters.  Further on, the model was applied in Rishtan, Altyarik and Baghdad Districts where it is successfully working.

Actions:

1. reconstruction of the open collector;
2. construction of the combined drainage system;
3. operation of the combined drainage system;
4. consultations with local experts on designing and constructing combined drainage systems;
5. holding a training for Basin Irrigation System Administration (BISA) and Reclamation Expedition (RE) personnel on combined drainage system operation;
6. development and distribution of training materials.

Results:

Financial and economic:

Specific construction costs (sum/ha) of the combined drainage system were twice less compared to horizontal drainage models.  Vertical drainage of 1 hectare of land requires 700-800 kWh of energy, whereas the combined drainage is hyperpiestic.  Maintenance costs for combined drainage systems are also much lower compared to horizontal and vertical drainage models – specifically, twofold less than for closed horizontal and threefold less for vertical. The combined drainage systems also allowed increasing crops productivity.

Technical:

The reclamation condition of farm land has improved.

Lessons learnt:
The practice demonstrated the advantages of restoring springs and the need to regularly maintain water bodies

Recommendations:
It is necessary to continue the efforts not only in Kazakhstan, but also across the region. For example, it is possible to rehabilitate multiple springs and water accumulators (like “sardoba” or underground “kyariz”) across all Central Asia.

Lessons learnt:

The practice has confirmed its high efficiency and profitability of combined-type drainage, especially in areas with confined underground water.

Recommendations:

It is necessary to widely apply combined-type drainage where hydro-geological conditions allow it.

Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations)

R&D product by NPO SANIIRI (Research and Development Association “Central Asian Research Institute of Irrigation”)

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

Project title: SaveH2Okz Project within the framework of the joint EU/UNDP/UNECE Project “Supporting Kazakhstan in its transition to green economy model”

Duration: 2015-2018

Project goal and objectives: raising awareness on the issue of water resources exhaustion with the aim of fostering “green economy” practices

Project beneficiaries: local population

Project implementer: Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan

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 agricultural yields 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.

Joint EU/UNDP/UNECE Project “Supporting Kazakhstan in its transition to green economy model” sponsored by the European Union (saveh2o.kz)

Ekologicheski Vestnik (Environmental Digest) Journal,

Issue 11, 2012 (http://lrf.uz/?p=283&lang=ru).

SIC ICWC

SIC ICWC