Comparison of practices

Use of water resources

Use of water resources

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Province: Osh Region

District: Kara-Suu District

Country: Tajikistan

Province: Districts of Republican Subordination

District: Shahrinaw

Other settlement: Mirob” Water User Association (WUA)

Akbura River Basin

Mirob WUA is located in the Kafirnigan and Varzob River Basins (river catchment areas); deep (below 3 m) ground water occurrence; middle loamy soils

Start date: 01.01.2007

End date: 31.12.2017

Start date: 01.01.2012

End date: 31.12.2013

Low level of coordination among WUAs – as a rule, each WUA liaises independently with its water management organization (WMO).

Need to enhance water use planning and water consumption calculation techniques for agricultural crops with the account of climatic conditions and crop development phases based on decade water use planning hydro-modules proceeding from precipitation availability.

Methods of integration and social mobilization

CROPWAT 8.0 Software

The AAMC-WUU is an association of legal entities in the form of Union – a voluntary independent non-profit public organization uniting legal entities (i.e. WUAs) based on common interests with the aim of coordinating actions and protecting shared interests and rights.  AAMC-WUU operates as per the Charter approved at the general meeting of water user representatives, has its own stamp and bank account.

Actions:

The creation of AAMC-WUU began with the establishment of the Initiative Group (IG).  The IG consisted of active water specialists, representatives of water users and other stakeholders who saw the need to transit to IWRM.  Further on, the IG carried out social mobilization, drafted necessary documents (the Union’s Charter, etc.), organized the general meeting of water users that approved the Charter and established the Union’s Council (Board).  After that, AAMC-WUU underwent legal registration and officially launched its work.

Results:

• AAMC-WUU established, legally registered and has been operating until present time;
• AAMC-WUU contributed to the following:
  - enhanced stability and uniformity of water supply to WUAs via state WMO;
  - better collection of water supply service fees paid by WUAs to state WMO.
• Representing the interests of water users as a member of the RMC Water Committee, AAMC-WUU also contributed to decreasing conflicts between WUAs and WMO.

Actions:

• Analysis of existing methods of water resources use planning in dekhan farms of the Gissar Valley;
• Designing a water use planning technique with the account of irrigation patterns in dekhan farms.

Results:

Financial and economic:

effective use of irrigation water; reduced water consumption per harvest unit.

Ecological:

improved ecological and reclamation condition of irrigated land.

Technical:

executed decade hydro-modules based on precipitation availability allowing dekhan farms to plan their water consumption and draw up crop irrigation schedules depending on expected weather conditions in the Gissar Valley as well as to coordinate other technological and weather-dependent processes associated with crops cultivation.

Social:

prevention of conflicts, controversies and misunderstanding among water users related to irrigation water distribution.

Lessons learnt:

The effectiveness of AAMC-WUU depends on internal and external conditions: capacities (financial, institutional, etc.) of its members (i.e. WUAs) and the level of democracy and market development in a given country.  In turn, the growth of capacities of AAMC-WUU members depends on AAMC-WUU performance.

Recommendation:

Currently, WUAs capacities are rather poor which is reflected in AAMC-WUA own underperformance.  Considering that WUA represent the weakest link in water hierarchy and the role of water users in addressing national food, water and environmental security needs, the government should find opportunities to support (first of all, financially) WUAs/AAMC-WUU during transition period (until they become self-sufficient).

Lessons learnt:

CROPWAT 8.0 Software allows enhancing the technology of water use planning via specification of irrigation modes depending on expected precipitation availability.

Recommendations:

It is necessary to widely apply CROPWAT 8.0 Software.

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

Project title: Integrated Water Resources Management in the Fergana Valley (IWRM-Fergana).

Project duration: Jan 01, 2001-Dec 31, 2012 (12 years).

Project goal and objectives: overall project goal was “to contribute to safer living, environmental sustainability and wide social harmony, to support rural restructuring in Central Asian countries by enhancing water resources management based on the example of the Ferghana Valley”.

Project beneficiaries: WUAs, farmers in project sites.

Project implementer: IWMI, SIC of the ICWC, Project Steering Committee (PSC) consisting of 3 representatives of the Ministries of Rural and Water Management (MRWM) of project target countries, 3 heads of Regional Water Administrations hosting project target sites.

Project title: Improving water use planning technology based on CROPWAT 8.0 Software.

Project duration: 2012-2013.

Project goal and objectives: design a science-based water use planning technique using CROPWAT 8.0 Software to calculate water consumption for different crops with the account of climatic conditions and crops development phases based on decade water use planning hydro-modules proceeding from precipitation availability.

Project beneficiaries: water users of Mirob WUA.

Project implementer: Sh. Shotemur TAU.

Guidelines on IWRM streamlining, Volume 1 (Institutional Aspects), Tashkent 2011.

Report by the Operation of Hydro and Reclamation Systems Chair of Sh. Shotemur TAU, Dushanbe, 2013, 46 p.

SIC ICWC

SC ICWC