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Our News
IWMI-Central Asia in 2008
News archive: | 2007 |
2006 | 2005 |
| | | 31 December
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On 30 December 2008 IWMI-Central Asia held a major experience-sharing seminar in the city of Bukhara organized for Basin Irrigation System Authorities (BISA) and water user organizations that are active in the Amudarya River basin of Uzbekistan. The key aim of the seminar was to visit and learn about local WUAs and water management organizations and share with them experiences of the Integrated Water Resources Management in the Ferghana Valley project (IWRM-Ferghana). The event was initiated and organized by IWMI-Central Asia in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Republic of Uzbekistan and SIC ICWC, IWMI’s long-term project partner in the region. |
The event was part of the IWRM-Ferghana project’s outreach activities aiming to spread IWRM experiences beyond project areas through National Support Groups set up in each project country for better uptake of the project results at national policy level. The seminar was attended by deputy heads of seven BISAs representing Republic of Karakalpakstan and six Uzbek provinces of Khorezm, Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Samarkand and Bukhara. Among those attending were also 3 WUA directors and 2 farmers from each BISA’s catchment area.
The seminar comprised two parts - field visit and plenary session. During the first part the participants visited four Bukhara province WUAs - Desaydon Arabhona Robatak, Jondorlik Mirob, Amu-Khayrabad and Yurtim Istiklol - to witness the results of WUA strengthening activities under the ongoing WUA Support Program.
The plenary session was opened by Mr. Hamdam Umarov, head of Uzbekistan’s Water Inspection Department and national coordinator of the IWRM-Ferghana project for Uzbek National Support Group. He talked about positive results of the project such as the IWRM structure that was successfully operationalized through separation of governance and management functions with major role in overall governance given to water users. He also spoke of the benefits of hydrographically sound water management and how ongoing organizational reforms along the South Ferghana Canal in Uzbekistan were able to reduce overall water demand by 30%. Presenters from IWMI - Jusipbek Kazbekov and Oyture Anarbekov - introduced the Institute and its projects to the participants and spoke at length of the importance of social mobilization, public participation, strategic and business planning for good governance and sustainability of new participatory organizations at WUA and canal levels. Our project partners from SIC-ICWC (Pulat Umarov, Ahmad Alimjanov, Shavkat Usmanov, Ubaydullo Rasulov) also shared their project experiences, expertise and tools as to how IWRM principles were adapted to suit local specifics for positive impact, organizing water use planning, water distribution, land ameliorative activities, water measurement and required installations for WUAs. The seminar was conducted in an interactive, open and friendly manner with active contribution to topics and issues discussed from farmers and WUA leaders from across the Amudarya River Basin.
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| | | 30 December
The London-based world famous gallery Tate Britain has chosen for its this year’s Make Your Own Xmas exposition an environment-friendly Christmas Tree created by a fine art lecturer from London Metropolitan University.
Each year the Gallery invites a leading contemporary artist to create a Christmas tree. This year Patrick Brill, a senior lecturer at the Department of Art, Media and Design of the above University has chosen to create a tree using recycled timber, bicycles and lamps.
Make Your Own Xmas exposition requires the help of gallery visitors to bring the work to life, as they will provide the power to illuminate the tree. The tree itself is a wooden structure made of recycled materials, including sandwich boards and an oil drum. Eight bicycles of various sizes have been fixed to stands around the trunk, each holding a generator to convert the pedal power into electricity for the light bulbs that decorate the tree.
The exposition is a thought-provoking response to the season of contemplation, celebration and consumerism. Its overt humour and ramshackle aesthetic evokes memories of hand-made Christmas decorations as well as highlighting global concerns over energy production and waste.
Source: Tate Britain
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Click to enlarge the image |
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| | | 29 December
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The Turkmen government is set to introduce a new set of banknotes and coins to redenominate their national currency Manat. According to the State Information Agency of Turkmenistan starting from 1 January, 2009, 5000 manats in current denomination will equal 1 newly denominated manat. Thus, the biggest current denomination banknote valued at 10,000 manats will equal 2 newly denominated manats. It is also said that both denominations, old and new, will be in equal currency and as such equally accepted throughout 2009. Those who, following one year, will still have manats in old denomination will be able to exchange them into the new currency throughout yet another year of 2010. The new banknotes valued at 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 manats will depict Turkmenistan’s great historic personalities and monuments. There will be also coins, tenge , valued at 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 tenge.
For full details and new banknote samples please see the source at:
The State Bank of Turkmenistan for Foreign Economic Activities
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| | | 17 December
The Water Flume Meters for Water Users Associations Project (WFM for WUAs) has made a full circle starting last year in October through November this year. This small supplemental project piggy-backed to a larger IWRM-Ferghana project is funded by Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by IWMI and SIC-ICWC in the command areas of three pilot main canals.
Learning through action
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The main rationale for this subproject to commence was that most tertiary water distribution networks in the region have either no water measuring structures in place or, if in place, are in very, very poor condition due to lack of funding, no proper institutions to take care of them and years of neglect. Hence, construction or reconstruction of water measuring structures has become an important factor contributing to the adoption and spread of IWRM principles in the project areas and long term sustainability of user-driven water service organizations such as WUAs.
During one year of project implementation representatives of local WUAs and WUGs in the project areas have been trained in the construction of simple flume meters such as SANIIRI,
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Chipolletti and Tomson.
As a result WUAs along three pilot main canals and two small transboundary rivers have been able to build a total of 360 water flume meters under this project. This means their staff and water users groups have learnt how to construct and build different types of water flume meters. They have been involved in all stages throughout the construction starting from the preparation of canal beds through construction to final attestation of flume meters.
All constructed hydro-posts have been calibrated, cost-estimated and put on WUAs’ books. Manuals and posters on hydro-post construction, operation and maintenance have been disseminated among WUA staff and WUG leaders. The knowledge and skills they acquired through trainings conducted among other things included water flume metering | 
Grounding stonework |
for WUA water management, recording and handling of water data, decision-making based on water distribution results and solving water use conflicts.
Story by K. Jumaboev (IWMI)
Toe the line... |
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Ready... |
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... Go! |
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| | | 10 December
 | IWMI research regarding future implications of current global water use trends has been cited in today’s analytical column of Russia’s |
most frequently visited, cited and referred to online resource – the website of the leading Russian news and information agency “RIA Novosti” (estimated 4 mln visitors monthly).
Click below to read the full article in:
RUSSIAN or
ENGLISH
or
FRENCH
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| | | 19 November
Tashkent, Turkistan Hotel
On November 19, IWMI and SIC-ICWC have conducted a stakeholders workshop for the new project "Water Productivity Improvement in the Ferghana Valley" (WPI). This project is a spin-off from the ongoing IWRM-Ferghana project building on the latter’s successful experiences in reforming water management at all hierarchical levels from main canal to individual farm level to make it as efficient as possible. Dr. Herath Manthrithilake, head of IWMI-Cental Asia, in his opening remarks said that the new project was all about efficient use of irrigation water to help farmers to get as higher yields per each unit of water used as possible, i.e. improve water productivity. The project will focus on converting the results achieved in IWRM-Ferghana project as well as other useful and simple innovations from elsewhere into ready-to-use technologies for farmers at large. So generalization and consolidation of such farmer-friendly technologies will be another key objective. Ultimately the new project along with effective dissemination will also aim at sustaining the whole innovative cycle system from knowledge generation through adaptive research to final dissemination within project areas. The key stakeholders representing three major domains of innovation exchange system - research, information center and dissemination - from three project countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) stressed on the importance of the project given the fact that no nation-wide extension service system still existed in any country in question. Thus Mr. Hamdam Umarov from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Uzbekistan noted that this workshop was of a high importance in the ongoing land reform context which brought about multiple new farmers in each country. So improving their skills in effective irrigation methods allowing to use less water and get more crop is crucial. Mr. Hanspeter Maag, head of the sponsoring Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation in Central Asia, in his address to the workshop participants stressed that the project would concentrate on disseminating already available knowledge by putting right information exchange system in place involving research, information centers and disseminators. Dr. Asad Qureshi of IWMI and Dr. Shukhrat Mukhamedjanov of SIC made keynote presentations on the project background, goals, objectives, budget and overall organization providing the specifics of the proposed innovation cycle and the main actors involved. They also explained at length the project main activities, expected outputs and the time frame.
Later all the stakeholders, with SIC and IWMI facilitation, were divided country-wise into three working groups to discuss and present the following issues:
- Project organization in each country;
- Roles and responsibilities of each partner involved;
- Lead organization and its linkages with other partners;
- Potential sites with justification and criteria for selection;
- Resources needed and budget allocation among partners.
As a result each country group came up with the following set of partners for each project country:
| Kyrgyzstan: |
- WUA Support Unit as the leading organization with its representative as National Coordinator;
- Kyrgyz Research Institute for Irrigation as the research organization;
- Training Advisory and Innovation Center (TAIC) as the Information Center;
- Rural Advisory Service (RAS) of Osh and province and district-level WUA Support Units as disseminators;
- Dissemination is planned to be through district instructors of RAS, WUAs and demonstration fields.
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| Tajikistan: |
- Provincial Melioration and Water Resources Department (Sugd Oblvodkhoz) with its representative as the National Coordinator;
- Crop Sciences Research Institute (Bogparvar) and Ziroatkor Research Institute as the research organizations;
- FARMS project of CECI as the Information Center;
- NGOs ‘Zar-Zamin’ and ‘Irrigation Service’ as the disseminators with dissemination to be carried through district trainers and demonstration plots
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| Uzbekistan: |
- Water Inspection Department (Uzsuvnazorat) as the leading organization with its representative as a National Coordinator;
- SANIIRI as the research organization and partly as the information center;
- 3 Basin Irrigation System Authorities from Andijan, Ferghana and Namangan provinces as information centers and disseminators who for dissemination purposes will work directly with WUAs and farmers through farmers field schools, WUA agronoms and special BISA polygons.
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The findings of the workshop after analyzed will be included in the final project document to be submitted to the project donor (SDC) for final approval, following which the project activities can start.
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| | | 18 November
Isfana and Kadamjay (Leylek District, Batken Province of Kyrgyzstan), Ferghana (Uzbekistan)
Shahimardansay view in Kadamjay |
Three stakeholders workshops within the IWRM-Ferghana project were held on November 12, 14 and 15 in remote trans-boundary small rivers (TSR) locations of the project – in Isfana and Kadamjay, two Kyrgyz settlements located on the Kygyz-Tajik and Kyrgyz-Uzbek borders, respectively, and Ferghana, a provincial center in Uzbekistan. The workshops were conducted jointly by IWMI-Central Asia staff and country managers for each project country.
The TSR component was added to the IWRM-Ferghana project in 2007 with focus on the two trans-boundary mountain rivers - the Hajibakirgan-say that flows from Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan and the Shahimardan-say shared by Kyrgyzstan in the upstream and Uzbekistan in the downstream. Glaciers are the main water sources for the both rivers. Over their full stretch they pass through three kind of terrains - from high to medium high mountains to plane terrain. The highest was the site of the first workshop held in Isfana, Kyrgyzstan - at the altitude of 2200 m above the sea level, about 20 km from the closest glacier. Accordingly on our way to this location the IWMI team, traveling from Uzbekistan, had to pass several distinct climatic conditions within a span of several hours - from the mild dry places at the foot of
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mountains with their facinating golden autumn views of multiple apricot trees gracefully turning redish, red or yellow to darker colder and rainy terrains of mid-altitudes with no leaves whatsoever on the passing trees to really, really cold places already full of snow.
Those who participated in the workshops included district level deputy governors, leaders of local village governments, province and district level heads of water management organizations, chairs and directors of local water users associations as well as individual farmers. All events were moderated by country managers for the IWRM-Ferghana project.
According to the workshop scenario the group activity part with IWMI facilitation would start from an overall evaluation by each workshop participant of local water management and distribution, in general, in each corresponding part of the trans-boundary river in question using flipchart and individual perceptions of all participants on the continuum between two extremes - from being absolutely satisfied to absolutely unsatisfied. Each participant when doing evaluation was asked to do it from the point of view of their specific hydraulic location along the river – either upstream, midstream, downstream or basin as a whole. Following this a sample of participants representing each group of opinions was asked to provide their specific reasons behind their overall dissatisfaction, satisfaction or a mixtur of both towards current water distribution.
| Snowy terrains mid-way
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Arriving in remote Isfana, Kyrgyzstan |
The purpose of the workshops was to clarify problems facing each part of the trans-boundary rivers, major stakeholders in the bordering areas and plan activities to start bringing local water management in each corresponding part of the rivers in accordance with IWRM principles.
As a follow-up to the initial problem identification all the participants would be then divided into particular stakeholder groups they represent such as local governments, water management organizations, WUAs and individual farmers with some variations for each country. All such groups were asked to list all the problems that they would think of from the point of view of their group stakes. Thus each group came up with their specific problem list which they presented during group presentations. All
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such problems were then categorized either as organizational or technical, tabulated and tallied.
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At the backdrop of problems so identified each group was further asked to reflect on the current institutional arrangements in local water management from the point of view of their compliance with the two basic IWRM principles of hydrographic management and public participation . This was followed by identification of all the stakeholders concerned. Once each group presented their views and the stakeholders list the findings were compared, aggregated and further elaborated for any further insights from the audience to make the picture as comprehensive as possible. Thus major steps and goals were identified in terms of bringing local water management situation in line with project experiences. Finally, participants of each workshop were asked to nominate key organizations and their specific representatives to form a working | 
Head of Batken Province Water Dept. speaking |
group who will be contacted for further consultations and feedback once a locale-specific draft strategy for each particular part of the TSR in question will be prepared based on the findings and analysis of each workshop proceedings.
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| | | 18-20 September
Tashkent. Poytakht Hotel
The inception workshop of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) funded project on “enhancing water productivity, crop yields and yield stability at plot level through improved on farm water management” was held on September 18-20 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In addition to experts from IWMI, SDC and SIC-ICWC, officials from the respective water and agricultural ministries, provincial water resources experts, research institutes and agricultural extension service providers from three countries i.e. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan attended the workshop. During the workshop, IWMI and SIC scientists presented the results of the inception phase which included current status of water productivity at the plot level in three target countries i.e. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Limitations and constraints to improving water productivity at plot level in these countries were also thoroughly discussed. Existing extension services and strategies in three countries were reviewed and different options for improving extension services were discussed. The workshop participants also discussed ways and means of disseminating tested technologies to farmers for improving land and water productivity at the plot level.
The workshop discussed the framework for the second phase of the project which will start from March 1, 2009. All stakeholders’ made their contributions during the discussion sessions and subject matter dialogue groups, which greatly helped in the formulation of strategic concepts for the second phase of the project. The workshop ended with a draft log frame of the second phase of the project which will be finalized after discussions with all stakeholders in three target countries.
Story provided by Dr. Asad Qureshi and Dr. Jusipbek Kazbekov (IWMI)
Glimpses of the workshop
Moderation is an art |
Tajik group in action |
Uzbek group in action |
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| | | 21 August
 | The newspaper article “'The Underground Bank' is to Ease Up Low Water Years... and Much-Much More” has been published in today’s issue of 'Zerkalo XXI', a Tashkent-based weekly tabloid in Russian. Written by Dr. Akmal Karimov, researcher from IWMI-Central Asia, the article focuses on the prospective impacts and |
benefits of the findings resulting from the IWMI-led project “Ground Water Management for Improved Irrigation in the Syrdarya River Basin” completed in 2006. The author in the contending trans-boundary river context of two riperian countries with different temopral priorities regarding water use (the winter time power generating Kyrgyztsan and the summer time irrigating Uzbekistan) argues based on the project-generated evidence and international experience that Uzbekistan is in position to harness and beneficially use winter releases of water from the Kyrgyz Toktogul Reservoir that otherwise are lost to a huge depression in the mid-stream of the river Syrdarya. This can be achieved by chanelling to and banking such water in the underground aquifers of the Ferghana valley and then using it for irrigation during summer time. At the same time such water before banked can be also beneficially used for small-scale power generation. The costs and ways as to how to make all this happen are discussed at length in this article.
CLICK to read the full article in Russian
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| | | 20 August
Tashkent, Bishkek, Dushanbe.
During the first half of August, three separate inter-ministerial National Coordination and Support Groups (NCSGs) meetings were held in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). These NCSGs are part of IWRM-Ferghana Project implemented by the partnership of IWMI and Scientific Information Center of Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asdia (SIC-ICWC) and funded by Swiss Agecny for Development Cooperation (SDC).
NCSGs have been set up in each project country (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) to bring together people from different ministries and departments that in one way or another have stakes in water resources management with the following major objectives in mind:
- to steer and support Project activities in selected pilot sites on national level;
- to organize fund raising for rehabilitation of pilot systems network;
- to promote the new institutional approach of the Project featuring separation of governance and management functions at the main canal level;
- to transfer the results of the pilot experiments to the national policy by means of proper technical, institutional, legal, and managerial regulations;
- to promote the implementation of extension services outside the scope of Project activity.
The key objective of the meetings held was to welcome the newly assembled NCSGs and their members from various ministries and state committees to share the positive IWRM experiences in the Ferghana Valley project and assist in the initiation of policy discussions at the national level. The NCSGs are to help maintain the dialogue among the key national decision makers in each project country on issues related to adoption of IWRM principles both in the pilot areas of the project and nation-wide. To set the stage for further discussions with the new members of NCSGs, Dr. Vadim Sokolov of SIC-ICWC and Dr. Jusipbek Kazbekov and Ms. Ikbal Yusupova of IWMI made introductory presentations on the IWRM concepts, key tools and methodologies as adopted and used in the Ferghana Valley project, as well as on the project’s major achievements and impacts. The focus was primarily on the importance of NCSGs in creating general awareness on IWRM and suitable policy environment for a wider and bigger uptake of the results.
During these meetings the participants discussed and reflected on the concepts of user participation, hydrographic management, social mobilization, separation of governance and management functions, joint state-public partnership in water governance at the main canal level, alternative water allocation methods, potentials to improve water productivity, the crucial role of the local stakeholders in improving water management.
The NSCG members appreciated the achievements of the project and the new goals that the phase IV of the project had set forth. It was agreed that NSCG should be instrumental in bringing about common understanding and approaches with regard to IWRM and pertinent projects among different actors, stakeholders and donors in each country. The participants agreed that it was high time to start building consensus among fragmented policies and reforms that are currently underway country-wide in different sectors and projects. The essential role of water and the IWRM-Ferghana project in establishing such linkages was duly recognized.
It was stressed that the same people should represent national groups in all future meetings for better consistency, coordination and follow-up. It was also decided to have upcoming seminars organized in the pilot areas where NSCG members would be given a hands-on exposure to familiarize themselves with whatever was discussed and talked throughout these kick-off meetings.
Contributors: Jusipbek Kazbekov and Ikbal Yusupova (IWMI)
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20 May
Project kick-off meetings held in
Osh, Kyrgyzstan
The Phase IV of
Integrated Water Recourses Management in Ferghana Valley Project (IWRM
Fergana) and Inception Phase of Water Productivity Improvement
Project (WPIP) kick-off meetings were held in Osh City on 20th
May, 2008.
Mr. B. Kashmatov – Deputy Minister
and Director General of Water Resources Management, Kyrgyzstan, Mr.
Hanspeter Maag - Country Director of the Swiss Development Cooperation
Office in Kyrgyzstan, Dr. Chris Morger - consultant of SDC, Prof. Viktor
Dukhovny - Head of Scientific Information Centre (SIC) of the Interstate
Commission Water Coordination (ICWC) of the Central Asia, Dr. A. Noble –
Director, South East and Central Asia Operations (IWMI) and Dr. Herath
Manthrithilake - Head of IWMI-Tashkent office, representatives of Government
Water management organizations and IWRM institutions from Kyrgyzstan and
Uzbekistan were participated in the meeting.
The meeting reviewed Plan of
Operations for the year 2008 and discussed the key focus areas and
strategies to be adopted.
Between the kick-off meetings,
participants took part in Official opening ceremony of SCADA System
installed in Aravan Akbura Canal, where Governor and Deputy Governor of the
Province too, participated.
Welcome, Dr. ANDREW NOBLE!
Dr.
Andrew Noble, the new Head of South East and Central Asia of IWMI visited
our region from 13th to 26th May.
“The
Central Asia is a very interesting region; however, it has many problems in
water management and agriculture. I am pleased that the IWMI researchers are
able to contribute for the development of this region through water sector”
he said, addressing the staff in Tashkent IWMI office.
During this visit, he has attended the kick-off meetings of two SDC funded
projects- Phase IV of IWRM Fergana and the Inception phase of Water
Productivity Improvement project, held on 20th May, in Osh at the
office of the Sub-Basin Water Management Organization of Kyrgyz Republic,
where he met with a donor organization representatives, regional water
sector leaders and stakeholders.
He
also witnessed the handing over of SCADA System installed in Aravan Akbura
Canal to operators. During this visit, he met the Rector and the Vice-
Rector of the Osh Agricultural University, who are long standing partners of
IWMI and thank the Rector, staff and students for their support in IWMI work
in the region.
Following is a short brief on Dr. Noble:
Experience
Soil
Science: Soil chemistry
with particular reference to acid soil infertility and its remediation; Soil
chemical analysis techniques with particular reference to aluminum
chemistry; Extensive knowledge in surface charge fingerprinting and the
development of chemical degradation indices. Experience in the running of
chemical speciation models i.e. GEOCHEM; Interpretation of soil and plant
analysis; Investigated hyper-accumulation of Ni and Cr in selected plant
species from mine tailings; Strong focus and interest in the remediation of
degraded soils and farming systems.
Agronomy: Undertaken evaluation of various crop species for tolerance
to acid soil infertility. Developed the concept of using beneficiated
bentonites for the remediation of degraded soils with the intention of
increasing crop productivity; Lectured in the area of crop water
requirements under irrigated production systems, irrigation efficiency, crop
morphology and farming systems. Extensive knowledge on legume based pasture
production systems in temperate and semi-arid environments of Australia.
Worked in sugarcane production systems in both Australia and South Africa.
Forestry: Experience in the area of silviculture in Eucalyptus and
pine plantation systems. Developed site indices for the establishment of
fast growing hardwoods on degraded light textured sands. Mid-rotation
fertilization of Eucalyptus and pine species. Evaluated problems associated
with the establishment of plantations on agricultural lands.
April
Certifications award
Certifications Award for
International Water Resources Management Institute staff was held on April
25 2008. The researchers who worked with the IWMI for 5 or 10 years were
awarded with Commemorative Certificates and valuable presents. Certificates
were awarded to: Dr. Manthrithilake Herath, Head, IWMI Central Asia; Dr.
Asad Sarwar Qureshi, International Researcher; Mr. Murat Yakubov, Research
Officer; Mr. Ilhom Babaev, Finance and Administrative Officer; Mr. Ilya Pak
Driver/Office Assistant; Mr. Ilshat Tukhvatullin Driver/Office Assistant.
February
Workshop to discuss IV phase of
IWRM Project
Stakeholders workshop to plan the new phase of the Integrated Water Resource
Management (IWRM) project was held in Tashkent on 4-5 February.
Representatives of stakeholders from the concerned Ministries, water users
from the three Central Asian countries - Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan, implementing agencies and SDC representatives from Bern, Bishkek
and Dushanbe participated.
The participants discussed the design, expected results and organizational
aspects of the next Phase, which is scheduled from 1 May 2008 to 31 December
2010.
The overall goal of the
project is contribution to more secure livelihoods, increased environmental
sustainability, and greater social harmony, through improved effectiveness
of water resources management in the Ferghana Valley. This overall goal of
the project remained unchanged for all previous phases of the project and
remains valid for this phase, too.
The emphasis here is i) to complete the IWRM water governance
and management principles introduction and consolidate experiences and
systems practiced in pilot areas, including TSRs; ii) that project outreach
WUAs are fully hydrographical, allocating and delivering water in an
equitable and reliable manner based on IWRM guidelines up to the plot level;
iii) that institutional and organizational arrangements and technologies
developed and tested are consolidated into ‘ready to go’ packages for wide
range dissemination; and iv) to develop an enabling environment for IWRM
dissemination in adjoining areas and eventually in the whole country.
The sustainability of project achievements depends on the
continuous progress on the same direction. This cannot happen, unless
governments and the supporting donors share the same vision on WUAs and WUG.
The national policies and legislations should be helpful or at least not
stop or in any way hinder such a progress. Volume/ crop based tariff systems
are in place as well as the necessary measures and instruments to encourage/
strengthen/ facilitate their implementation. In other words, it is expected
to create an enabling environment, influencing higher-level key players and
policies for consolidation and dissemination of IWRM principles and
mechanisms.
So far, no economic analysis as such was done in order to
determine financial and economic sustainability of IWRM institutions. It is
very important that these new IWRM institutions are financially and
economically viable and become self-sustaining. Moreover, the worsening
conditions of the inherited infrastructure has not been taken care of or
only insufficiently during the last 15 -20 years. This requires huge
investments now and in the future. Whether the users can take the burden of
rehabilitation or not, and if not, who should pay how much, and the users
ability to pay under current situation has to be assessed and appropriate
recommendations with emphasis on low cost but still adequate solutions need
to be given to the governments and donors.
Furthermore, it is necessary to formulate
quantitative and qualitative indicators to assess social, economic and
technical feasibility concerning the deliverables and outcomes and social
acceptability of these institutional changes. The impact of changed water
policies on environment too, shall be assessed.
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