106
The creation of water users associations (WUAs) across the country is the third
signifi cant organisational transition after the creation of the ICWC and the reordering of irrigation management around hydrographic boundaries. Given the strong
association of WUAs globally with the IWRM paradigm, it is tempting to interpret
their creation in Uzbekistan in the early 2000s primarily as an instrument of
IWRM. In reality, they were introduced by central government decree in response
to an overwhelming crisis in managing on-farm irrigation systems following the
collapse of the collective farms. Here we note a dramatic example of connectivity
between land reform and irrigation management and, on a broader level, of the
embedment of agricultural structures, problems and development potentialities in
political power relations, fi nancials needs of the state and modes of political decision making. In the initial phases of land reform, little thought was given to the
impacts it might have on irrigation. On-farm irrigation and drainage infrastructure,
formerly managed and maintained by staff of the collective farms, had no one
responsible for them once these were disbanded (Abdullaev et al. 2010 ). Water distribution became an issue of contestation and competition amongst the new landowning units. Many trained and experienced engineers, irrigators and agronomists
left for Russia or Kazakhstan. The combined effect of this institutional void and
exodus of skilled personnel was a catastrophic drop in the water effi ciency of irrigations systems. In the Fergana Valley, losses were reported of up to 55 % of irrigation
water supply (Dukhovny et al. 2009 ). This was the principal reason for the sudden
creation of WUAs: to fi ll an institutional gap left by land reform. Within the space
of a few months, on the back of a central government decree, thousands of WUAs
emerged. The nature of their emergence is indicative, however, of many of their
subsequent shortcomings. Firstly, the government was more interested in creating
new organisations than making them viable or fi t-for-purpose, with the result that,
without adequate funding, most WUAs exist on paper only (Wegerich 2006 ;
Abdullaev et al. 2010 ). Secondly, being the product of top-down bureaucratic policy, most WUAs do not enjoy the support of their members (see Sehring 2009 ;
Abdullaev et al. 2010 ). Most water users regard their WUA as the extended arm of
state water authorities rather than the self-governing bodies to which they normally
ascribe. Many commentators see WUAs in Central Asia as inactive and not fi nancially viable (Wegerich 2000 , 2006 ; Abdullaev et al. 2010 ).
A fourth important source of innovation in the fi eld of irrigation is undoubtedly
the IWRM Fergana Project run by the Scientifi c and Information Centre of the
ICWC and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and funded by the
Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). This transnational project, covering the
Fergana River Basin in three countries (Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan),
ran from 2001 to 2012 with the aim of improving the effi ciency of water resources
management by introducing IWRM principles and practice (Dukhovny et al. 2009 ,
2013 ). The measures promoted include supporting the reordering of irrigation management around hydrographic boundaries (see above), the increased participation of
water users in decision-making bodies (as via the Unions of Canal Users, cited
above), training and education for hydro-engineers and farmers (see Sect. 8.4 ) and
research on improved irrigation techniques. Those involved in the project credit it
with helping to reduce water used in the region by 12–25 %, increase the equity and
T. Moss and P. Dobner
The creation of water users associations (WUAs) across the country is the third
signifi cant organisational transition after the creation of the ICWC and the reordering of irrigation management around hydrographic boundaries. Given the strong
association of WUAs globally with the IWRM paradigm, it is tempting to interpret
their creation in Uzbekistan in the early 2000s primarily as an instrument of
IWRM. In reality, they were introduced by central government decree in response
to an overwhelming crisis in managing on-farm irrigation systems following the
collapse of the collective farms. Here we note a dramatic example of connectivity
between land reform and irrigation management and, on a broader level, of the
embedment of agricultural structures, problems and development potentialities in
political power relations, fi nancials needs of the state and modes of political decision making. In the initial phases of land reform, little thought was given to the
impacts it might have on irrigation. On-farm irrigation and drainage infrastructure,
formerly managed and maintained by staff of the collective farms, had no one
responsible for them once these were disbanded (Abdullaev et al. 2010 ). Water distribution became an issue of contestation and competition amongst the new landowning units. Many trained and experienced engineers, irrigators and agronomists
left for Russia or Kazakhstan. The combined effect of this institutional void and
exodus of skilled personnel was a catastrophic drop in the water effi ciency of irrigations systems. In the Fergana Valley, losses were reported of up to 55 % of irrigation
water supply (Dukhovny et al. 2009 ). This was the principal reason for the sudden
creation of WUAs: to fi ll an institutional gap left by land reform. Within the space
of a few months, on the back of a central government decree, thousands of WUAs
emerged. The nature of their emergence is indicative, however, of many of their
subsequent shortcomings. Firstly, the government was more interested in creating
new organisations than making them viable or fi t-for-purpose, with the result that,
without adequate funding, most WUAs exist on paper only (Wegerich 2006 ;
Abdullaev et al. 2010 ). Secondly, being the product of top-down bureaucratic policy, most WUAs do not enjoy the support of their members (see Sehring 2009 ;
Abdullaev et al. 2010 ). Most water users regard their WUA as the extended arm of
state water authorities rather than the self-governing bodies to which they normally
ascribe. Many commentators see WUAs in Central Asia as inactive and not fi nancially viable (Wegerich 2000 , 2006 ; Abdullaev et al. 2010 ).
A fourth important source of innovation in the fi eld of irrigation is undoubtedly
the IWRM Fergana Project run by the Scientifi c and Information Centre of the
ICWC and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and funded by the
Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). This transnational project, covering the
Fergana River Basin in three countries (Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan),
ran from 2001 to 2012 with the aim of improving the effi ciency of water resources
management by introducing IWRM principles and practice (Dukhovny et al. 2009 ,
2013 ). The measures promoted include supporting the reordering of irrigation management around hydrographic boundaries (see above), the increased participation of
water users in decision-making bodies (as via the Unions of Canal Users, cited
above), training and education for hydro-engineers and farmers (see Sect. 8.4 ) and
research on improved irrigation techniques. Those involved in the project credit it
with helping to reduce water used in the region by 12–25 %, increase the equity and
T. Moss and P. Dobner