109
potential futures and extending the boundaries of debate. From different disciplinary
perspectives, it can support initiatives to shape change, identifying promising points of
entry and potential pitfalls as well as accompanying projects through implementation
with expertise and critical refl ection.
The sections in this chapter all represent attempts to make sense out of the past,
present and potential future of the MWEP that is Fergana Valley’s irrigation system.
They share a common concern to explore the interdependencies of the region’s
regimes for agricultural production and water management, the fi rst core position of
this chapter. Here, the interest lies in revealing not only how each policy fi eld affects
the other, but also what institutional misfi ts between the two – in terms of their differing organisational structures, incentive mechanisms and power relations – make it
so diffi cult to work across them effectively. In line with our second core position, the
sections all address the relationship between transformation and path dependency.
Transformation is treated as a continuous process of radical and incremental change,
rather than a sudden shift. Path dependency is deprived of any deterministic assumptions. Unpacking the emergent hybrids of the old and the new is the task at hand.
The topics of these in-depth analyses have been selected by virtue of what we
regard as their critical importance to the future of Fergana Valley’s irrigation system
and to prospects for making this future more sustainable. In the fi rst piece, Hermann
Kreutzmann explores issues of geographical interdependence and rescaling emerging from attempts at inter-state cooperation since 1991 and how the riparian states
are responding to the geopolitical impasse. In the following section, Shavkat
Kenjabaev and Hans-Georg Frede study the region’s irrigation infrastructures in
terms of the environmental impacts they are having, the economic conditions they
require and the political constraints they are facing. Timothy Moss and Ahmad
Hamidov then focus in on the region’s WUAs to analyse how far they are fulfi lling
the multiple expectations vested in them and what the prospects are for giving water
users a greater say in the management of Fergana Valley’s irrigation system. Finally,
Bernd Hansjürgens investigates the potential for economic incentives to encourage
more effi cient use of irrigation water and crop production and the institutional
obstacles to implementing them in the region.
Field Trips and Discussions
1. Central Offi ce of Fergana Irrigation District, Fergana, 4 May 2014
2. Offi ce of South Fergana Canal Management, 5 May 2014
3. WUA Kadyrjon Azamjon, 5 May 2014
4. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Tashkent, 8 May 2014
5. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 8 May 2014
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction
in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
8 Between Multiple Transformations and Systemic Path Dependencies
potential futures and extending the boundaries of debate. From different disciplinary
perspectives, it can support initiatives to shape change, identifying promising points of
entry and potential pitfalls as well as accompanying projects through implementation
with expertise and critical refl ection.
The sections in this chapter all represent attempts to make sense out of the past,
present and potential future of the MWEP that is Fergana Valley’s irrigation system.
They share a common concern to explore the interdependencies of the region’s
regimes for agricultural production and water management, the fi rst core position of
this chapter. Here, the interest lies in revealing not only how each policy fi eld affects
the other, but also what institutional misfi ts between the two – in terms of their differing organisational structures, incentive mechanisms and power relations – make it
so diffi cult to work across them effectively. In line with our second core position, the
sections all address the relationship between transformation and path dependency.
Transformation is treated as a continuous process of radical and incremental change,
rather than a sudden shift. Path dependency is deprived of any deterministic assumptions. Unpacking the emergent hybrids of the old and the new is the task at hand.
The topics of these in-depth analyses have been selected by virtue of what we
regard as their critical importance to the future of Fergana Valley’s irrigation system
and to prospects for making this future more sustainable. In the fi rst piece, Hermann
Kreutzmann explores issues of geographical interdependence and rescaling emerging from attempts at inter-state cooperation since 1991 and how the riparian states
are responding to the geopolitical impasse. In the following section, Shavkat
Kenjabaev and Hans-Georg Frede study the region’s irrigation infrastructures in
terms of the environmental impacts they are having, the economic conditions they
require and the political constraints they are facing. Timothy Moss and Ahmad
Hamidov then focus in on the region’s WUAs to analyse how far they are fulfi lling
the multiple expectations vested in them and what the prospects are for giving water
users a greater say in the management of Fergana Valley’s irrigation system. Finally,
Bernd Hansjürgens investigates the potential for economic incentives to encourage
more effi cient use of irrigation water and crop production and the institutional
obstacles to implementing them in the region.
Field Trips and Discussions
1. Central Offi ce of Fergana Irrigation District, Fergana, 4 May 2014
2. Offi ce of South Fergana Canal Management, 5 May 2014
3. WUA Kadyrjon Azamjon, 5 May 2014
4. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Tashkent, 8 May 2014
5. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 8 May 2014
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction
in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
8 Between Multiple Transformations and Systemic Path Dependencies