155
conduct an annual review of all fi nancial records and bank transfers of the
WUA. The committee members are elected during the general assembly meeting
and they report directly to the assembly. A WUA accountant assists the committee
during the assessment.
Additionally, there is a WUA management team to manage a WUA’s activity on
a daily basis. This team includes the WUA manager, elected by the general assembly, an accountant and technical staff (e.g. mirab – or “water master” – and engineers), with its activities paid for through ISFs. The manager’s responsibility is to
handle irrigation-related activities in the WUA territory, identify potential irrigation
canals to be maintained and initiate khashars , prepare the annual budget of the
WUA and calculate irrigation service fees (ISFs) for both members (farmers) and
non-members (e.g. local households). The WUA accountant is responsible for the
overall fi nancial activities of the association. He/she is in charge of collecting ISFs.
11.2.3 Spatial Reform of WUAs
A major reform to WUAs in Uzbekistan subsequent to their creation in the early 2000s
was their spatial reorganisation around hydrographic, rather than administrative, units
in accordance with IWRM principles (Dukhovny et al. 2013 , p. 184; see Chap. 8 , Moss
and Dobner 2015 , in this volume). With Decree No. 320 of the Cabinet of Ministers of
July 2003 on “improving the organisation of water resources management”, the Uzbek
state started reforming its water sector based on a policy of decentralisation. A key
element of this reform was to create a basin irrigation systems authority (BISA) in
place of the former regional water resources management department ( OblVodKhoz )
and to establish irrigation systems authorities (ISAs) as well as main canal authorities
(MCA), subordinated to BISA, in place of district water resources management departments ( RayVodKhoz ). As a result, the number of local water organisations was reduced.
For example, 12 administrative organisations at provincial level were replaced by 10
BISAs in 2003. In the Fergana Valley within Uzbekistan, which includes three provinces (Andijan, Fergana and Namangan), three BISAs were created: Naryn-Karadarya,
Naryn-Syrdarya and Syrdarya-Soh. Furthermore, 13 ISAs and 5 CMOs were also
established as a result of the 2003 decree.
At the lower level of the water management hierarchy, this decree called for
reorganising WUAs spatially around the local canal network, rather than administrative territories. Wegerich ( 2009 ) points out that at the WUA level the shift did not
incorporate the drainage system but focused solely on the infrastructure delivery
system. Since this reform, equity in the allocation of water supply per hectare has
increased within the Khorezm province, the lower part of the Amudarya basin
( ibid ). Dukhovny et al. ( 2013 ) also report that the transition to the hydrographic
principle in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan brought positive outcomes in terms of
water distribution equity between up- and downstream communities. However, they
also acknowledge that the transition to hydrographic units of management is not yet
complete in the Fergana Valley as a whole ( ibid ).
11 Where Water Meets Agriculture: The Ambivalent Role of Water Users Associations
conduct an annual review of all fi nancial records and bank transfers of the
WUA. The committee members are elected during the general assembly meeting
and they report directly to the assembly. A WUA accountant assists the committee
during the assessment.
Additionally, there is a WUA management team to manage a WUA’s activity on
a daily basis. This team includes the WUA manager, elected by the general assembly, an accountant and technical staff (e.g. mirab – or “water master” – and engineers), with its activities paid for through ISFs. The manager’s responsibility is to
handle irrigation-related activities in the WUA territory, identify potential irrigation
canals to be maintained and initiate khashars , prepare the annual budget of the
WUA and calculate irrigation service fees (ISFs) for both members (farmers) and
non-members (e.g. local households). The WUA accountant is responsible for the
overall fi nancial activities of the association. He/she is in charge of collecting ISFs.
11.2.3 Spatial Reform of WUAs
A major reform to WUAs in Uzbekistan subsequent to their creation in the early 2000s
was their spatial reorganisation around hydrographic, rather than administrative, units
in accordance with IWRM principles (Dukhovny et al. 2013 , p. 184; see Chap. 8 , Moss
and Dobner 2015 , in this volume). With Decree No. 320 of the Cabinet of Ministers of
July 2003 on “improving the organisation of water resources management”, the Uzbek
state started reforming its water sector based on a policy of decentralisation. A key
element of this reform was to create a basin irrigation systems authority (BISA) in
place of the former regional water resources management department ( OblVodKhoz )
and to establish irrigation systems authorities (ISAs) as well as main canal authorities
(MCA), subordinated to BISA, in place of district water resources management departments ( RayVodKhoz ). As a result, the number of local water organisations was reduced.
For example, 12 administrative organisations at provincial level were replaced by 10
BISAs in 2003. In the Fergana Valley within Uzbekistan, which includes three provinces (Andijan, Fergana and Namangan), three BISAs were created: Naryn-Karadarya,
Naryn-Syrdarya and Syrdarya-Soh. Furthermore, 13 ISAs and 5 CMOs were also
established as a result of the 2003 decree.
At the lower level of the water management hierarchy, this decree called for
reorganising WUAs spatially around the local canal network, rather than administrative territories. Wegerich ( 2009 ) points out that at the WUA level the shift did not
incorporate the drainage system but focused solely on the infrastructure delivery
system. Since this reform, equity in the allocation of water supply per hectare has
increased within the Khorezm province, the lower part of the Amudarya basin
( ibid ). Dukhovny et al. ( 2013 ) also report that the transition to the hydrographic
principle in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan brought positive outcomes in terms of
water distribution equity between up- and downstream communities. However, they
also acknowledge that the transition to hydrographic units of management is not yet
complete in the Fergana Valley as a whole ( ibid ).
11 Where Water Meets Agriculture: The Ambivalent Role of Water Users Associations