171
sustaining the technical systems and the management of the irrigation system has
decreased in both absolute and relative terms ( ibid , p. 10). Today there are clear
signs of problems in sustaining the infrastructure all over Uzbekistan.
Although the problems of water management are multicausal and mutually interconnected, in this contribution, we focus on the second line of argument, namely,
the situation within the Fergana Valley. We want to focus on those factors of water
management that can be infl uenced independently by the Uzbekistan government.
Many proposals have been put forward with the aim of improving the water management system in the Fergana Valley. The most important policy recommendations
and measures include, inter alia, the following elements (Dukhovny and de Schutter
2011 , p. 319):
• Management information systems
• A training and qualifi cation programme
• IWRM
• Development of a monitoring system
• Evaluating water demand and adjusting irrigation
• Introduction of water prices
Although there is no doubt that the decline of the water sector in the Fergana
Valley can only be overcome by a comprehensive approach covering (at least) several of the above-mentioned elements, in the following we refer to just one aspect
that is part of nearly every proposal: the role of water resources pricing. We want to
shed some light on the potential of pricing mechanisms and on how these mechanisms can serve as incentives for more effi cient resource use in the agricultural sector. At the same time, we want to address the institutional prerequisites for
introducing water prices and to highlight the obstacles that prevent water prices
from performing their functions. By explicitly focusing on the design elements and
prerequisites of water pricing mechanisms on the one hand and on the institutional
obstacles involved in the case of the Fergana Valley on the other, we want to illustrate how diffi cult it is to apply theory-based recommendations to the specifi c
context- dependent situations found in real-world societies, with their historical path
dependencies and institutional restrictions. By focusing on these aspects, we see our
contribution as taking a similar line of reasoning as other chapters in this volume
that point to the need to combine technical, economic and societal perspectives in
order to develop well-functioning major water engineering projects (MWEPs).
The following section will outline some “economics of water pricing”. In elaborating the preconditions for introducing an effective and effi cient water pricing
scheme, we want to elucidate the notion that any successful instrument has to be
based on “good” design. We also want to raise awareness that designing such instruments is an “art” that can rarely be achieved in real-world policy processes, even in
Western countries with their – compared to Central Asian states – much more effective institutions and governance structures. In the following section, we will focus
on the institutional settings that shape the conditions in the agricultural sector in
Uzbekistan. Our use of the term “institutional settings” refers to the formal and
12 Theory, the Market and the State: Agricultural Reforms in Uzbekistan…
sustaining the technical systems and the management of the irrigation system has
decreased in both absolute and relative terms ( ibid , p. 10). Today there are clear
signs of problems in sustaining the infrastructure all over Uzbekistan.
Although the problems of water management are multicausal and mutually interconnected, in this contribution, we focus on the second line of argument, namely,
the situation within the Fergana Valley. We want to focus on those factors of water
management that can be infl uenced independently by the Uzbekistan government.
Many proposals have been put forward with the aim of improving the water management system in the Fergana Valley. The most important policy recommendations
and measures include, inter alia, the following elements (Dukhovny and de Schutter
2011 , p. 319):
• Management information systems
• A training and qualifi cation programme
• IWRM
• Development of a monitoring system
• Evaluating water demand and adjusting irrigation
• Introduction of water prices
Although there is no doubt that the decline of the water sector in the Fergana
Valley can only be overcome by a comprehensive approach covering (at least) several of the above-mentioned elements, in the following we refer to just one aspect
that is part of nearly every proposal: the role of water resources pricing. We want to
shed some light on the potential of pricing mechanisms and on how these mechanisms can serve as incentives for more effi cient resource use in the agricultural sector. At the same time, we want to address the institutional prerequisites for
introducing water prices and to highlight the obstacles that prevent water prices
from performing their functions. By explicitly focusing on the design elements and
prerequisites of water pricing mechanisms on the one hand and on the institutional
obstacles involved in the case of the Fergana Valley on the other, we want to illustrate how diffi cult it is to apply theory-based recommendations to the specifi c
context- dependent situations found in real-world societies, with their historical path
dependencies and institutional restrictions. By focusing on these aspects, we see our
contribution as taking a similar line of reasoning as other chapters in this volume
that point to the need to combine technical, economic and societal perspectives in
order to develop well-functioning major water engineering projects (MWEPs).
The following section will outline some “economics of water pricing”. In elaborating the preconditions for introducing an effective and effi cient water pricing
scheme, we want to elucidate the notion that any successful instrument has to be
based on “good” design. We also want to raise awareness that designing such instruments is an “art” that can rarely be achieved in real-world policy processes, even in
Western countries with their – compared to Central Asian states – much more effective institutions and governance structures. In the following section, we will focus
on the institutional settings that shape the conditions in the agricultural sector in
Uzbekistan. Our use of the term “institutional settings” refers to the formal and
12 Theory, the Market and the State: Agricultural Reforms in Uzbekistan…