Water Institutional Reforms in Tajikistan - The Politics of Water Institutional Reform in Neopatrimonial States - page 137

of irrigation management to Water User Associations (WUAs). The World Bank's activities
have already been mentioned. In addition, UNDP, ADB, IDB, SDC, USAID, and many inter
national NGOs are active as well. The latter primarily work on projects at the local level, which
foster community and rural development, including the rehabilitation of small scale irrigation
systems and the drinking water supply.
Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
The number of NGOs that aim to influence the policies of the government and/or donors is
very limited. NGO activities and their influence are marginal. Their activities mainly focus on
the implementation of projects, in which specific implementation work is often done by
NGOs or (often informal) community based organizations (CBOs), or on consultancies for
donors. On the local level, many CBOs have been set up as donors especially international
NGOs often prefer to work with them instead of with state structures. The staff of both
water research institutes, NIIGiM and IWP, also established NGOs: The staff members of the
NIIGiM has since 1999 a NGO called “WaterConsult”, and the employees of the Institute of
Water Problems form the NGO “BIOS”. They use these NGOs to participate in projects to
which they would not have access as government institutes, such as consultancies and rehabili
tation projects. 215
State and Collective Farms
Before their dissolution, state and collective farms were (and where they still exist are) in
charge of O&M of on farm irrigation channels. They have a contract with the RaiVodKhoz on
water delivery.

7.2 Problem Perception and Policy Objectives

The aim of this chapter is to reflect on the general discourse on water and the problems per
ceived by actors and by the public by identifying the topics dominating the public debate. This
is also a part of the framework in which institutional reforms must be conducted. In the dis
course on water resource management, two problem perceptions are extremely dominant: the
financial situation and the deterioration of the infrastructure. The dramatic decrease in budget
allocations and its technical and economic effects were described in the previous chapter. Con
sequently, when it comes to priorities for strategies to tackle the problems of the water sector,
reaching cost recovery and rehabilitating the infrastructure are among the key priorities: “A
crucial area in the improvement of water systems in Tajikistan is finance.” (UNDP 2003: 52).
Institutional aspects receive less attention. In a national report for the GWP, the priorities
in the water sector are ranked as follows:
1) Improving the utilization of the hydropower potential and achieving power indepen
dence;
2) Food security, employment, and poverty reduction;
3) Rehabilitation of the water infrastructure;
4) Increasing state financing of O&M and rehabilitating the water infrastructure, devel
oping economic mechanisms for water use;
5) Improving access to drinking water and the sewer system (Pulatov 2004:88).
215 Author's interview with the director of the IWP, Dushanbe, 10/15/2003; with the director of the NIIGiM,
Dushanbe, 09/07/2004.