Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
5.3
Historical Institutions of Water Governance in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
The dependent variable, thus the variable to be explained, is water institutional reform in Kyr
gyzstan and Tajikistan. These processes will be described in detail and analyzed in the two case
study chapters. But in order to be able to understand which reforms were carried out and why
they occured, the situation of the water institutions prior to reform will be outlined in this
chapter. This is the starting point of institutional change that both countries have in common.
This chapter will therefore give an overview of the historical development of water governance
in Central Asia.
The history of irrigation agriculture in Central Asia is long; it started several thousand
years ago. The prospering period of the Arab control in the 7 th century witnessed the construc
tion of extensive irrigation systems in the sedentary areas. Over the course of the centuries,
complex and sophisticated systems of water management evolved, which are recorded in de
scription by Arabic historians and geographers. In the 19 th century, the Tsarist regime fostered
the massive expansion of irrigation systems. However, many of the ambitious plans of this
period were never realized. This changed with the Soviet Union that financed and constructed
large scale irrigation networks in order to expand cotton production in Central Asia (O'Hara
2000: 369 373). This chapter describes the institutions of governance that evolved to manage
these irrigation systems and regulate water usage.
In Islam, water has as a gift of Allah the status of a community resource. Therefore, it
is forbidden to buy or sell it. However, if infrastructure, knowledge or other investments have
been made for its withdrawal, it becomes a private property and fees may be levied (Faruqui
2001: 11f). Before the Tsarist expansion to Central Asia, control over water in the sedentary
regions used to be centralized and hierarchically organized while local level official were res
ponsibe for the management. In the Kokand Khanate, which also covered today Kyrgyz and
Tajik parts of the Fergana valley, farmers received usage rights from local authorities that in
turn were controlled by upper instances. The Khan acted as a kind of trustee of water in the
name of Allah. Farmers had to pay taxes for water usage and were obligated to participate in
necessary maintenance works. On all levels of the hierarchy, there were mirabs water masters.
This was a very prestigious position. The highest position was the mirab bashi who was part of
the government and responsible for water allocation. He was elected by the water user groups
and received a payment in kind from the users depending on how satisfied they were with his
work. On local levels, there were also mirabs responsible for secondary channels and aryk ak
sakals (literally: channel elders) for small channels (O'Hara 2000: 372).
In most cases, this system was maintained during Russian colonization. The positions of
mirab and aryk aksakal were formalized, incorporated into the colonial administration, and
transformed into paid positions. This meant, however, that they were no longer accountable to
the water users and had little incentives to control the system effectively. In addition, new
irrigation officials without local knowledge were incorporated and competition for water inten
sified with the implementation of agricultural policies of cotton expansion. As a consequence,
traditional institutions of water management were weakened while no effective new control
mechanisms were introduced; corruption and unapproved water withdrawal became part of the
system (O'Hara 2000: 374f; Bichsel 2006: 111ff).
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