Comparative Research Design - The Politics of Water Institutional Reform in Neopatrimonial States - page 58

dysai, Uch Kurgan) that permits a multi year regulation of the Naryn River runoff and has a
storage capacity of 26.3 km³ in total. 97 percent of hydropower is produced by the five biggest
plants that are all located at the Naryn cascade. As the Naryn is the main tributary of the Syr
Darya, this cascade is of regional importance for the regulation of irrigation water. Other dams
and reservoirs are the Kirov reservoir at the Talas River, the Orto Say at Chuy River, and many
smaller reservoirs (Antipova et al. 2002: 506; Mamatkanov 2002).
Tajikistan has nine operating reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 29 km³. The two
biggest ones, Nurek (10.5 km³) at Vaksh River and Kairakum (4.16 km³) at the Syr Darya, are
of international significance as they also regulate irrigation water and produce hydropower for
the purpose of neighboring countries (FAO, Kondell 2006). 41 The Nurek dam is the highest
dam in the world (300 m). The attached HPP alone produces about 25% of all of the energy
produced in Tajikistan (Niyazi 2003).
The dams built in Soviet times were set up mainly for better water regulation for irrigation
purposes. The original aim of the attached hydropower plants was only to provide energy in
peak times while the regular needs were covered by the unified energy system. Since indepen
dence, the power generating function of these dams outweigh their irrigation function (see
later, ch. 0). Hydropower production is a non consumptive water usage, the regulation in this
case does not have to address water withdrawal but instead has to determine the amount and
time of water release from the dams. This is a contented task as there is a trade off between
water needs for irrigation and for hydropower production: Water is needed for irrigation pur
poses during the vegetation period, while energy needs are highest in winter (more in ch. 5.4.3).
The situation in the regions of the local case studies selected in each country (see chapter
3.4) presents itself as follows. The Sokuluk district ( raion ) is located in Chuy province in north
ern Kyrgyzstan in the western vicinity of the capital Bishkek. Most of its 19 municipalities ( aiyl
okmotu ) cover the area of one or several former sovkhoz or kolkhoz (FSK). The Chuy province
( oblast ) is the most densely populated area in Kyrgyzstan; one third of the population of the
country lives in this province. Concerning both hydrogeography as well as land use patterns,
Sokuluk raion is representative of the Chuy valley. The raion extends along the rivers Sokuluk
and Jylamish. Sokuluk River rises in the glaciers of the Kyrgyz Range from 3500 to 4000 m and
flows into the Chuy River at the border to Kazakhstan. Like all other rivers of the Kyrgyz
Range, it is fed mainly by glaciers and melting snow so that the maximum discharge takes place
in the summer. At the middle reaches of the river there are several technical facilities and re
servoirs. The Great Chuy Canal ( Bolshoy Chuyskiy Kanal, BChK ) crosses the district from East to
West (Askaraliev 2004). The main crops cultivated are sugar beets, cereals, lucerne, melons,
beans, and grapes. Despite the relative proximity of the capital, many villages do not have good
market access as roads are bad and transportation costs are high.
For the Tajik case study the Aini raion was selected. Aini is a mountainous district in the
Zeravshan valley between the Turkestan and Fan mountain ranges. Although it is located only
150 km away from the capital Dushanbe and 175 km from the northern center Khudjand, it is
quite isolated due to the fact that the two passes (Anzob pass 3,372 m to the south and
Shakhriston pass 3,378 m to the north) are partially closed during winter time (October to
May). Due to the bad transportation situation resulting from its location, the valley's popula
tion's access to market is difficult. There are 2,984 ha pastures and only 2,500 ha of arable
irrigated farmland. Land resources are scarce and the soil is of low quality. Virtually all inhabi
tants of the Raion (about 72,000) are involved in agriculture and livestock breeding. The main
41 For more details on the dams, the reservoirs' capacities, and energy production see Valamat-Zadeh 2001; Petrov
2003; Giese, Trouchine 2006; Wegerich et al. 2007.