RESEARCH REPORT Water Productivity in the 67 Syr-Darya River Basin Hammond Murray-Rust, Iskandar Abdullaev, Mehmood ul Hassan and Vilma Horinkova International SM Water Management IWMI is a Future Harvest Center Institute supported by the CGIAR Research Reports IWMI’s mission is to improve water and land resources management for food, livelihoods and nature. In serving this mission, IWMI concentrates on the integration of policies, technologies and management systems to achieve workable solutions to real problemspractical, relevant results in the field of irrigation and water and land resources. The publications in this series cover a wide range of subjectsfrom computer modeling to experience with water user associationsand vary in content from directly applicable research to more basic studies, on which applied work ultimately depends. 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Research Report 67 Water Productivity in the Syr-Darya River Basin Hammond Murray-Rust, Iskandar Abdullaev, Mehmood ul Hassan and Vilma Horinkova International Water Management Institute P O Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka i IWMI receives its principal funding from 58 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Support is also given by the Governments of Ghana, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. This research was made possible through generous support from the Ford Foundation, New Delhi, SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency) and the Dutch Government. The authors: Hammond Murray-Rust is the Theme Leader of Integrated Water Resources Management in Irrigated Agriculture and a Principal Researcher of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Iskandar Abdullayev is a Researcher and Water Management Specialist, Vilma Horinkova is a Principal Researcher and Director for the Central Asia and Caucasus IWMI sub-office, and Mehmood Ul Hassan is a Regional Researcher, all of the IWMI Central Asia and Caucasus sub-office. Murray-Rust, H.; Abdullaev, I.; ul Hassan, M.; Horinkova, V. 2003. Water productivity in the Syr-Darya river basin. Research Report 67. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute. / water management / water use / water allocation / water supply / water demand / water delivery performance / water resources / irrigation water / irrigated farming / irrigation schemes / river basins / cropping systems / soil salinity / crop yield / land / agriculture / environment / organizations / performance evaluation / Central Asia / Syr-Darya /Aral sea / ISBN: 92- 9090- 509- 3 ISSN 1026-0862 Copyright © 2003 by IWMI. All rights reserved. Please send inquiries and comments to: [email protected] ii Contents Summary vii Mitigating the Effects of Irrigation on the Aral Sea 1 Water Management Institutions and Policies in the Syr-Darya River Basin 2 Water Allocation 6 Assessment of Irrigation Performance in the Syr-Darya Basin 11 Conclusions 22 Annex 27 Literature Cited 75 iii iv Abbreviations BVO Basin Valley Organization CCF Collective and Cooperative Farms DWMO District Water Management Organization IWMI International Water Management Institute ICWC Interstate Commission on Water Coordination IWD Irrigation Water Demand IWS Irrigation Water Supply IWL Irrigation Water Limit O&M Operation and Maintenance PPF Private and Peasant Farms SRB Syr-Darya River Basin SANIRI Central Asia Research Institute on Irrigation SIC Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Commission on Water Coordination WUA Water Users Association v vi Summary This report analyses the water productivity and Water Coordination (SIC) based in Tashkent are water-saving initiatives in the Syr-Darya river basin funding the collection of data on water use. (SRB) of Central Asia. The report presents Water delivery, crop yields (cotton, wheat and institutional and political aspects of water rice) and water productivity were used as major resources management in the basin—particularly a indicators of performance for the irrigation system brief description of pre- and post-soviet of the basin. The analysis was done for different developments in water management. Water levels of water use and management—farm, allocation elements principles for different irrigation-system and basin levels were studied. hierarchical levels in the basin are also discussed. The study was conducted for the head, middle and The assessment of the performance of irrigation in tail reaches of the basin. This analysis can be SRB is presented as an analysis of the water- used by water managers, policymakers and saving competition, funded by the World Bank potential donors as a tool for identifying the (from 1999 to 2000). The competition itself is no hierarchical levels and areas of the basin, where longer operational, but the International Water water management needs to be improved and Management Institute (IWMI) and the Scientific water conservation is a possible solution for the Information Center of the Interstate Commission on existing water-related environmental problems. vii Water Productivity in the Syr-Darya River Basin Hammond Murray-Rust, Iskandar Abdullaev, Mehmood ul Hassan and Vilma Horinkova Mitigating the Effects of Irrigation on the Aral Sea Irrigation extractions from both the Syr-Darya that they had reduced irrigation water use. This and the Amu-Darya rivers have contributed paper is based on data collected from the significantly to the problems of the Aral Sea. beginning of 1999 to the end of 2001. This data During the summer months, when demand for gives insights into actual water use in different irrigation is at its highest, little water reaches the locations in the basin and helps to identify where sea. Not only diversions for irrigation, but also there is potential for further improvement in relatively large amounts of water used up in water productivity. leaching and use of water by upstream Because the main rivers that feed the Aral reservoirs for production of electricity have Sea flow across several countries in Central reduced important winter flows to the sea. Asia, it is necessary to understand some history Therefore, it is inevitable that agriculture must of both irrigation and institutional development consume less water if the volume of water in the and changes that occurred over the region sea can be conserved or augmented. during Soviet rule and since the establishment of Critics of irrigation claim that irrigation water the newly independent republics. This is covered use is wasteful, and that improper management next. of irrigation systems has resulted in excess The basis for water allocation within the withdrawals above the level needed to meet food basin is examined next. These allocation and fiber production targets. Yet these claims principles have their roots in the Soviet period, tend to be based on observations of the impact particularly in terms of assessing the overall of water extractions on the sea level rather than demand for water, but they have been modified on accurate data on irrigation water consumption to some extent to include allowances for non- and institutional and governance inadequacies. crop factors such as soil and salinity As a part of its substantial effort to reverse amelioration with adjustments for leaching in some of the adverse impacts of irrigation on the areas prone to salinization. hydro-ecology of the Aral Sea, the World Bank The details of the water-saving competition sponsored a water-saving competition among are presented next, including the criteria for different water users throughout the Syr-Darya selecting the competitors. Three categories have basin (which is discontinued now, but IWMI and been used for the competition: water SIC are funding the collection of data on water management districts that supply and distribute use). The objective of this competition was to water—typically over 20,000 ha or more in reward, with prizes and other forms of extent; cooperative or communal farms that recognition, water users who could demonstrate cover about 1,000-2,000 ha of land and private 1 farms which are a few hectares in size. This Finally the paper focuses on conclusions and section also analyses the data collected from recommendations. This includes a comparison of 1999-2001. The focus is on water productivity performance parameters from the SRB with other because, if food and fiber targets are to be met data from South Asia. These comparisons with less water usage, productivity of water is a indicate that Central Asian systems perform at more meaningful performance parameter than similar levels. simple yield per hectare. Factors used in the The competition appears to have sparked analysis include, location within the basin, interest among both water users and location within a province, size of the unit under policymakers, and it is recommended that this investigation, and the effect of salinity in the