Tempus-Swan: Towards sustainable Water Resources Management in Central Asia ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT SITUATION prepared by SWAN

PROJECT TEAM, Uzbekistan To determine future labour market needs for the professionals working in the water resource management sector, it will be useful to have the following information: 1. A profile of the type of employment that the public and private sectors offer i.e., what kind of positions are available for post graduates, graduates and skilled workers. This information can be presented at the national, regional or local level. Also the details of the specific qualifications that employees are required to have to fulfil a certain type of position. Annual demand for highly qualified specialists with higher education in water management for organizations of different levels according to the predictive calculations consists of more than 300 specialists per year. Master degree student in Water Resources Management in accordance with the specialized, scientific research and scientific-pedagogical training can perform the following professional activities: - Design and survey: programming and technical specifications for survey work, management and implementation of major types of operation and maintenance, feasibility studies taking into account natural conditions and techno-economic indicators, preparation of design estimates; - Organizational and technological: the implementation of technology projects at the facilities of the water complexes; - Production and management: management of departments of research, design and exploration, production and technological organizations; - Scientific-Research: Identification and selection of perspective directions in science, programming, organizing and conducting a scientific experiment using modern methods and techniques in science and allied sciences, the processing of the results, making optimal technical solutions, implementation and use of results in production processes. Scientific-pedagogical: teaching activities on special subjects at Universities. Master should be prepared: For self activity that requires a broad knowledge in the direction of undergraduate and in-depth professional expertise, skills in scientific-research, design and exploration, production and technological and scientific-pedagogical work; Main areas of professional activity: -Scientific-Research, design and survey and research institutions and water related organizations, and associations of any form of ownership; - Public and private educational institutions of higher and secondary specialized education. Opportunities of professional adaptation: Master degree in Water Resources Management "can be adapted to the following types of professional activities:

- environmental protection: working in organizations for the protection of the environment; - controlling and inspection: management activities and use of water resources; - economic: the organization, planning and management of water resource; Master degree student in Water Resources Management must be broadly erudite, and possess the fundamental scientific basis, to own the methodology of scientific creativity, modern information technology, methods of obtaining, processing and storage of scientific information, to be ready for research, scientific and practical and scientific-pedagogical activities. Master student must: have an idea: - about the post-industrial civilization and the directions of its development; - about problems of development of information society; - about the spiritual life and spiritual needs; - about scientific and technological revolution and scientific and technological progress; - about global challenges of contemporary humanity; - about knowledge and creativity as informational processes; - about the creative information systems in science, technology and culture, - about information systems and artificial intelligence methods of knowledge representation; - about the implementation of universal software tools and problem-oriented information technology; - about the unity of natural systems; - about the main methods of constructing and applying mathematical models, correlation and regression models for solving problems of development and operation of water facilities, numerical methods for solving the problems of modeling, the basic optimization models; -about environmental impact arising from the management of water resources - About the philosophical questions of natural science; - As a result of large-scale water activities - about the importance of water in nature and human life; - about the identification of the water needs of the population and industries; - about mode of water consumption and wastewater of various industries; - about the state of water resources; - about the major sources of pollution and depletion of water resources; - about the causes of pollution and poisoning; - about the main types of water pollution; - about the main forms of pollution; - about ways and rationalizing the use of technological solutions and careful attitude to water; - about the chemical composition of water in natural conditions and human impacts; - about the main indicators of water quality on bacteriological and biological indicators of water; - about the needs and methods of water management; - about the basic requirements for the quality of natural waters; - about the need to improve the quality of natural waters to meet water users Know and be able to use: - methodology of scientific and technical creativity; - common methods of scientific knowledge; - methods of theoretical and empirical research; - the basis of numerical experiment; - the logical laws and regulations; - methods of argumentation and refutation. - the basis of information modeling; -generic and task-oriented information technology by specialty; - multimedia technology and networking technology in education; - methods of constructing mathematical models of the tasks for creating maintenance of water facilities; - methods of computational experiments by model; 2

- methods of analysis of simulation results and on this basis to formulate appropriate recommendations; - principles of justification of complex measures to eliminate the negative impacts of water management activities; - national and international laws and agreements on management of water resources of transboundary rivers and lakes; - the principles of international water distribution; - regulations and procedure for issuing permits for water use; - rights and responsibilities of water users; - methods for estimating prediction of water resources in the basin of a river or other water objects; - methods of calculating the volume of water consumption and wastewater; - the principles of justification of wastewater industries. - methods for assessing the steps of waste water contamination; - methods and techniques of wastewater treatment of different industries; - the scientific basis and methods of water conservation. - the basis of hydro chemical and Applied Hydrochemistry; - the basis of predicting changes in chemical composition and properties of natural waters; - technological process of natural waters; - wastewater treatment technology. - scientific and methodological framework for the management of water resources; - management methods and techniques of surface water; - management methods and techniques of groundwater; - management methods and techniques of precipitation - normative documents, regulations and other information sources provided by water quality requirements, the various water users; - theoretical base of processes and methods to improve the quality of water and sewage; - calculation methods, design and operation of sewage treatment plants. Have the skills of: - ecological studies of the projects of water management complex systems - work with the modern applied software; - predict the effects of water management activities and water resources management at the Governmental and international level; - design and analysis of water management projects; - assessing the state of water resources management and development of recommendations for improvement - justify the methods of assessment and forecasting of water resources; -justify the methods and range of management activities towards rationalization of water use and careful attitude to water; - implementation of scientific research into the study of complex use and protection of water resources. - justification of methods and techniques of wastewater treatment; - justify the steps of wastewater treatment; - justification of the complex of treatment facilities for wastewater treatment; - justifying schemes wastewater industries; - to predict changes in water quality; - justify the technology of sewage treatment; - use the results of water tests to assess its quality. -justify the need for water resources management of specific area for integrated use; - justify methods and techniques of management of surface, groundwater and atmospheric precipitation; - execution of research and management of water resources and integrated study of their use - application of modern information technologies in organization building and construction works during construction of agricultural water supply; 3

-the methods and the degree of water treatment, composition and design of wastewater treatment plants on improvement water quality 2. A detailed description of how the water sector is changing and how this will affect the future skills requirements for postgraduates, graduates and skilled workers who wish to pursue employment in either the public or private sector and NGOs. The government's program for reform, which involved enactment of new legislation, creation of new institutions and implementation of structural changes, was cautious, step-by-step and initiated in two stages. Stage one was undertaken in 1992 and completed by the end of 1994. It concentrated on allowing private residential housing and establishing small-scale privatization of retail shops, trade and service enterprises. In 1994 a number of important changes were initiated in the agricultural sector. Almost all the Sovkhozes were abolished and transformed into cooperatives of family farming. In mid1994 the second stage of the economic reform program began. It focused on the privatization of state property, formation of a multi-sectoral economy and further improvement in taxation, financial and monetary policies; liberalizing external economic activities to overcome the recession; ensure macroeconomic stabilization and increase output by stimulating domestic production activities and reducing the inflation. The second stage also targeted self-sufficiency in some key sectors, such as fuel, energy and grain. The most important change in agriculture in this second phase was the move towards individual farming. The republic is still one of the world's major producers of cotton. The Uzbek government remains poised to maintain the cotton economy, while looking into methods of addressing the environmental problems and using water more rationally. Agriculture provides the main source of income for significant part of the Uzbek population. It also supports other sectors, such as industry and social services. Therefore, the productivity and sustainability of agricultural production has been one of the main concerns of the government. Changes in the agriculture sector have been gradual and accompanied with many organizational adjustments. Several ministries and agencies have been restructured or new departments formed within the existing structure; in some cases the ministries were closed, recentralized and/or their functions transferred to other institutions. Reorganization was undertaken in 50 ministries and government departments all over the country. Some important examples are the followings. the State Committee on Land Resources (Goskomzem) was established and merged with the Principal Administration of Uzgeodezcadastre to regulate land relations, land monitoring, conduct state land cadastre and control usage and protection of land; Committee on Agrarian, Water and Food and Committee on Protection of Environment were created to develop legislation on environmental protection, land use, natural resources and agriculture; Department of Presidential Advisory Board on Agriculture and Water Issues was established to deal with general monitoring of implementation of agriculture and water issues based on Presidential decrees; Cabinet of Ministers resolutions; Government orders and instructions of the President. The Committee also develops priorities for State policies on agriculture and water management and drafts Presidential decrees and orders and Cabinet of Ministers resolutions/orders or decrees on agricultural and water issues; The Ministry for Agriculture merged with the Ministry of Melioration and Water into the Ministry for Agriculture and Water Resources (MAWR) in 1997. Reforms in Uzbek agriculture have proceeded since 1994, but in the water sector it has been started in 1999, though 95 % of agriculture depends on irrigation. This was because the water management institutions had been organized according to the collective farming requirements and as long as the collective farming system continued the changes in agriculture did not cause major problems for water management. The planning, management and distribution of water and canal management up to the farm level were carried out by the Ministry of Melioration and Water Resources and its regional and district based branches until 1996. In 1997 these responsibilities were undertaken by the MAWR with its regional and district based departments. The continued land reforms and 4

changes in agriculture which led to the privatization of the irrigated lands through a Farmer leasing system, created hundreds of individual farming entities in place of a single Shirkat. This required structural changes in the existing water management system in the republic. A number of problems needed to be addressed: 1) water distribution inefficiency; 2) budget constraints and 3) increased numbers of water users. The first attempt by the government to reform the water sector came in 1999 with the gradual introduction of Water User Associations (WUAs) in the areas where Shirkats were gradually broken into individual farmers. The second part of the official argumentation for the water sector reform that was started in 1999 was the government's stated desire to introduce the market principles in the water management. The establishment of thousands of individual farmers that practically constituted the urgent need to devise some mechanism for distributing water over smaller units was the actual trigger of the 1999 change. The importance of water for Uzbekistan is beyond question - water is utterly important for the country. Following the adoption of the Cabinet of Ministers Decree no. 419 on 26 November 1996 the two former separate ministries, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Melioration and Water Management of Uzbekistan were officially abolished, and in their place a new centralized single institution - the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (MAWR) of Uzbekistan, was established to oversee all the functions and the works of the two abolished ministries throughout the republic. Similarly, the structures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic, with its regional and district agricultural and water management departments, was created and placed under the central ministry in Tashkent. In pursuance of Presidential decree on the deepening economic reforms in agriculture, on 21 July 2003 the region and district based administrative water management system, extant since the creation of the old Soviet system, were transformed into an irrigation basin water management system based on the hydrographical principles. These irrigation basin management organizations are, not directly responsible to the local governors or to the regional and district offices of the MAWR, but are directly responsible to the water resources department of the MAWR in Tashkent. Uzbekistan does not want any reform process leading to social and political turmoil and reforms were initiated step-by-step through centrally controlled experimentation. Without appropriate preparation and the creation of effective mechanisms of support for the institutions, the process of radical change would aggravate the institutional failures and makes the system more resistant to reform. The organizational change in 1996-1997 is that the merger of the two ministries was part of broader reforms in policy process in the post-independence state-building process. The reform also resonated with another major national government concern -the economic problems, to reduce government expenditure. The second organizational change is the transformation of the territorial-administrative water management system, into an irrigation basin system management authority based on the hydrological principles that has two related dimensions. The first is that it amounts to a better division of tasks within MAWR between agricultural and water management organizations - better in the sense of being more effective because avoiding some of the competency issues that played out at the operational, regional and district, level. The second is the desire to separate water management off from the authority of regional/district governors. In terms of process the 2003 organizational change should be understood as a separation of tasks within a single ministry, and a movement in the direction of separating of 'functional/technocratic' governance and political governance at the operational level. Thus, large-scale changes in the water sector in frame of reform requires the introduction of additional requirements in the qualifying characteristics of graduates. In particular, these requirements should be linked to the possession of skills in water resources management: - in condition of hydrographic principle of water management;

- the participation of state and public organizations along with water users themselves in the process of decision making and the implementation of water resource management; - the availability of competing demands for water; -increasing demands that progressively deteriorating the quality and shortages of scarce water resources. Therefore, the planned curriculum on specialization of Master in Water Resources Management "must include the subjects that contribute to the development of a master skills in water resources management at both basins and individual members of the water complex in the specific conditions of river basins and the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors. 3. An analysis of the role that each actor in the private sector plays as this relates to water resource management. For example, what type of industry the actor is from: agricultural, water treatment and supply, etc. List of governmental and nongovernmental organization as well as water users participating in water resources management (executing, controlling and regulating) Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Uzbekistan - Adopting, introducing of changes and adding new parts to laws in the area of water and water resources use, setting up the main directions of the governmental policy on the area of water resources use and its protection as well as adopting governmental strategic programs Cabinet of Ministers - Forcing of unique policy on the area of water resources multipurpose use and its protection as well, coordination of ministries and organizations activities in the area of water resources use and its protection, setting up procedures for water fond formation and its utilization, setting up procedures for water resources use norms and limits approval. Provision the governmental control under water resources assessment and use as well its protection, carrying out the governmental water cadastre and monitoring. Working out measures against large catastrophes, environmental disasters and as well as or preventing and combating harmful impact of water resources. Setting up procedures for water resources use charging and water bodies contaminating. International relation development and others. Governmental governance on water resources use are executed by Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, local khokimyats (Municipalities) and governing bodies as well as by specially mandated governmental organizations responsible for water resources management on basin and on farm level. Ministry of agriculture and water resources (for surface water resources), Governmental Committee on geology and mineral resources (for ground water resources) and Agency for monitoring of production safety in industry (thermal and mineral ground water resources) are the mandated governmental organizations in the area of water resources use regulation. Governmental monitoring on water resources use and its protection conducted by local governments and governing bodies, Governmental Committee on nature protection, Agency for monitoring of production safety in industry, Ministry of health, Centre for Hydrometeorology, Ministry of agriculture and water resources according to roles noted in legislation. Monitoring of functional water use carried out by organizations of Governmental Committee on geology and mineral resources. 4. A summary of growth trends in the private sector, i.e., what type of industry has registered exponential growth in recent times and what effect, if any, this growth has had on the private sector and the demand for water. In recent years extensive work on the rationalization of water management, particularly in the use of water resources in agriculture were carried through large-scale reforms in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Transition from administrative-territorial to hydrographic basin-management principle, transferring a significant part of the State rights and powers to manage water resources to public organizations such as associations of water users, the reorganization of state Shirkat into private farms and peasant farms can be as examples. 6

The Government is paying high attention on reclamation of irrigated lands. According to the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan the Fund for Land Reclamation was established in 2007, accepted the State Program on Land Reclamation for the period of 2008-2012. In order to modernize the existing reclamation techniques a state leasing company "Uzmeliomashlizing was established. Also set up 48 state-owned unitary enterprises, specialized in the execution of irrigation and other water activities. Out of Reclamation fund for the improvement of irrigated land only in 2008-2009, constructed and refurbished about 285 km of trunk sewers, rebuilt and refurbished more than 17.6 km of drainage systems, purchased 695 units of reclamation techniques, including 310 units of modern excavators and 76 units of bulldozers. Last two years the work performed under the Fund have improved reclamation condition of 346thousand hectares of irrigated land and the area of high and moderately saline land in comparison with 2007 decreased by 42.0 thousand hectares and on the area of 127 thousand hectares achieved reduction of groundwater level up to favorable elevations for agricultural crops. This is not a complete list of works that will improve the efficiency of water management and water use in agriculture. This is particularly enabled to reduce specific water consumption in agriculture on a complex hectare (taking into account the needs of irrigation and leaching of land) from 13 thousand m3/ha up to the 10.4-12.2 thousand m3/ha. Researches of last years show that the annual demand for water in various sectors of the economy has been increasing gradually, due to population growth, scientific and technical progress. For example the need for water to meet drinking needs in municipal and rural water supply increased by 16-20 mln.m3 / year. Accordingly, there is a gradual increase in water demand in the industry due to its development. Consequently, the development and introduction of technologies and methods for sustainable water resources management, water resources management in various industries, improvement and implementation of projects, construction and operation of irrigation and drainage systems, water supply sector, the mechanisms of incentives in introduction of water-saving and small and waterless technologies as well as closed water management systems that reduce unproductive water losses are an urgent challenges of modernity.