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Improved water management will reduce flows diverted from the Syr Darya for irrigation. New infrastructure will facilitate these improvements
Uzbekistan is the world’s second largest cotton exporter.
Agriculture is the main activity in the Ferghana Valley which
produces about a quarter of Uzbekistan's cotton. Because of this
significance, impediments to production in the valley have a direct
bearing on the national economy.
As with the rest of Uzbekistan, financial pressures arising from the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the establishment of an independent state have considerably disrupted the functioning and development of irrigation and drainage systems. As a result, environmental problems such as inadequate drainage and soil and groundwater salinisation have worsened except where the efforts of local officials and the individual efforts of the farming community have been able to invest the necessary resources.
The challenges faced have been compounded by some key infrastructure being difficult to replace or restore.
The Ferghana Valley Water Resources Management Project addresses a situation where the excessively high water table requires measures covering both a considerable geographic area and various co-ordinated activities.
The project will redress a persistent physical problem, compounded by the difficulties in providing the necessary maintenance and rehabilitation over the last 15 years, which has resulted in considerable degradation in the agricultural sector. Also, as in other populated areas, high water tables have damaged buildings, power supplies and other infrastructure.
We were appointed to provide project management for and to produce the Ferghana Valley study. We formed an association with Temelsu International Engineering Services to undertake this.
The client was the Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Government of Uzbekistan. The World Bank funded the consultancy contract. This constituted phase 1 of a major project in the Uzbekistan part of the valley to address critical water management issues, particularly in three districts suffering from severe water logging.
The main objectives of the project were to investigate and develop a plan for interventions that would:
The study period lasted 15 months and was delivered in December 2008. The first stage involved summarising the preliminary findings and setting the plan for the remainder of the study. Seven months into the study a draft feasibility study was published to engage with some stakeholders. This provided a useful basis for discussion to elicit their views on the project team’s findings and to review possible interventions.
The final feasibility study was delivered in month eight. The rest of the project period was spent developing draft tender documents and specifications. The final feasibility study and draft tender documents have formed the basis for the loan negotiations between the Government of Uzbekistan and the World Bank to fund the interventions recommended by the study and detailed in the tender documents produced. The loan was secured in July 2009.
The project involves managing significant riverine water resources within the Ferghana Valley, which is an international waterway, and may have implications with regard to the protection of these resources against pollution.
The valley lies in the Aral Sea Basin and the efficiency of irrigated agriculture has a direct impact on the quality and quantity of water discharged into the Aral Sea. Improved water management will reduce the flows diverted from the river for irrigation. This will be achieved through educating farmers to ensure that water is only applied at the optimum time in the growing cycle and the provision of infrastructure to facilitate, the controlling and careful measurement of flows.
This means more water will remain in the Syr Darya and will eventually reach the sea. Improvements to the drainage infra-structure will ensure that more water is returned to the river and that groundwater evaporation and salinisation is reduced, which in turn will improve the quality of water returned to the Syr Darya.
As with the rest of Uzbekistan, financial pressures arising from the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the establishment of an independent state have considerably disrupted the functioning and development of irrigation and drainage systems. As a result, environmental problems such as inadequate drainage and soil and groundwater salinisation have worsened except where the efforts of local officials and the individual efforts of the farming community have been able to invest the necessary resources.
The challenges faced have been compounded by some key infrastructure being difficult to replace or restore.
The Ferghana Valley Water Resources Management Project addresses a situation where the excessively high water table requires measures covering both a considerable geographic area and various co-ordinated activities.
The project will redress a persistent physical problem, compounded by the difficulties in providing the necessary maintenance and rehabilitation over the last 15 years, which has resulted in considerable degradation in the agricultural sector. Also, as in other populated areas, high water tables have damaged buildings, power supplies and other infrastructure.
We were appointed to provide project management for and to produce the Ferghana Valley study. We formed an association with Temelsu International Engineering Services to undertake this.
The client was the Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Government of Uzbekistan. The World Bank funded the consultancy contract. This constituted phase 1 of a major project in the Uzbekistan part of the valley to address critical water management issues, particularly in three districts suffering from severe water logging.
The main objectives of the project were to investigate and develop a plan for interventions that would:
- Promote sustainable irrigated agriculture production, increase employment and generate farm incomes in Ferghana Valley by improving drainage and irrigation systems and overall water resources management
- Reduce damage to private and public infrastructure and improve environmental and public health conditions by controlling water logging
- Introduce participatory irrigation management through a water users’ association, improved agricultural and irrigation practices, and income generating activities to enhance the value of products from the project area
- Strengthen water management and irrigation and drainage institutions.
The study period lasted 15 months and was delivered in December 2008. The first stage involved summarising the preliminary findings and setting the plan for the remainder of the study. Seven months into the study a draft feasibility study was published to engage with some stakeholders. This provided a useful basis for discussion to elicit their views on the project team’s findings and to review possible interventions.
The final feasibility study was delivered in month eight. The rest of the project period was spent developing draft tender documents and specifications. The final feasibility study and draft tender documents have formed the basis for the loan negotiations between the Government of Uzbekistan and the World Bank to fund the interventions recommended by the study and detailed in the tender documents produced. The loan was secured in July 2009.
National and international significance
The implementation of the findings of the project will offer considerable benefits to other irrigators in Uzbekistan. Most other irrigated areas in Uzbekistan are downstream of the project area. Improved water management in the project area will lead to less water use, increase the availability of irrigated water downstream, and potentially increase the flows into the Aral Sea.The project involves managing significant riverine water resources within the Ferghana Valley, which is an international waterway, and may have implications with regard to the protection of these resources against pollution.
The valley lies in the Aral Sea Basin and the efficiency of irrigated agriculture has a direct impact on the quality and quantity of water discharged into the Aral Sea. Improved water management will reduce the flows diverted from the river for irrigation. This will be achieved through educating farmers to ensure that water is only applied at the optimum time in the growing cycle and the provision of infrastructure to facilitate, the controlling and careful measurement of flows.
This means more water will remain in the Syr Darya and will eventually reach the sea. Improvements to the drainage infra-structure will ensure that more water is returned to the river and that groundwater evaporation and salinisation is reduced, which in turn will improve the quality of water returned to the Syr Darya.