Institutionalizing river basin management in Central Asia

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fundamental water governance reforms have been introduced in Central Asia, here referring to Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. One major reform effort, aligned with the dominant global discourse and promoted by international donors, has been the reorganization of governance arrangements according to the river basin management. This approach aims to consider the water needs of multiple stakeholders and sectors in a holistic water policy and planning.  Creating new governance mechanisms is always inherently political as it entails decisions on mandates, funding, and decision-making power.

In this paper, we attempt to understand better the politics of institutionalizing river basin management in Central Asia. We focus on the national and sub-national levels and look specifically at the establishment of basin organizations to replace earlier administrative management units and the establishment of basin councils for stakeholder participation. For this, we reviewed academic literature and policy reports and conducted semi-structured interviews with national and international experts.

The results show that the differences in perception of water problems signal an overall different understanding of the needs to change water governance approaches. The cases of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan reveal that institutionalization of river basin management can work when donor support and national ownership come together, and the lead water agency has the power to coordinate both international and national actors. Stakeholder participation through basin councils is still only partially implemented and weakened by the political culture of the countries. Nevertheless, examples indicate that basin councils are also used for bottom-up cooperation and communication, discussion, and solution of the water problems and, with incentives from donors, are slowly opening up for more diverse membership.

The paper shows that in the politics of water governance in Central Asia, the interests and activities of national and international actors are closely interwoven. The exposure to global discourses and good water governance norms promoted by international donors fostered legal changes in all countries of the region but were embraced in various degrees. Ultimately, depending on the capacities and commitment (or opposition) of national actors, the institutionalization of river basin management plays out differently in each country. River basin management was at the core of many of such donor projects as well on the top of some government agendas. Donors are criticized for limited coordination among themselves, lack of knowledge of the regional context, and transfer of global blueprints with insufficient adaptation to local realities. On the side of Central Asian countries, the political and socio-economic context, weak institutions, and limited capacity of national water agencies are often mentioned as unfavorable for implementing reforms that aim for decentralization and participation.