Decades of Soviet rule have left a heritage of environmental and social problems
in Central Asia. The demise of an entire ecosystem at unprecedented pace, the
"Aral Sea Syndrome", is the most prominent of the undesired outcomes of the
focus on agricultural production that has dominated land and resource use and
continues till today. The international outcry over this ecological crisis has delegated
other – and maybe more urgent – problems to a second pane. Rural livelihoods
are rapidly deteriorating, unemployment is high, and rural poverty widespread.
Ecological aspects, although strongly affecting everyday life in rural areas – such as
water and soil salinity and environmental pollution – are not the fore most concern
to the local population, as the economic survival is the more pressing need.
Nevertheless, it is exactly in this situation where the larger part of the population
exploits the natural resources further rather than preserving the ecological basis
as a natural means of the local land’s productivity.
Since their independence in 1991, the five countries of Central Asia have dealt
with these challenges in different ways. Uzbekistan has opted for slow, gradual
reforms, keeping a strong government control over agricultural production. Its agricultural
sector is still characterized by a dominance of state ordered crops, mainly
cotton and winter wheat which are sold to state agencies. State control and the
lack of land ownership, true privatization (land is leased, not owned) and skills are
widely seen as the major causes for the rural poverty and rampant environmental
degradation. According to common opinion, the slow pace of reforms and the
strong government control have aggravated environmental degradation and social
problems. Careful analysis shows that the real picture is more complex and less
straightforward than a quick look at the system would suggest, however.
It is here that the Center's for Development Research (ZEF) project on "Economic
and Ecological Restructuring of Land- and Water Use in the Region Khorezm
(Uzbekistan)" sees its role. In this rural economy the use of natural resources,
economic performance and the related social dimensions are closely linked. The
innovative approach of the project is to tackle the issues at stake with a strongly
interdisciplinary approach. Economists, social scientists and natural scientists are
working together to analyse the on-going changes in land and water use, allowing
a deeper insight into the causal change between land use, poverty and environmental
degradation. The results of some of the individual research projects –
some of them surprising – are the subject of this book and will provide the basis for recommendations and solutions for decision-makers that address the ecological
deterioration as well as its economic and social consequences. The project aims
at providing a comprehensive, science-based plan for restructuring, at three nested
intervention levels: Markets, policies and institutions, and technologies. Modelling
will assist in developing scenarios of different levels of resource use and provide
decision makers with information as to the future consequences of the decisions
taken today.
These concepts are being developed in a long-term scientific research program
with the ultimate goal of improving rural livelihoods through judicious and sustainable
land and water resource management. There is a specific regional focus
on the Khorezm district of Uzbekistan, and the main partner is the State University
of Urgench (capital of the Uzbek region Khorezm). The co-operation is based on
strong links built with local partners and international agencies for technical cooperation.
Most prominent in this context are the collaborative agreements with
UNESCO and with the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources Management
of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The cooperation with both partners is essential,
not least because they will further ensure a strong embedding in national policy
making and capacity building efforts.
Khorezm is a district of the Republic of Uzbekistan, located in the irrigated lowlands
of the Amu Darya River, which is the major tributary to the Aral Sea. It is
in many ways an example of all of the irrigated lands along the rivers that cut
through the Middle Asian deserts – mostly flatland, former desert areas that are
irrigated for hundreds – if not sometimes even thousands of years – which have
been subjected to huge changes in the last 40-50 years by means of immense
irrigation projects that represent a very strong path dependency for today’s efforts
to manage the resources in the region.
From the outset the main donor of the project, the Federal Ministry of Education
and Research (BMBF) of Germany, understood that such a project can be developed
only with a long-term perspective. The project was laid out for 10 to 12
years, structured into four phases of which the first two have been completed so
far. Phase I saw the establishment of central databases and infrastructure, and
Phase II field surveys and trials for understanding institutions and processes,
that allowed the development of simulation and optimization models. Phase III
will be dedicated to testing an integrated concept for restructuring land use in a
typical area of the region, on-farm, which will lead in Phase IV to the development
of policy recommendations and a contribution to informed decision making
by Uzbek policy makers, by the water administration, and by farmers.
The present volume represents preliminary results of the research undertaken
mainly in the social and economic realm during project phase I and part of
phase II. It combines the contributions from a workshop held at Bonn University
in April 2005. Its intention is manifold: First it provides basic information related to ongoing changes in land and water use and thereby enhances the knowledge
base for judging the effects of further change. Second, it describes those research
tools which have been adapted by colleagues to become suitable for this region
in transition and for the given historical background. One other goal was to
enhance the analytical capacity on the basis of which solutions and/or recommendations
are to be developed. As the articles are the result of phase I and, to
some extent, of phase II of the project, they are "work in progress".
This book should be seen in the context of two forthcoming volumes: One on the
diverse aspects of tree intercropping systems in the Central Asian regions, and
another that will provide an integrative view of the research undertaken in the
first years of this project.
We would like to thank all partners, and particularly our colleagues from Uzbekistan,
for having made this book possible. Without the close cooperation in this
international, multicultural research team, the achievement would not have been
possible. Most prominently we would like to thank Prof. Dr. Alimboy Sadullaev,
Dr. Ruzumboy Eshchanov and Prof. Dr. Bahtiyor Ruzmetov from the State
University of Urgench who have always supported this project unfalteringly and
with great enthusiasm and continue to do so.
Furthermore, we would like to thank those who have helped in editing the text.
In that respect the special attention given to this volume by our colleague
Jennifer Franz is greatly appreciated. Thanks also go to Guzal Matniyazova,
Elena Kan, and Vefa Moustafaev for their support and the provision and correction
of Russian abstracts. We finally would like to acknowledge the never failing
efforts by Sandra Staudenrausch, Eva Niepagenkemper and Kirsten Kienzler with
editing, formatting and endless bug-chasing. Without them, the edition of this
book would have been delayed much more! And of course our most sincere thanks
go to Paul. L.G. Vlek, Director at ZEF, who initiated this project. Without his
guidance and support, his unwavering efforts for raising the necessary funds and
his readiness to always openly discuss the topics and problems of agriculture in
Central Asia, this book would never have been possible. Last but not least, we
also are greatly indebted to the BMBF for its continuous efforts to provide the
project funds, and we would like to thank especially Dr. Jürgen Heidborn and
Dr. Susanne Kieffer at BMBF, as well as Dr. Ingo Fitting from Project Management
Jülich for their never failing support