River basin management in Central Asia: evidence from Isfara Basin, Fergana Valley

Around the world, state water management organizations are the agents delegated to implement basin-level integrated water resources management strategies. In Central Asia, the hydrographic water management-deeming a river basin or a catchment area a proper water management unit-is a widely accepted concept. Yet, state water bureaucracies are incapable and/or reluctant to interact on water management with the "outsiders'', both domestically and internationally. To overcome this shortcoming, basin councils are promoted as formalized platforms to facilitate inter-sectoral dialogue, and likewise, to support local participatory processes within river basin planning and management. The approach offers a framework of integrating water sector planning and management with environmental, social and economic agendas of a given basin. State water management organizations are designated the role of technical secretariats of such basin councils which should be facilitating and helping to improve other stakeholders' behavioral response in watersheds. The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the process of implementation of the river basin model through the theory of change based on issues, challenges and recommendations identified in the transboundary Central Asian Isfara River Basin shared by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.