VZCZCXRO0866
PP RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #1091 2051301
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 241301Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0690
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 2198
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2167
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2209
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 0043
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1485
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 2504

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001091 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON EAID EAGR TI
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN'S WATER USERS ASSOCIATIONS: SUSTAINABLE 
DEVELOPMENT IN ACTION 
 
¶1.  Summary: Winrock International's water users' associations 
provide an example of the kind of "bottom-up" assistance that 
delivers substantial and sustainable benefits to Tajikistan's 
poorest.  During a July 20 site visit in Rudaki District, 30 
miles outside Dushanbe, PolOff saw first hand how U.S. funding 
in this area can help farmers develop the skills and 
organizational capacity necessary to more effectively manage 
their water resources and local irrigation systems, while also 
promoting civil society and grass-roots partnerships between 
farmers and their local government.  However, funding 
limitations are currently prohibiting the spread of this 
impressive program into other areas of the country.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  A decade of civil war and government neglect literally 
washed away Tajikistan's national and local irrigation networks. 
This situation led not only to decreased agricultural output, 
but also to friction and occasional violence between neighbors 
vying for limited water supplies.  In order to provide a lasting 
solution to problems associated with water distribution, 
Winrock's program places as much emphasis on building 
organizational capacity as it does on the reconstruction of 
physical infrastructure.  For example, association members 
received training in areas such as management, finance, 
irrigation maintenance, efficient land use, and conflict 
resolution.  The progress made in this regard was plain to see 
during PolOff's site visit, as local farmers were clearly proud 
of their association and the results it had achieved.  The 
association's continuing importance to the farmers was also 
manifest, and they stressed their desire to see its activities 
continue into the future. 
 
¶3.  Winrock aims to leave behind associations capable of using 
member fees to cover the salaries of managerial staff, and the 
costs of infrastructure upkeep and improvement.  Sources of 
revenue include a fee for water usage (less than one third of 
one cent per square meter) and a uniform annual membership fee 
paid by each participating farm.  Although the durability of a 
system based on voluntary participation might appear 
questionable, the association's future is safeguarded by the 
enormity of the benefits it provides, relative to the costs of 
membership.  For example, one farmer claimed that after only one 
year of improved irrigation, his grain output per hectare of 
land had doubled from 1200 kg to 2500 kg.  Another farmer 
reported even greater results, producing an impressive 5700 kg 
of cotton per hectare -- up from around 2500 kg before the 
association was established.  In addition, the problem of 
"free-riding" is discouraged by a higher water usage fee charged 
to non-members who draw on water passing through the 
association's irrigation channels.  In one instance, a local 
factory that initially shied away form participation in the 
association begged for membership after witnessing its results. 
 
¶4.  Association members claimed to have a positive relationship 
with the local government -- a situation explained in large part 
by the important public service they provide.  Indeed, 
association activities focus not only on repairing and 
maintaining the local irrigation channels feeding their own 
lands, but even extend to occasional work on the "external" 
irrigation system forming the backbone of Tajikistan's 
agricultural economy.  In such cases, the government reportedly 
applies a credit to the yearly water usage fees charged to the 
association for the water it draws. 
 
¶5.  Comment: With the strong support of its members and the 
local government, the water users' associations visited by 
PolOff showed the potential to deliver sustainable results to 
the local community in the future.  While we generally think of 
water users' associations in terms of agricultural development, 
it is clear that the program also promotes the development of 
civil society and grass-roots partnerships between local 
governments and the populations they serve.  However, Winrock 
representatives noted that while the potential exists to 
reproduce elsewhere in Tajikistan the postive trends in 
reconstruction and cooperation witnessed in Rudaki District, 
funding limitations mean that 11 of Winrock's 26 associations 
currently exist on paper only -- organized and ready to begin 
work, but without the money necessary to get started.  End 
Comment. 
 
 
 
 
JACOBSON 
 
HOAGLAND