One of the projects to be implemented on the territory of Kazakhstan in 2019 is USAID's project in the Aspara sub-basin. For this reason, relevant indicators were selected through a literature review to evaluate the operational status of the river basin councils in Kazakhstan and in Kyrgyzstan established by USAID projects in both countries.
INTRODUCTION
Questionnaires to assess the operational status of River Basin Councils in both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were developed through an in-depth literature review of widely used indicators worldwide and country-specific indicators. The research results evaluated the effectiveness of RBO and RBC in Aspara further identifying the potential for improvement in river basin management plans in Kazakhstan.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Water situation in Kazakhstan
The main water source of the basin is the Ural River, which begins on the territory of the Russian Federation. After flowing into the territory of Northeast Kazakhstan, it joins the Ob River in the Russian Federation.
Water management in Kazakhstan
According to Yakubov (2019), the first two SBCs established on the territory of Kazakhstan are Ugam-Kenes sub-catchment in the upstream of the Kazakhstani part of the Syrdarya in 2011 and Little Aral sub-catchment in the downstream of Aral-Syrdarya Basin in 2012. CAREC began promoting SBC as part of the USAID-funded “Smart Waters Project” in 2015 (USAID-CAREC, 2018).
RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY
Case study descriptive: Aspara River sub-basin council
The determination of the flow of the Aspara River during the vegetation period is determined by the "Regulation on the distribution of the Talas, Kurkureu-Su and Aspara rivers between the Kazakhstan SSR and the Kyrgyz SSR", dated February 5, 1948, according to which 62% of Aspara river flows are allocated to Kazakhstan while the remaining 38% are allocated to Kyrgyzstan (USAID, 2015). In 2012, to promote cross-border cooperation of Central Asian countries by introducing the principles of integrated water resources management in small river basins, USAID initiated a project called "stakeholder partnership in the development of common policies : promoting transboundary cooperation in small watersheds in Central Asia". (USAID, 2015).
Research methods
Population growth and the increase in human-related activities inevitably lead to an increase in impact on the environment of the region. Local authorities see the construction of the dam as a solution to the water supply problem in the region. Product of the vulnerability to flooding multiplied by the total value of assets at risk of flooding, and process to reduce losses caused by flooding while taking into account the benefits of flooding.
Source of the threat is lack of required monitoring of hydrological status of water bodies and their unsatisfactory technical conditions. In past years, agriculture in the Aspara River Basin has experienced significant problems due to low harvests caused by unstable water supply and incomplete loading of the sugar beet plant. According to the USAID report, quality of irrigation system is the highest priority problem of the region.
Application of an organizational design that meets the needs of the basin and avoids separation and avoidance. One of the strengths of the Aspara River Basin is the existence of interstate agreements on water allocation. One of the problems of the Aspara River basin is the degradation of the landscape, especially the degradation of irrigated land and foothills of meadows and pastures.
Questionnaire design
In general, the questionnaire was designed in such a way that it moved from general questions about the personal characteristics of the interviewee and the general situation in the basin to more specific questions about the operation of RBM and RBO, and then finally to an assessment of the water situation in the region and the role of RBC in solving and improving the situation with water in the region. 4 from the Kyrgyz side and 11 from the Kazakh side - a total of 15, which is pretty good, as both the Kazakh and Kyrgyz RBCs total 28 members. It should also be noted that face-to-face interviews were conducted with almost all key stakeholders, which are local government representatives, agrarians, scientists, the agency responsible for forecasting synoptic conditions and weather conditions Kazhidromet, and the state water agency . .
The reason for applying purposive sampling and interviewing key actors from different sectors was to ensure diversity and plurality of views in our study. Interviews were conducted in 3 locations, namely Taraz (administrative center of Jambyl region in Kazakhstan), Merke (district center of Jambyl region in Kazakhstan) and Chaldovar (administrative center of Panfilov district in Kyrgyzstan). The Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) has suggested key stakeholders who have been interviewed, as representatives from CAREC work in the region and know all the important actors involved in RBC.
Coding involved grouping and breaking down data into parts and components, then connecting themes and ideas. This was done using NVIVO, a qualitative data analysis software, which helped us find insights from a large amount of information collected during interviews. Detailed results of the interview can be found in the results section and the paper appendix.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
On the Kyrgyz side, according to the Presidential Decree of February 22, 1994 - "On measures to promote land and agrarian reforms in the Kyrgyz Republic", the government allocated five hectares of land to every citizen born before 1996 (Rios, 2006). . Every expert is confident that the human capacity of the members is high enough to implement RBM in the Aspara River sub-basin. The level of decision-making coordination is described as "very good" from a national and cross-border perspective.
Therefore, the level of conflict resolution after the introduction of RBM on the Aspara River is characterized as "very good" and "good", except for one interviewee. 13 out of 15 interviewees described public awareness and access to information as "good" and "very good". Most of them said that the water quality of the Aspara River has always been at least "good" because it is mountain water and there are no industrial plants nearby.
Most of them say that it can be polluted due to the human factor and livestock passing the river. Most of the respondents accept the fact that with the introduction of RBC the situation is better these days. The majority of the most optimistic respondents are from local administration and national water agency representatives.
DISCUSSION
One respondent told us that these incidents with automated systems are not random and that it is better for Kazakhs to keep the system broken in order to take more water. It should be noted that traditionally the Kazakh and Kyrgyz nations consider each other as brothers. In addition, some respondents claimed that the situation in Aspara is good because they have relatives on both sides of the border and inter-ethnic marriages are widespread.
Therefore, they can solve all the problems, since they are neighbors, speak the same language and have similar traditions and way of life. Another important feature to be highlighted is public awareness and access to information about SBC operation. It was noted that Kazakh member of SBC does not pay much attention to it, and some members claimed that results of the meetings, recommendations made by SBC or even the place of the meeting are not accessible to everyone.
In comparison, each Kyrgyz member emphasized the importance of discussing and sharing information with the public and residents of the villages. Moreover, according to one of them, they distribute flyers with RBC's written decisions and publish everything on a dedicated website. It may be that people in Kyrgyzstan are demanding that SBC members be more accountable and open to the public.
CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES
CONCLUSION AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
According to the majority of respondents, there is enough water, but it is a question of using this water wisely. Therefore, it seems very reasonable to switch to water-saving technologies, since the amount of water is limited, and the irrigated areas are increasing every year. Some respondents said that the main irrigation canals are not so bad as they are on the national balance sheet.
Therefore, the KPIs of irrigation canals could be significantly increased and much water could be saved through the improvement of infrastructure. Second, both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan need to improve old irrigation infrastructure and promote the adoption of water-saving technologies, as Central Asia could face significant water shortages in the coming years. Third, the introduction of automated water allocation systems to the Aspara River has demonstrated its effectiveness in resolving water-related conflicts and tensions between neighboring countries.
Therefore, the government should promote water-related specialties to avoid a shortage of water experts in. Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MoA RK), Committee for Water Resources, Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Republican State Enterprise "Kazhydromet", Ministry of Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2018). UNDP (2007) National Integrated Water Resources Management and Water Efficiency Plan for Kazakhstan Retrieved 19 August 2019, http://www.caresd.net/iwrm UNDP (2008) Methodological Guideline Establishment of River Basin Councils in Kazakhstan,.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
What is the level of public awareness and access to information about the Aspara river sub-basin. What is the level of coordinated decision-making at national level in the Aspara sub-basin. What is the level of coordinated decision-making at transboundary level in the Aspara sub-basin.
What is the status of decentralization of decision-making on water issues in the Aspara sub-basin. What was the status of irrigation system management in the Aspara River Basin in the past before the introduction of sub-basin councils. What was the status of pollution control in the Aspara River basin before the introduction of sub-basin councils.
What was the status of water and environmental hazard issues and any systems in place to deal with them prior to the introduction of sub-basin councils. Were there problems with water allocation between the Kazakh and Kyrgyz villages before the introduction of sub-basin councils. What was the status of water availability monitoring in the Aspara river basin before the introduction of sub-basin councils.
NVIVO Coding for the primary data
