Developing sustainable land and water management for the Aral Sea Basin through an interdisciplinary approach

摘要

During Soviet times, vast desert areas in the Aral Sea Basin were transformed into artificially irrigated, agricultural land to grow cotton. The ensuing ecological problems strongly affect the livelihood of the local population. The agricultural production systems that are at the heart of this transformation are characterised by large monocultures and heavy inputs of fertilisers, pesticides and water. The extensive irrigation systems are expensive to maintain; up to 70% of the water is lost. The state order on crops, which is imposed via strongly centralised government structures, secures the predominance of cotton production and impedes a transition to a market economy. At present, the agricultural production is ecologically and economically unsustainable. ZEF, with its partners in Uzbekistan, established, in March 2002, a research program to develop sustainable and efficient land and water use practices for the region. The program is based on the assumptions that applicable concepts for sustainable and efficient land and water use must be developed on the basis of sound scientific research, and that the complexity of the problems needs an interdisciplinary approach integrating natural resource management as well as economic and institutional changes. The project therefore integrates these different disciplines into a unified model that can be applied to different scenario to test the value of restructuring. This would be followed by practical testing on pilot farms. First results include the mapping of groundwater and soil salinity, and of land use (trees and forest plantations), as a basis for later recommendations for improved, sustainable resource use. Studies on the performance of tree growth preceded a more intensive monitoring of the growth and irrigation needs of the best-performing trees on marginal land. For the first time in the region, detailed irrigation water budgets for single fields are being established and these have revealed the large contribution of ground water to the crop water needs. Initial economic assessments based on government data and field surveys of selected farms reveal the intricate structure of the agricultural production process in which the strong hierarchical, state-governed characteristic of the former Soviet system prevails. Studies of health problems related to drinking water reveal the deteriorating health care system. A study of the administrative performance of the newly formed Water User Associations and an investigation into farmers' perceptions of the needed reforms complete the studies undertaken in the first year of this project.