Experience in Improvement of the Water Sector Institutional Structures

Experience of the Central Asia countries in the sphere of reorming of institutional structures responsible for water resources management has been investigated. The outcomes of the works aimed at studying of the results of the integrated management principles application in order to improve structures and methods of water resources management are presented. These outputs enable to reveal special features of the approaches to the management problems solution in the conditions of available water resources abundance and lack in countries with different economic and natural/climatic conditions. The experience was summed up and the typical trends in the water sector management improvement accumulated in the Central Asia countries, as well as the date from other countries with the similar problems including NICs with centralized administrative systems, regions with the many-century traditions of irrigation farming, as well as the countries of transitional economy were revealed. Studying of many countries’ experience concerning adiption of the water resources integrated management allows us to state that there is no sungle ideal or universal model of transition from spatial/territorial management to basin management, no model which can be applied to any country. Analysis of the water resources management systems and institutions enables to formulate the main conditions for effective application of water resources integrated management principles. The paper notes that in spite of substantial progess in water resources management attained in the Central Asia countries many problems including practical application of water legislation, taking into account interest of all sectors of national economy, better coordination between ministeries and agencies involved in water resources management, participation of all stakeholders in taking decisions concerning water supply projects, distribution of juridical and financial obligations between water users and government, and insufficient coordination and agreement in actions at international, national andregional levels stay unsolved.