Land and water use reforms in rural Uzbekistan and analysis for the region Khorezm

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1 Land and water use reforms in rural Uzbekistan and analysis for the region Khorezm ANGELO MUSAIO, ROBERTO REVETRIA University of Genoa, Via Balbi, Genova, Italy HOJAEV ULUGBEK AZIMBOYEVICH, ATANIYAZOV ZARIF SHUXRATOVICH Urgench State University Al-Khorazmy Urgench, H. Olimjon street, , Uzbekistan Abstract: Middle Asian region mostly northern region Khorezm and the republic of Karakalpogistan be the last time in the zone of ecological disaster undergoing wasteful policy implications, in the agricultural sectors are carried out in the soviet period of management. The international outcry over this ecological crisis has delegated other - and maybe more urgent - problems to a second pane. Ecological aspects, although strongly affecting everyday life in rural areas - such as water and soil salinity and environmental pollution - are not the fore most concern to the local population, as the economic survival is the more pressing need. Nevertheless, it is exactly in this situation where the larger part of the population exploits the natural resources further rather than preserving the ecological basis as a natural means of the local land s productivity. 1. Introduction Uzbekistan covers an area of 447,400 thousand km 2, of which 10.51% ha are irrigated arable land and permanent crops consist of 0.76% in Uzbekistan. The population of Uzbekistan rised about 30 million persons. The ever growing population rate in the Aral Sea Basin during the last century was strongly correlated with the enormous increase of the irrigated area in this region. Most of Uzbekistan lies between the two largest rivers in Central Asia, Amu Darya and Syr Darya. These two roughly parallel rivers both have their headwaters in the mountains east of Uzbekistan, and follow northwesterly courses toward the Aral Sea, a saltwater lake straddling the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan`s largest river is the Amu Darya.This river is formed by the conflu-ence of the Panj and Vakhsh rivers on the extreme southvestern border of Tajikistan, near southestern tip of Uzbekistan. During the period of the Former Soviet Union, Uzbekistan s primary agricultural role was to produce cotton, fruits and vegetables largely for export to other Soviet republics. An important part of the agricultural production system in Central Asia consists of the irrigated lowlands in the Aral Sea Basin. The Aral Sea's largest tributaries are the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya. The irrigated lowlands of the Amu Darya comprise the whole of the inten-sely irrigated agricultural lands between the Tuyamuyun reservoir and the Aral Sea, approxi-mately 400 km of river including the adjacent, irrigated croplands. This region belongs to two countries and consists of three administrative areas. The province of Khorezm and the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan are part of Uzbekistan and make up 265,000 and 500,000 ha of irrigated area, respectively, while the district of Dashoguz (310,000 ha irrigated) belongs to Turkmenistan. In total this area corresponds to about 13 % of the total irrigated land (8 million ha) in the Aral Sea Basin. In total, 3.5 million people live in these lowlands, corres-ponding to roughly 10 % of the Aral Sea Basin population. These lowlands contrast to the up-land irrigated ISBN:

2 regions such as the Ferghana Valley which have different biophysical as well as socialeconomic settings, and also are much more intensively studied. The Syr Darya known in ancient times as the Jaxartes (Yaxartes), is 2,220 km long, flowing through Kazakhstan, Tojikistan, and Uzbekistan. The shallowness of the Syr Darya makes it unfit for navigation, but its waters are used for irrigating the important cotton-growing areas along its course, and for producing hydroelectric power. The climate of Uzbekistan is extremely continental with a great numer of sunny days. The average monthly temperature in January ranges from C to +3 0 C. Summer is hot and dry. The average monthly temperature in July varies from C to C. Autumn is relatively warm and is the season when delicious fruits and vegetables are in abundance in the numerous bazaars (markets). The average annual temperature is 13 0 C. Now a days the climate of 2 Problem discussions Since their independence in 1991, the five countries of Central Asia have Dealt with these challenges in different ways. Uzbekistan has opted for slow, gradual reforms, keeping a strong government control over agricultural production. Its agricultural sector is still characterized by a dominance of state ordered crops, mainly cotton and winter wheat which are sold to state agencies. State control and the lack of land ownership, true privatization (land is leased, not owned) and skills are widely seen as the major causes for the rural poverty and rampant environmental degradation. According to common opinion, the slow pace of reforms and the strong government control have aggravated environmental degradation and social problems. There is salinity problem in Uzbekistan, especially in Khorezm that is why the water of Aral Sea is drastically reducing and salt of this Sea is getting mixed with the wind and it is being flown into Uzbekistan through this wind. So we have to find new avenues of agricultural production. Fig.2.1. Salinity land of Khorezm region Khorazm province is located in the north-western part of Uzbekistan on the left bank of Amudarya river. Total area constitutes 6.3 thousand square kilometers or 1.4% of total area of Uzbekistan. Borders with the Republic of Karakalpakstan in the north, with Turkmenistan in the south and with Bukhara province in the north-east. The population of the province amounts to more than 1.5 million. The province is divided in to 10 following administrative districts: Bagat, Gurlen, Koshkupir, Urgench, Khazarsp, Khanka, Khiva, Shavat, Yangiaryk and Yangibazar districts; Urgench city is the administrative center of the province. Khiva and Pitnak are among other big cities. The climate of the province is sharply continental with fairly dry winter and summer. Province climate is extreme continental, the difference between the minimum and maximum temperatures can reach 78 ⁰. Because the province territory is s u r r o u n d e d b y s a n d, t h e s u m m e r temperature reaches +43 ⁰, +45⁰С. During winter time the cold reaches -30 ⁰C, -33⁰C. The hot summer, cold winter, sharp change of temperatures within a day, small amount of precipitation and dry air are characteristic to the region. In Khorezm there is a shortage of water supply and the limited water that is available is also not being used effectively because this water is getting absorbed or ISBN:

3 sucked in to the ground mostly during its transportation from one place to another through cannals because these cannals are not cutted with cement or any other non water absorbing materials etc so there is a need to take the required steps of cutting these cannals with cement or any other such strong and non absorvative material. Uzbekistan is changing to dry and hot in summer and to dry and cold in winter because Aral Sea is drying rapidly. Fig.2.2. Aral Sea drying out In the figure 1.1 you can see the gradual reduction in water level`s of Aral Sea. 2.1 Step`s taken by Uzbekistan government to protect Aral Sea At present Uzbekistan implements a great number of Aral Sea basin projects with active support and participation of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the Global Environmental Fund, various international organizations and foreign states. These projects are mainly related to extension of delta water infrastructure on dried bottom of the Aral Sea, deviation of drainage water, expanding tree planting in order to prevent further desertification, spraying salt and dust, as well as increasing overall efficiency o f w a t e r m a n a g e m e n t. F o r t h e implementation of these projects and programs aimed at reviving the harsh situation in the region during the last 10 years over $ 1 billion dollar were spent, including about 265 million dollars at the expense of foreign loans, technical assistance and grants. Careful analysis shows that the real picture is more complex and less straight forward than a quick look at the system would suggest, however. It is here that the Center's for Development Research (ZEF) project on "Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land- and Water Use in the Region Khorezm (Uzbekistan)" sees its role. In this rural economy the use of natural resources, economic performance and the related social dimensions are closely linked. The innovative approach of the project is to tackle the issues at stake with a strongly interdisciplinary approach. Economists, social scientists and natural scientists are working together to analyse the on-going changes in land and water use, allowing a deeper insight into the causal change b e t w e e n l a n d u s e, p o v e r t y a n d environmental degradation. 2.2 Agricultural production of Khorezm The share of agriculture on gross regional product (GRP) makes up about 35.9%. Main agrarian sectors are cotton-growing, graingrowing, vegetable-growing and gardening. There were produced 258 thousand ton of cotton, thousand ton of vegetables, thousand ton of grain crops, thousand ton of fruits, 94.5 thousand ton of melons and gourds and 26.0 thousand ton of grapes in Agricultural production growth reached to 105.0% in Area of crops makes up about thousand hectares. There are nearly thousand farms are working in Khorezm region. Fig.2.3. Agricultural production of Khorezm region ISBN:

4 Now, 12 plants on processing of agricultural products are operating in the region. There is also poultry-farm. Increase of processing agricultural products is priority direction of further development of agrarian sector. Availability of solid raw materials source and rather economy manpower enables to develop processing New projects for water use in Uzbekistan. This method as shown in the following figure is extensively used for sprinkling water in the fields, by this method we can save a lot of water, this method can also be used by other central asian countries where there is shortage of water, by this method we can increase the cultivation rate of the fields and the farmers can make a lot of profit by effectively managing water by this method so it is economically very advantageous to the farmer. Fig.2.4. Irrigation before planting Foil greenhouses play an important role in the agricultural sector, in these green houses the crops can be grown at controlled temperature, these green houses are extensively used during winter season for growing crops by generating heat in this big close compartment because these crops cannot be grown in their natural environment outside because of the extreme cold, that s why these crops are grown in greenhouses under extremely controlled environment suitable for their growth. Fig.2.5. Foil Greenhouses All the things we need to produce heat and maintain the controlled temperature in greenhouses are mentioned below along with the specifications. Fuel consumption figures kwh / (m² * year GF) net l / (m² * year GF) Heating oil m³ of natural gas / (m² GF * year) According to figures: Zb companies with indirect sales (2001/02): Heating is one of the most considerable costs in the operation of greenhouses across the globe, especially in colder climates. The main problem with heating a greenhouse as opposed to a building that has solid opaque walls is the amount of heat lost through the greenhouse covering. Since the coverings need to allow light to filter into the structure, they conversely cannot insulate very well. With traditional plastic greenhouse coverings having an R-Value of around 2, a great amount of money is therefore spent to continually replace the heat lost. Most greenhouses, when supplemental heat is needed use natural gas or electrical furnaces. Passive heating methods exist which seek heat using low energy input. Solar energy can be captured from periods of relative abundance (day time/ summer), and released boost the temperature during cooler periods (night time/winter). Waste heat from livestock can also be used to heat greenhouses; e.g. placing a chicken coop inside a greenhouse recovers the heat generated by the chickens, which would otherwise be wasted.electronic controllers are often used to monitor the temperature and adjusts the furnace operation to the ISBN:

5 conditions. This can be as simple as a basic thermostat, but can be more complicated in larger greenhouse operations Cooling and Ventilation System Saskatchewan summer temperatures are more than adequate to cause extreme temperatures within the greenhouse. Temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius (78 degrees F) will cause plants to shut down internal processes. Proper ventilation is the key factor in controlling temperatures and relative humidity, while providing CO2 enrichment for good crop development. There are two basic systems of ventilation, natural and mechanical. Natural ventilation is the method of lowering the air temperature by wind or the natural exchange of hotter inside air with cooler outside air. The mechanical method of lowering the air temperature is accomplished by drawing cooler outside air into the greenhouse. A forced cooling system uses large capacity low speed exhaust fans and inlet vents. The recommended air change capacity is 1.5 times the greenhouse air volume exchange per minute. For example if the greenhouse volume is 30,000 cubic feet, then you should move 45,000 cubic feet of air per minute. 3. C o n c l u s i o n Conclusion in this presentation a brief description about agricultural and water problems of Uzbekistan has been discussed and various appropriate solution methods are also been described, various new and innovative methods of agricultural production are also discussed, there is a need to use more technology and eco friendly methods in agricultural field to improve production, the government and various other releated organization should take more interest and allot more funds for the development and implementation of such projects. References: [1] The Economics of Production and Marketing of Greenhouse Crops in Alberta, Alberta Agriculture, Production Economics Branch, 1988/89. [2] Greenhouses, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, [3] Michell, John; Valikhanov, Chokan Chingisovich; Venyukov, Mikhail Ivanovich (1865). The Russians in Central Asia: their occupation of the Kirghiz steppe and the line of the Syr-Daria : their political relations with Khiva, Bokhara, and Kokan : also descriptions of Chinese Turkestan and Dzungaria; by Capt. Valikhanof, M. Veniukof and others. [4] Nasser Takmil Homayoun. Kharazm: What do I know about Iran? ISBN p.35 ISBN: