There are over 200 small trans-boundary rivers in the region of Central Asia. They flow through the territory of two countries, which face urgent issues of water distribution, water accounting, river pollution, etc. 

The project “Smart Waters” (Water, education and cooperation) has been introduced in order to resolve these and other issues. It is implemented by CAREC with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the period 2015-2020. 

One of the directions of the project is to promote the creation of Small Basin Councils (SBC) on small trans-boundary rivers in the region. Nowadays, 14 small basin councils have been established on the rivers “Aspara” (Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan), “Isfara” (Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan), “Padshaat” (Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan), “Yomonjar” (Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan) and others. 

SBCs help reduce conflict situations related to water resources, since their participants are representatives of state and non-state structures. All who are interested in effective water distribution and consumption have the opportunity for constructive dialogue and coordination of actions on all contentious issues. 

According to Ekaterina Strikelyeva, Project Manager for Smart Waters, the project proposes a certain approach within the framework of a basin council that is being created. Besides, a basin plan is being developed. 

“Our role is to unite people, to give them an opportunity to reach an agreement. Such approach gives each member of the council responsibility for their actions and decisions. The goals and objectives of the SBC are joint planning and coordination of actions for the management of water resources. The council is on consultative-advisory format,” Ms. Strikelyeva said. 

Representatives of the Council from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan spoke about the SBC activities on the “Padshaat” River. 

The basin of the river “Padshaat” (Padysha-Ata) is a part of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Almost the entire mountainous area of the flow of the river is located on the Kyrgyz side. The length of the river from the source to the border with Uzbekistan is 50 km.
 
“We share the water in accordance with the Agreement of 1980,” said Nurmamat Khudayberdiyev, Secretary of the SBC. “64% goes to Uzbekistan and 36% to Kyrgyzstan. This is because of the fact that Uzbekistan’s irrigated area is 24,000 hectares and Kyrgyzstan’s - 5,000 hectares. Thanks to the basin council created in July of this year, we have the opportunity to negotiate without having to dispute.”

The Kyrgyz representative of the SBC “Padysh-Ata” noted that the parties are in incessant contact and are discussing the urgent problems of the river basin. It is necessary to rehabilitate irrigation facilities and pre-existing wells, build solar fortifications and introduce modern water-saving technologies.

In September 2018, the maiden joint meeting of small basin councils of the Kyrgyz and Uzbek parts of the “Padysha-Ata” (Padyshaat) river was held. During the meeting, a number of issues such as development of ecological tourism, promotion of water accounting tools, development of horticulture and crop production were considered.
 
It is scheduled to hold the second meeting of the SBC in Tashkent in 2019.

The parties also agreed to conduct the “Day of the river Padysh-Ata” in the spring of next year.