Institutional design in transformation: A comparative study of local irrigation governance in Uzbekistan

Full text

Institutional
design
in
transformation:
A
comparative
study
of
local
irrigation
governance
in
Uzbekistan
Ahmad
Hamidov
a,
*,
Andreas
Thiel
b
,
Dimitrios
Zikos
a
a
Division
of
Resource
Economics,
Humboldt-Universita
¨t
zu
Berlin,
Unter
den
Linden
6,
10099
Berlin,
Germany
b
Temporary
Professorship
in
Environmental
Governance,
Humboldt-Universita
¨t
zu
Berlin,
Unter
den
Linden
6,
10099
Berlin,
Germany
1.
Introduction
Since
the
break-up
of
the
Soviet
Union
in
1991,
the
manage-
ment
of
common
pool
resources
(CPRs)
such
as
irrigation
systems
has
undergone
substantial
reforms
in
Central
Asia.
As
a
result,
new
institutions
and
governance
structures
(e.g.
user
associations)
were
introduced.
It
is
striking
that
these
reforms
hardly
took
into
account
local
knowledge
and
experiences
in
regard
to
the
management
of
CPRs.
Instead,
these
policies
drew
on
blueprint
models
with
little
consideration
for
the
specific
Central
Asian
socio-political
context
and
the
existing
institutional
capacities.
Moreover,
implementation
mostly
followed
a
top-down
approach,
allowing
little
space
for
the
active
involvement
of
resource
users
and
the
civil
society.
In
order
to
change,
however,
the
complex
ways
institutions
regulate
interactions
between
social
and
ecological
systems,
what
we
call
‘‘multifaceted
institutional
change’’,
needs
to
unfold
(Zikos
and
Thiel,
2013:
357;
cf.
North,
1990;
Bromley,
2008).
To
reconstruct
how
such
a
process
works,
we
employ
here
a
qualitative
comparative
analysis
(QCA)
to
analyze
processes
of
top
down
intended
institutional
design
for
institutional
change
in
Uzbekistan
(Goodin,
1996;
Alexander,
2005).
In
the
country’s
agricultural
sector,
irrigation
management
was
reformed
in
a
top-
down
fashion
in
the
2000s,
without
engagement
of
local
resource
users.
This
was
particularly
the
case
with
the
implementation
of
Water
Consumers
Associations
(WCA),
1
which
were
externally
designed
with
the
support
of
the
international
community
Environmental
Science
&
Policy
xxx
(2015)
xxx–xxx
A
R
T
I
C
L
E
I
N
F
O
Article
history:
Received
30
June
2014
Received
in
revised
form
5
June
2015
Accepted
10
June
2015
Keywords:
Institutional
design
Qualitative
comparative
analysis
Water
Consumers
Association
Common
pool
resources
Irrigation
infrastructure
Uzbekistan
A
B
S
T
R
A
C
T
The
irrigation
sector
constitutes
the
backbone
of
Uzbekistan’s
economy,
providing
social
and
economic
stability
in
the
region.
The
sector
collapsed
with
the
fall
of
the
Soviet
Union,
due
to
worsening
of
infrastructure
conditions
causing
tensions
among
resource
users.
Subsequent
irrigation
management
reforms
were
implemented
in
a
top-down
manner.
More
than
a
decade
after
the
initial
reforms
–
which
established
local
Water
Consumers
Association
(WCA)
and
transferred
operation
and
maintenance
responsibilities
for
on-farm
irrigation
canals
–
the
poor
performance
of
these
associations
is
still
apparent,
illustrating
the
heritage
of
the
strong
role
of
state
agencies
in
Uzbek
water
management
that
still
affects
collective
irrigation
management
today.
This
paper
identifies
the
necessary
and
sufficient
conditions
for
successfully
managing
common
pool
resources
(CPRs)
and,
more
specifically,
irrigation
canal
maintenance
in
the
rural
Bukhara
region
of
Uzbekistan.
Fifteen
WCAs
were
examined
regarding
conditions
that
may
facilitate
successful
irrigation
canal
maintenance.
Methods
involved
focus
group
discussions
and
in-depth
interviews
with
the
associations
concerned.
Data
gathered
was
analyzed
using
fuzzy-set
qualitative
comparative
analysis.
The
results
indicate
that
two
paths
of
local
factors
can
lead
to
well-maintained
irrigation
canals:
(1)
the
combination
of
appropriate
chairmanship
skills
with
sustainable
resource
appropriation
or
(2)
the
combination
of
appropriate
chairmanship
skills
with
the
presence
of
effective
participatory
governance.
The
results
also
illustrate
the
role
of
path-dependence
and
traditional
co-production
of
irrigation
management
in
Uzbekistan.
ß
2015
Elsevier
Ltd.
All
rights
reserved.
*Corresponding
author.
Tel.:
+49
30
2093
46371;
fax:
+49
30
2093
6497.
E-mail
address:
ahmad.hamidov@agrar.hu-berlin.de
(A.
Hamidov).
1
Note
that,
in
December
2009,
the
Water
and
Water
Use
law
of
Uzbekistan
was
revised,
and
the
previously
used
Water
Users
Association
(WUA)
term
was
changed
to
water
consumers
association
(WCA).
Distinctions
between
these
two
terms
were
clarified
as
follows:
water
users
do
not
affect
the
actual
amount
of
available
water
for
processes
such
as
fisheries
and
hydropower,
whereas
water
consumers
do
reduce
the
actual
amount
of
available
water
through
irrigation,
drinking
and
the
like.
Therefore,
we
use
the
term
of
Water
Consumers
Association
throughout
this
paper.
G
Model
ENVSCI-1578;
No.
of
Pages
14
Please
cite
this
article
in
press
as:
Hamidov,
A.,
et
al.,
Institutional
design
in
transformation:
A
comparative
study
of
local
irrigation
governance
in
Uzbekistan.
Environ.
Sci.
Policy
(2015),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.06.012
Contents
lists
available
at
ScienceDirect
Environmental
Science
&
Policy
jo
u
rn
al
ho
m
epag
e:
ww
w.els
evier
.c
om
/lo
cat
e/en
vs
c
i
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.06.012
1462-9011/ß
2015
Elsevier
Ltd.
All
rights
reserved.

(Zavgorodnyaya,
2006;
Veldwisch,
2008;
Abdullaev
et
al.,
2010).
It
needs
to
be
mentioned
that,
without
any
initial
financial,
technical,
legal
or
administrative
support,
some
of
the
associations
have
fallen
into
a
state
of
collapse.
Previous
studies
have
reiterated
that
the
infrastructure
needs
to
be
improved
to
an
acceptable
level
before
it
can
be
successfully
transferred
to
local
farmers
(Hamidov
2007).
The
particularly
weak
link
here
is
the
institutional
one,
as
rules
are
still
unclear
and
a
law
on
WCAs
that
could
protect
their
rights
has
yet
to
be
issued.
The
impact
of
climate
change
is
expected
to
aggravate
the
situation,
resulting
in
reduced
snow
and
glacial
reserves
in
the
mountains
–
virtually
the
only
source
of
water
for
most
of
the
irrigated
croplands
throughout
Central
Asia
(Hagg
et
al.,
2007;
Aleksandrova
et
al.,
2014).
Along
with
changing
climates,
transboundary
water
management
conflicts
have
further
resulted
in
a
decline
of
crop
production
in
the
region
(Rakhmatullaev
et
al.,
2010).
We
propose
that
QCA
is
particularly
useful
for
identifying
conditions
that
promise
successful
top
down
institutional
design
because
it
can
help
us
to
generalize
from
individual
cases.
Thus,
in
this
paper
we
evaluate
institutional
design
for
the
Bukhara
region
of
Uzbekistan,
where
the
top-down
implementation
of
WCA
establishment
required
significant
changes
in
irrigation
manage-
ment
practices.
Departing
from
an
institutional
economics
perspective
and
various
discussions
on
institutional
change,
we
aim
to
investigate
purposeful
institutional
change
or
institutional
design,
understood
as
the
deliberate
replacement
of
existing,
formal
institutions
or
the
creation
of
new
institutions
in
a
socially
desired
way
(Thiel
et
al.,
2015),
in
the
irrigation
sector
of
Uzbekistan.
More
specifically,
and
in
relation
to
this
special
issue,
we
set
out
to
explore
the
scoping
conditions
of
intended
institutional
change
in
natural
resource
governance
and
to
derive
lessons
from
the
QCA
method
applied
so
as
to
inform
purposeful
institutional
change
in
comparable
situations
of
post-socialist
transition
in
the
future.
To
achieve
this,
we
identify
the
necessary
and
sufficient
conditions
for
successfully
managing
CPRs
and,
in
particular,
irrigation
infra-
structure
in
the
rural
Bukhara
region
of
Uzbekistan.
Following
an
iterative
research
process,
where
theories
are
gradually
adjusted
based
on
empirical
findings,
we
construct
arguments
around
the
theories
of
collective
action
(particularly
the
concept
of
leader-
ship),
resource
appropriation
and
participatory
governance,
as
influential
concepts
for
the
outcomes
of
designed
institutional
change.
In
this
context,
we
focus
on
the
operations
of
the
WCA
itself.
As
a
result
of
our
theoretical
framing,
we
do
not
explicitly
address
more
aggregate
explanations
that
relate
to
the
broader
cultural
context
and
local
politics
concerning
irrigation
manage-
ment,
which
no
doubt
also
shape
irrigation
management
in
significant
ways.
For
example,
it
should
be
noted
that
the
social
fabric
in
the
post-socialist
transition
suffers
from
a
low
degree
of
social
capital,
a
deficit
which
tends
to
hamper
cooperation
and
trust.
Such
a
setting
does
not
seem
to
support
bottom-up
initiatives
that
could
effectively
incentivize
collective
action
and
lead
to
the
development
of
local
institutions
overcoming
challenges
of
CPR
management.
Also,
during
land
reforms,
there
were
incidents
where
good
relations
with
district
authorities
allowed
some
farmers
to
obtain
land
licenses
while
others
could
not
(Kandiyoti,
2003).
This
caused
a
deterioration
of
trust
that
possibly
hindered
successful
collective
action.
Our
contribution
to
this
special
issue
explores
what
conditions
at
the
level
of
the
WCA
might
determine
the
success
of
top-down
institutional
design
in
post-socialist
Uzbekistan
as
a
means
towards
proposing
sets
of
conditions
for
future
successful
institutional
design.
We
employ
QCA
as
a
method
that
appears
particularly
valuable
for
science–policy
interfaces
and
informing
different
kinds
of
intended
institutional
change
because
it
enables
the
formulation
of
general
statements
regarding
specific
types
of
settings.
Therefore,
we
scope
the
conditions
for
applying
QCA
for
assessing
intended
institutional
change
in
governance
of
CPRs.
Because
of
its
specific
theoretical
grounding
and
the
limitations
of
the
research
design
and
method,
the
analysis
focusses
specifically
on
local
collective
action
and
cannot
address
the
role
of
cultural
factors
or
dynamics
induced
by
power
and
micro-politics.
To
attain
this
aim,
the
paper
is
structured
as
follows:
Section
2
provides
background
on
irrigation
reforms
in
Uzbekistan,
with
a
specific
focus
on
the
historical
role
of
the
state
in
collective
action;
Section
3
outlines
theoretical
concepts
regarding
successful
cooperation
that
we
have
developed
through
an
iterative
process;
Section
4
describes
the
method
and
tools
employed
in
this
study
as
well
as
the
analytical
steps
followed;
meanwhile,
Section
5
presents
our
findings
and
discusses
the
findings
with
reference
to
canal
maintenance.
The
final
section
(Section
6)
concludes
the
paper
by
proposing
potential
policy
implications.
2.
The
irrigation
sector
of
Uzbekistan
Irrigated
agriculture
remains
one
of
the
most
important
sectors
of
the
Uzbek
economy,
contributing
to
19%
of
the
country’s
GDP
and,
most
importantly,
providing
almost
40%
of
the
rural
population
with
employment
(World
Bank,
2013).
Uzbekistan
is
considered
one
of
the
oldest
regions
in
the
world
that
practices
irrigated
agriculture.
According
to
research
conducted
by
nation-
ally
famous
historians
and
archaeologists,
construction
of
canals
in
the
country
began
as
early
as
the
middle
of
the
2nd
millennium
BC
(Bartold,
1965).
The
historical
development
of
reforms
in
Uzbek
irrigated
agriculture
can
largely
be
categorized
into
three
major
periods:
pre-Soviet
irrigation
management
during
feudalist
and
colonialist
periods,
irrigation
development
after
the
accession
of
Uzbekistan
to
the
Soviet
Union,
and
the
post-Soviet
transformation
process.
Table
1
provides
an
overview
of
reforms
in
the
history
of
irrigated
agriculture
in
Uzbekistan.
In
this
brief
sketch,
we
specifically
focus
upon
historical
variations
in
the
role
of
the
state
in
Uzbek
irrigation
management
because
of
its
relevance
for
the
rest
of
the
study.
Prior
to
Soviet
occupation
in
1920,
about
1.3
million
ha
of
agricultural
land
was
irrigated
and
all
canals
and
ditches
were
owned
and
collectively
controlled
by
local
communities
(Abdullaev
et
al.,
2006).
Irrigation
was
mainly
carried
out
in
the
foothills,
floodplains
or
deltas
of
large
rivers
such
as
in
the
Amudarya,
Syrdarya,
Zarafshan
and
Ferghana
valleys
(Bedrintsev
and
Korzhavin,
1975).
However,
absence
of
advanced
engineering
technology
meant
that
local
mirabs
(irriga-
tors)
could
not
manage
river
flows
or
convey
water
from
main
canals
to
smaller
canal
structures
(Sharov,
1968).
As
a
result,
small
irrigation
networks
were
relatively
rare,
and
the
main
canals
were
of
enormous
size
and
length,
with
large
flows
of
water.
The
state
had
a
relatively
marginal
role
in
decisions
on
water
allocation
at
the
farm
level,
as
local
mirabs
were
responsible
for
water
distribution
to
dehkan
(peasant)
farmers
and
operation
of
on-
farm
(secondary
and
tertiary)
irrigation
canals
(Rakhmatullaev
et
al.,
2011).
Since
the
late
1920s
and
early
1930s,
due
to
the
overarching
political
objective
of
boosting
the
Soviet
Union’s
economy,
the
Ministry
of
Land
Reclamation
and
Water
Resources
of
the
Union
of
Soviet
Socialist
Republics
(USSR)
became
involved
in
the
expansion
of
irrigated
areas,
concentrating
on
more
effective
use
of
agricultural
machinery
and
the
engineering
or
rebuilding
of
different
types
of
irrigation
systems.
As
a
result
of
this
expansive
policy,
an
additional
3
million
ha
of
land
came
under
irrigation.
The
state
water
management
authorities,
based
on
administrative
districts,
were
responsible
for
the
delivery
of
water
to
the
borders
of
collective
(kolkhozes)
and
state
(sovkhozes)
farms,
which
then
became
responsible
for
on-farm
water
distribution
and
mainte-
nance
of
irrigation
systems
(Wegerich,
2005).
The
managers
of
A.
Hamidov
et
al.
/
Environmental
Science
&
Policy
xxx
(2015)
xxx–xxx
2
G
Model
ENVSCI-1578;
No.
of
Pages
14
Please
cite
this
article
in
press
as:
Hamidov,
A.,
et
al.,
Institutional
design
in
transformation:
A
comparative
study
of
local
irrigation
governance
in
Uzbekistan.
Environ.
Sci.
Policy
(2015),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.06.012

these
farms
would
appoint
the
head
hydro-technician
to
be
in
charge
of
irrigation
water
and
maintenance-related
activities
at
the
production
units
(or
brigades
2
).
Due
to
the
fact
that
the
production
of
cotton
became
a
leading
industry,
making
a
significant
contribution
to
the
national
economy
(Bedrintsev
and
Korzhavin,
1975),
the
Uzbek
state
played
a
very
significant
role
in
the
allocation
of
water
for
irrigation
within
the
collective/
state
farms
and
in
the
maintenance
of
irrigation
infrastructure.
After
the
dissolution
of
the
USSR,
a
slow
transformation
from
kolkhozes
and
sovkhozes
to
family-oriented
production
units
(i.e.
shirkats)
took
place.
The
independent
Uzbek
Ministry
of
Agriculture
and
Water
Resources
(MAWR)
was
put
in
charge
of
managing
water
from
the
country’s
main
canals.
However,
there
was
a
huge
vacuum
of
responsibility
regarding
who
should
manage
and
maintain
on-
farm
irrigation
canals,
which
had
previously
been
managed
and
maintained
by
collective
and
state
farms
(Jumaboev
et
al.,
2013).
With
its
Decree
No.
8,
in
2002
the
Cabinet
of
Ministers
addressed
‘‘[m]easures
for
the
reorganization
of
agricultural
enterprises
into
individual
farms’’
by
introducing
new
institutions
and
governance
structures
–
namely,
an
irrigation
service
fee
(ISF)
and
the
WCA
–
to
shift
the
rights
of
managing
irrigation
canals
at
the
on-farm
level
from
government
agencies
to
local
resource
users
(i.e.
farmers).
The
rationale
behind
this
reform
was
that
water
consumers
would
act
collectively
to
manage
and
maintain
irrigation
systems
on
which
they
depended
but
which
they
were
not
able
to
maintain
by
themselves
at
the
level
of
individual
farms.
At
the
next
highest
level,
Basin
Irrigation
Systems
Authority
(BISA)
and
Irrigation
Systems
Authority
(ISA)
state
water
organizations
were
established
to
manage
water
resources
at
the
level
of
the
main
canal.
The
main
task
of
an
ISA,
for
example,
was
to
ensure
timely
and
fair
distribution
of
water
resources
to
local
WCAs.
Each
WCA
is
responsible
for
developing
a
water
use
plan
for
its
farmer
members.
Once
annual
water
use
plans
were
prepared
and
the
ISA
distributed
water
to
a
WCA’s
territory,
it
became
the
latter’s
responsibility
to
ensure
reliable
and
equitable
distribution
of
that
water
among
the
farmers.
So,
according
to
the
2002
reform,
within
the
constraints
of
the
relatively
predictable
water
allocations
from
the
ISA,
which
controlled
the
source
of
water
in
the
main
canal,
the
WCAs
were
to
organize
collective
action
for
the
management
of
CPRs
(e.g.
infrastructure)
and
the
allocation
of
water
(i.e.
in
the
secondary
and
tertiary
canals).
Although
overall
water
allocation
by
higher
levels
obviously
affects
operations
within
each
WCA,
we
consider
it
legitimate
to
study
here
the
degrees
of
success
of
collective
action
organized
by
WCAs
separately,
at
the
level
of
associations.
3.
Theoretical
concepts
regarding
successful
irrigation
management
The
literature
on
institutions
offers
a
great
number
of
perspectives
regarding
the
possibilities
for
changing
institutions
and
the
underlying
methods
that
can
be
applied
for
this
purpose
(cf.
Brousseau,
2011;
Vatn,
2005;
Lin,
1989).
For
example,
top
down
institutional
design
implicitly
presumes
that
theories
can
enable
agents
to
determine
how
to
effect
intentional
institutional
change
by
creating
new
institutions
aimed
at
affecting
existing
practices
with
predictable
outcomes.
Zikos
and
Thiel
(2013)
associate
this
with
the
kinds
of
understanding
of
institutional
change
propagated
by
rational
choice
orientations.
In
contrast,
according
to
Alexander
(2005),
what
has
also
been
called
subjective-dialogic
institutional
design
exhibits
a
lack
of
conclusive
understanding
about
how
institutional
change
unfolds,
making
it
essential
to
understand
transformations
that
are
unleashed
by
intended
institutional
change
and
descriptive-explanatory
knowledge
based
on
reflexive
experience.
Empirical
observation
and
analysis
are,
thus,
required
in
order
to
formulate
adequate
proposals
for
guiding
development
of
institutions
into
intended
directions.
From
this
perspective,
outcomes
are
presumed
to
be
to
a
large
extent
unintended
and
unpredictable.
This
understanding
would
be
associated
with
theories
that
emphasize
the
endogenous,
cognitive
dimension
of
institutions,
as
in
learning-
and
evolution-oriented
theories
of
institutional
change
(Zikos
and
Thiel,
2013).
Institutional
change,
aiming
to
steer
social–ecological
systems
onto
desirable
pathways
via
successful
CPR
management,
con-
stitutes
an
underlying
motivation
of
the
work
of
a
number
of
renowned
academics,
such
as
Ostrom
(2000,
2005,
2007)
and
is
here
called
intended
institutional
change
or,
synonymously,
institutional
design.
Many
scholars
conducting
research
on
CPRs
Table
1
Historical
reform
of
land
and
water
management
in
Uzbekistan.
Periods
Institutions
for
water
management
Irrigation
system
development
Land
use
farming
system
Total
irrigated
area
(per
farm
in
hectare)
Pre-Soviet
occupation
Mirab
a
system:
communities
play
important
role
Small-scale
irrigation
canals
Smallholder
land
ownership:
subsistence
farming
Less
than
1
ha
Early
Soviet
period
(1920–1950)
Some
elements
of
old
system
plus
increase
of
state
role
Construction
of
new
irrigation
canals
Collectivization
of
land
use
300–500
Late
Soviet
period
(1950–1990)
State
controlled
water
management
(WM)
Large-scale
irrigation
canal
system
Collective
(kolkhoz)
and
state
(sovkhoz)
farming
1500–2000
Early
post-Soviet
era
(1990–2000)
State-controlled
WM
until
farm
level.
Unclear
rules
at
the
former
kolkhoz
b
and
sovkhoz
c
levels.
No
major
construction
works
Slow
transformation
from
collective
farms
to
individual
family
renting
(shirkat
d
)
1500–2000
Mid
post-Soviet
era
(2000–2008)
Creation
of
WCAs
(with
Decree
No.
8
in
2002)
to
manage
water
at
farm
level
Hydrographic
(canal)
principles
Individualization
of
irrigated
land
parcels
1–50
Late
post-Soviet
era
(since
2008)
Completion
of
on-farm
irrigation
system
transfer
to
local
WCAs
Hydrographic
(canal)
principles
Land
optimization
reforms
40–100
Source:
Modified
from
Abdullaev
and
Rakhmatullaev
(2015:
851–856).
a
The
word
Mirab
(or
Mirob)
comes
from
an
Arabic
word
meaning
‘‘mir’’
as
in
‘‘Amir’’,
or
head,
and
‘‘ob’’,
meaning
‘‘water’’,
with
Mirob
translating
into
‘‘head
of
water’’.
b
Kolkhoz:
A
large
collective
farm
comprising
several
agricultural
experts
and
farm
labourers
responsible
for
the
collective
management
of
the
production
system
and
delivery
of
targeted
outputs
to
the
state.
c
Sovkhoz:
They
were
entirely
financed
by
the
state
budget
and
their
entire
output
had
to
be
delivered
to
the
state.
d
Shirkat:
A
cooperative
large
farm
enterprise,
oriented
to
family-based
production,
established
to
replace
the
former
kolkhoz
and
sovkhoz.
The
shirkat’s
production
output
had
to
be
delivered
to
the
state.
2
The
kolkhoz
field
workers
were
organized
into
brigades,
which
were
assigned
to
specific
plots
of
land.
The
head
of
a
brigade,
working
under
the
leadership
of
a
kolkhoz
chairman,
was
responsible
for
farm
administration
and
held
accountable
for
fulfilling
planned
harvest
targets
(Trevisani,
2010).
A.
Hamidov
et
al.
/
Environmental
Science
&
Policy
xxx
(2015)
xxx–xxx
3
G
Model
ENVSCI-1578;
No.
of
Pages
14
Please
cite
this
article
in
press
as:
Hamidov,
A.,
et
al.,
Institutional
design
in
transformation:
A
comparative
study
of
local
irrigation
governance
in
Uzbekistan.
Environ.
Sci.
Policy
(2015),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.06.012

from
an
institutional
perspective
suggest
that
there
are
different
conditions
for
improving
cooperation
amongst
groups
of
users
that
may
form
a
vital
element
of
success
(Wade,
1987;
Ostrom,
2000;
Meinzen-Dick
et
al.,
2002;
Theesfeld,
2005;
Zavgorodnyaya,
2006;
Abdullaev
et
al.,
2010).
To
different
degrees,
conditions
could
be
considered
to
be
either
necessary
or
sufficient
for
helping
to
achieve
successful
CPR
management.
However,
very
few
studies
have
investigated
combinations
of
conditions
in
terms
of
their
necessity
and
sufficiency
and
the
possibility
of
their
absence
under
certain
constellations,
especially
in
post-socialist
Central
Asia,
where
attempted
top-down
institutional
design
resulted
in
unexpected
‘‘failures’’
(Zavgorodnyaya,
2006;
Abdullaev
et
al.,
2010).
Through
testing
existing
theoretical
concepts
derived
from
collective
action
theory
in
the
context
of
post-socialist
transition,
this
research
proposes
certain
conditions
or
their
combinations
under
which
successful
cooperation
in
local
CPR
management
is
likely
to
occur.
Ostrom
(1990)
has
emphasized
that
irrigation
systems
(water
and
infrastructure)
can
be
classified
as
CPRs
due
to
having
the
characteristic
of
difficulty
of
exclusion
while,
at
the
same
time,
being
subject
to
a
high
degree
of
rivalry
among
actors
over
access
to
them.
Thus,
employing
CPR
theory
is
likely
to
help
us
advance
our
understanding
of
how
the
system
in
question
functions.
Ostrom
(1990)
further
highlights
that
CPRs
are
subject
to
overuse
if
no
suitable
institutions
(understood
as
rules
of
the
game)
are
in
place
against
rule-breaking
individuals
and
also
proposes
collective
action
to
overcome
social
dilemmas.
Based
on
these
ideas,
we
employ
carefully
and
iteratively
selected
theoretical
concepts
regarding
collective
action,
resource
appropriation
and
participatory
governance
to
try
to
explain
the
social
dilemmas
associated
with
unmaintained
irrigation
canals.
We
hold
that
the
irrigation
canals
and
the
water
that
farmers
share,
and
which
is
allocated
to
them
by
the
ISA,
are
CPRs.
Among
the
various
CPRs
at
stake
in
irrigation
systems,
we
are
interested
in
the
factors
that
determine
the
degrees
of
success
that
WCAs
have
in
managing
and
maintaining
irrigation
canals.
Specifically,
we
focus
on
the
following
factors.
First,
we
distinguish
the
chairmanship
skills
of
the
head
of
a
WCA
as
the
key
condition
for
the
success
of
community
management,
as
posited
by
several
researchers
(e.g.,
Zavgorodnyaya,
2006;
Theesfeld,
2009).
Poteete
et
al.
(2010)
note
that
leadership
is
one
the
most
well-studied
social
factors
that
contribute
to
sustaining
CPR
regimes.
Baland
and
Platteau
(1996)
synthesized
various
studies
and
asserted
that
good
leaders
are
important
to
help
people
become
aware
of
the
real
challenges
that
they
confront
to
mobilize
users
into
a
coordinated
unit
to
manage
the
resources,
and
to
ensure
that
rules
and
enforcement
mechanisms
are
fair.
Meinzen-Dick
et
al.
(2002)
put
emphasis
on
leaders
who
are
perceived
as
being
important
social
actors
and,
thereby,
contribute
towards
trust-building
among
members.
In
the
context
of
Uzbekistan,
Zavgorodnyaya
(2006)
distinguishes
three
co-existing
groups
of
leaders
–
WCA,
Machinery
Tractor
Park
(MTP)
3
and
Village
Citizens’
Assembly
(VCA)
4
–
that
may
influence
the
WCAs
performance.
She
studied
the
performance
of
Uzbek
WCAs
by
employing
collective
action
theory
to
determine
factors
that
influence
the
success
or
failure
of
the
establishment
of
WCAs.
She
identified
having
a
water-engineering
background
and
being
connected
to
traditional
societal
structures
as
vital
requirements
for
chairmen
to
increase
the
probability
of
success
of
their
WCAs.
Yalcin
and
Mollinga
(2007)
have
also
investigated
the
conditions
which
led
to
the
establishment
of
WCAs
in
Uzbekistan.
Their
findings
reveal
that
the
charismatic
leaders
who
were
well-
connected
to
state
authorities
were
able
to
influence
structural
changes
and
mobilize
support
for
their
new
ideas.
These
findings
concern
the
role
of
the
state
as
well
as
traditional
structures
both
of
which
apparently
remained
important
in
irrigation
management,
a
finding
that
we
confirm
below.
Further,
the
literature
identifies
resource
appropriation
(or
allocation
of
irrigation
water)
as
an
explanatory
condition
for
improved
CPR
management
(Theesfeld,
2009;
Abdullaev
et
al.,
2010).
Generally,
the
issue
of
water
allocation
is
negotiated
within
a
broad
action
arena
comprising
multiple
levels
of
governance.
Farm-level
water
allocation
may
be
influenced
by
political
decisions
at
the
national
and
international
levels,
by
climate-
change
discourses,
types
of
crops
grown
as
well
as
biophysical
characteristics
of
the
system,
and
they
may
involve
various
actors
in
decision-making
process.
This
study,
however,
focuses
on
investigating
infrastructure
provision.
We
view
this
as
being
an
appropriate
indicator
of
successful
water
allocation
in
general.
We
include
‘‘sustainable
resource
appropriation’’
as
an
explanatory
condition
for
having
irrigation
canals
maintained.
Theesfeld
(2009)
investigated
collective
action
among
Bulgarian
villagers
to
manage
water
for
irrigation
during
the
country’s
post-Soviet
transition,
finding
that
unorganized
water
appropriation
rules,
associated
with
unreliable
irrigation
water
allocation,
left
little
room
for
successful
cooperation.
She
also
found
that
the
absence
of
a
monitoring
system
for
water
appropriation
increased
transaction
costs
for
guarding
farmers’
fields
24
h/day.
Abdullaev
et
al.
(2010)
have
studied
collective
action
in
the
irrigation
sector
in
Central
Asia,
highlighting
the
importance
of
water
appropriation
in
the
area
due
to
competition
between
many
farmers
who
cultivate
different
but
water-intensive
crops.
As
a
result,
frequent
clashes
between
appropriators
might
occur.
Finally,
effective
participatory
governance
may
improve
cooperation
among
resource
users,
as
some
studies
have
indicated
(Speer,
2012).
Andersson
and
van
Laerhoven
(2007)
define
participatory
governance
as
institutional
arrangements
that
facilitate
the
participation
of
citizens
in
public
policy
processes.
In
the
present
paper,
the
concept
of
participatory
governance
is
used
to
examine
WCA
members’
participation
5
in
decision-making
processes
regarding
canal
maintenance
as
well
as
their
frequency
of
participation
in
meetings.
Speer
(2012)
notes
that
allowing
community
members
to
influence
the
design
and
implementation
of
everyday
rules
constitutes
a
determining
factor
of
the
effectiveness
of
participatory
governance.
Mukhtarov
et
al.
(2014)
point
to
the
fact
that
it
is
questionable
whether
successful
implementation
of
participatory
approaches
in
semi
or
non-
democratic
countries
is
possible,
because
they
may
be
confronted
by
a
series
of
challenges
during
the
process,
which
require
careful
consideration
for
effective
institutional
design.
Participation,
in
this
context,
should
not
be
confused
with
directly
affecting
decision
making,
although
they
are
related.
Various
‘‘ladders’’
of
participa-
tory
governance
as
tools
for
analyzing
issues
involved
in
improving
participation
in
water-resource
management
have
been
proposed,
especially
with
reference
to
less-developed
countries
(cf.
Mostert,
2006;
Choguill,
1996).
From
this
perspective,
the
authors
recognize
that
what
is
often
considered
common
practice
in
the
‘‘Western
World’’
might
be
a
real
participatory
achievement
elsewhere,
for
instance,
informing
and
consulting
the
public
before
reaching
a
decision.
In
our
study,
we
deal
with
participatory
issues,
both
in
terms
of
scope
and
analytical
purposes
as
well
as
concerning
new
processes
leading
to
decision
making,
by
involving
resource
users
in
different
ways
other
than
it
had
been
the
case
in
the
past.
3
MTPs
were
part
of
collective
and
state
farms.
They
were
reorganized
into
joint
stock
companies
in
1997.
Their
main
mission,
among
others,
is
to
provide
agricultural
machinery
services
to
WCA
members
and
local
households.
4
VCA
is
a
self-governance
organization
representing
the
interests
of
its
members.
The
resident
citizens
over
the
age
of
eighteen
are
entitled
to
participate
in
the
assembly.
5
They
are
large
farmers
who
are
registered
at
local
district
khokimiyat
(governor’s
office)
and
have
a
legal
status
with
farm
stamp.
They
or
their
representatives
attend
WCA
meetings
normally.
A.
Hamidov
et
al.
/
Environmental
Science
&
Policy
xxx
(2015)
xxx–xxx
4
G
Model
ENVSCI-1578;
No.
of
Pages
14
Please
cite
this
article
in
press
as:
Hamidov,
A.,
et
al.,
Institutional
design
in
transformation:
A
comparative
study
of
local
irrigation
governance
in
Uzbekistan.
Environ.
Sci.
Policy
(2015),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.06.012

4.
Methodological
approach
Throughout
the
data-gathering
phase
of
this
study,
we
carried
out
focus
group
discussions
(FGDs)
with
resource
users
–
farmers
who
are
members
of
WCAs
–
in
the
Bukhara
region
of
southwestern
Uzbekistan,
using
a
semi-structured
interview
format.
Some
relevant
characteristics
of
these
FGDs
have
been
that:
(i)
the
average
number
of
participants
in
each
group
was
between
3
and
5,
(ii)
the
on-site
researcher
had
an
assistant
for
recording
the
discussions
and
keeping
notes,
6
and
(iii)
the
participant
pool
was
relatively
homogenous
in
terms
of
age,
education,
profession
and
socio-economic
status.
Selection
of
FGD
participants
was
done
prior
to
the
field
visit,
based
on
secondary
data
received
from
local
district
khokimiyats
(governor’s
offices)
and
the
Amu-Bukhara
BISA.
Representativeness
from
the
WCA
membership
for
the
entire
territory
(i.e.
participants
representing
the
target
population)
was
also
sought
out.
WCA
chairmen
were
contacted
by
the
on-site
researcher.
They
were
requested
to
gather
pre-selected
members
into
a
WCA
office
or
local
VCA
office
for
the
FGDs
to
be
conducted,
which
took
place
when
at
least
three
farmers
were
present.
Conditions
derived
from
a
variety
of
theoretical
concepts
were
taken
into
consideration
in
designing
the
semi-structured
inter-
view
format.
Answers
were
coded,
summarized
into
spreadsheets
and
analyzed
with
the
qualitative
software
package
fuzzy-set
Qualitative
Comparative
Analysis
(fsQCA).
4.1.
Case
study
region
and
selection
of
WCA
cases
The
Bukhara
region
contains
a
diverse
ethnic
population
(e.g.,
Uzbeks,
Tajiks
and
Turkmens)
and
suffers
from
frequent
water
shortages,
severely
salinized
soil
and
groundwater,
extensive
waterlogging,
and
close
geographical
proximity
to
an
ecologically
catastrophic
zone:
the
Aral
Sea
(Fig.
1).
We
selected
the
Bukhara
region
for
our
study
because
little
international
research
has
been
conducted
in
the
region
thus
far,
particularly
from
an
institutional
economics
perspective.
Total
irrigated
area
of
the
region
is
accounted
at
279.6
thousand
ha.
Total
population
is
about
1.4
million,
of
which
about
70%
live
in
rural
areas
and
depend
on
irrigated
agriculture.
Bukhara’s
local
economy
is
based
on
tourism,
agriculture,
oil
and
natural
gas,
raw
materials
for
construction
and
light
industry.
The
region
has
relatively
high
costs
for
distributing
water
among
users,
since
the
Bukharians
primarily
use
costly-to-operate
electrical
pumps
to
lift
water
50–100
m
above
the
level
of
the
Amudarya
river
to
release
it
into
the
Amu-Bukhara
Main
Canal
(ABMK).
ABMK
is
the
main
water
conveyance
canal
of
the
Amu-Bukhara
Basin,
which
supplies
water
to
almost
the
entire
irrigated
lands
of
Bukhara
and
parts
of
Navoiy
regions
(ADB,
2013).
The
total
area
supplied
by
the
ABMK
is
315,000
ha.
It
was
built
in
the
1960s
and
1970s
and
currently,
requires
huge
investment
for
rehabilitation
and
reconstruction.
Most
notably,
the
problem
of
outdated
irrigation
canals
has
become
a
serious
issue
in
the
region.
This
is
due
to
the
fact
that
severely
salinized
soils
require
large-scale
application
of
freshwater
to
leach
agricultural
fields
during
non-vegetation
periods,
leaving
almost
no
time
or
resources
to
carry
out
canal
maintenance
activities.
Bucknall
et
al.
(2003)
have
reported
that
the
problem
of
soil
salinity
is
particularly
acute
in
the
areas
closest
to
the
Aral
Sea,
meaning
that
about
90–94%
of
the
land
in
the
Karakalpakistan,
Khorezm
and
Bukhara
regions
of
Uzbekistan
is
salinized
to
varying
degrees.
Furthermore,
high
silt
content
in
the
Amudarya
river
(up
to
6
kg
of
silt
and
sand
per
1
m
3
of
water)
requires
the
investment
of
relatively
huge
financial
and
labour
resources
to
carry
out
maintenance
of
secondary
and
tertiary
canals.
As
a
result,
many
water
facilities
in
the
basin
are
currently
silted-up
and,
thus,
canals
require
maintenance
by
WCAs
three
to
four
times
a
year
in
the
Amu-Bukhara
Basin,
compared
to
one
to
two
times
a
year
in
other
parts
of
the
country
(interview
with
officials
from
the
Amu-Bukhara
BISA).
We
consider
this
a
specifically
challenging
environment
for
the
organization
of
collective
action
for
canal
maintenance
in
a
region
where
proper
maintenance
is
of
great
importance.
According
to
information
received
from
the
Bukhara
regional
department
of
agriculture
and
water
resources
(i.e.
Obselvodkhoz)
in
2011,
about
20%
of
water
in
the
main
canals
and
35%
of
water
in
secondary
and
tertiary
canals
(WCA
level)
is
lost,
mainly
due
to
poorly
functioning
irrigation
facilities.
In
terms
of
case
selection
within
the
Bukhara
region,
we
relied
on
Mill’s
(1872)
most
similar
cases
design
approach.
In
the
beginning,
WCAs
functioning
in
two
neighbouring
ISAs
–
Kharkhur-Duoba
and
Toshrabod-Jilvon
–
were
selected
(i.e.
63
WCAs
that
represent
five
districts
of
Bukhara),
which
share
relatively
similar
climatic
char-
acteristics
(Fig.
2).
The
following
primary
criteria
were
considered
to
select
cases:
existence
of
information
on
‘‘well’’
and
‘‘badly’’
maintained
irrigation
canals,
obtained
through
secondary
data
from
MAWR;
the
education
and
experience
of
WCA
chairmen;
and
representation
of
the
different
districts
of
the
region
within
the
two
ISAs.
As
a
result,
fifteen
WCA
cases
were
selected
–
eight
from
Kharkhur-Duoba
and
seven
from
Toshrabod-Jilvon
–
to
compare
and
analyze
the
effectiveness
of
irrigation
canal
maintenance
in
the
region.
We
attempted
to
conduct
FGDs
with
members
from
all
fifteen
WCAs.
In
some
instances,
however,
mainly
for
practical
reasons,
we
found
it
difficult
to
bring
together
groups
of
farmers.
Note
that
Uzbekistan
has
retained
its
state
order
for
cotton
and
the
extended
period
of
empirical
data
collection
took
place
during
the
cotton-harvesting
season
(i.e.
autumn
2012).
Thus,
in
some
WCAs
it
was
challenging
to
gather
farmers
together
for
FGDs.
In
such
instances,
we
consequently
visited
individual
member’s
fields
to
conduct
in-depth
interviews.
We
are
aware
that
results
of
FGD
and
in-depth
interviews
usually
cannot
be
equated.
However,
given
the
practical
constraints
indicated,
we
had
to
opt
for
interviews
where
FGDs
where
not
possible.
The
way
FGDs
developed
makes
us
confident
that
our
use
of
different
qualitative
methods
biased
results
only
in
insignificant
ways.
This
is
due
to
the
fact
that
we
used
the
same
semi-structured
interview
format
developed
for
FGDs
and
where
possible,
invited
neighbouring
farmers
to
participate
in
a
rather
small
FGD
in
their
farm
territories.
Appendix
A
provides
general
characteristics
of
all
selected
WCAs.
4.2.
Qualitative
comparative
analysis
Qualitative
comparative
analysis
(QCA)
was
employed
to
explore
conditions
determining
the
success
of
institutional
design
in
Uzbekistan
and,
based
on
findings,
propose
sets
of
conditions
for
future
successful
institutional
design.
This
research
method
was
first
introduced
by
Charles
Ragin
in
1987
and,
since
then,
has
become
popular
among
social
scientists
for
analyzing
intermediate
numbers
of
cases
(Thiem
and
Dus¸
a,
2013).
It
is
also
widely
used
by
a
variety
of
other
disciplines
–
including
the
political
sciences,
international
relations,
business
and
economics,
management
and
organization,
and
legal
studies
–
and
is
recognized
as
the
most
influential
and
innovative
social
science
method
of
the
past
two
decades.
The
initial
version
used
binary-value
crisp-set
data,
whereas
Ragin’s
(2000)
follow-up
version,
fsQCA,
has
become
increasingly
popular
because
it
permits
continuous
base
variables
within
a
membership
interval.
For
the
present
study,
we
employed
fuzzy-set
7
QCA
in
order
to
compile
factors
–
known
as
‘‘conditions’’
6
A
PhD
student
from
the
Bukhara
branch
of
the
Tashkent
Institute
of
Irrigation
and
Melioration
(BB
TIIM)
supported
this
study
during
its
empirical
phase.
7
The
term
‘‘fuzzy-set’’
is
relatively
new
to
the
social
sciences,
but
the
basic
idea
behind
it
is
relatively
simple
and
straightforward:
by
allowing
for
partial
membership
in
addition
to
full
membership
and
full
non-membership
in
sets
(Ragin,
2008),
it
enables
researchers
to
establish
differences
in
degree
among
qualitatively
similar
cases
(Schneider
and
Wagemann,
2012).
A.
Hamidov
et
al.
/
Environmental
Science
&
Policy
xxx
(2015)
xxx–xxx
5
G
Model
ENVSCI-1578;
No.
of
Pages
14
Please
cite
this
article
in
press
as:
Hamidov,
A.,
et
al.,
Institutional
design
in
transformation:
A
comparative
study
of
local
irrigation
governance
in
Uzbekistan.
Environ.
Sci.
Policy
(2015),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.06.012

in
QCA
terminology
–
that
seem
to
be
necessary
and/or
sufficient
for
a
given
outcome.
Schneider
and
Wagemann
(2012)
argue
that
the
rationale
behind
the
use
of
QCA
cannot
be
solely
the
availability
of
only
an
intermediate
number
of
cases;
rather,
the
phenomena
to
be
explained
needs
to
be
the
result
of
a
specific
kind
of
causal
complexity,
making
QCA
a
suitable
methodological
choice
regardless
of
the
number
of
cases
at
hand.
Consequently,
our
study
adopted
this
method
because
it
is
aimed
at
understanding
the
maintenance
of
irrigation
canals
within
WCA
territories
due
to
the
causal
complexity
of
conditions,
which
seemed
to
require
use
of
such
a
set
theoretic
approach.
Additionally,
QCA
allows
for
combination
of
conditions
to
achieve
an
outcome;
we
saw
this
as
an
advantage
for
better
understanding
whether
certain
conditions,
either
individually
or
in
combination,
or
their
absence
(i.e.
complements),
is
sufficient
for
facilitating
successful
CPR
(irriga-
tion
infrastructure)
management
in
the
given
institutional
design
setting
in
Uzbekistan.
This,
we
reasoned,
could
also
aid
us
in
making
a
contribution
towards
the
literature
on
successful
institutional
change
in
transformation.
4.2.1.
Selection
of
conditions
and
the
outcome
of
interest
When
employing
QCA,
it
is
important
that
sets
of
conditions
and
outcome
are
selected
and
conceptualized
based
on
prior
theoretical
knowledge
and
empirical
insights
gained
through
the
research
process
(Schneider
and
Wagemann,
2010).
It
is
also
advisable
to
keep
the
number
of
conditions
at
a
moderate
level,
since
high
numbers
of
conditions
are
dysfunctional
for
QCA
and
may
lead
to
an
increase
of
logical
remainders,
meaning
logically
possible
‘‘cases’’
that
are
not
observed
empirically.
There
are
different
approaches
concerning
how
to
select
conditions
that
can
explain
a
given
social
phenomenon.
Through
an
iterative
process,
we
identified
what
appear
to
be
three
key
determinants
(or
conditions)
affecting
our
outcome
of
interest;
that
is
maintenance
of
irrigation
canals
(MIC)
in
Bukhara:
appropriate
chairmanship
skills
(ACS),
sustainable
resource
appropriation
(SRA)
and
effective
participatory
governance
(EPG).
Appendix
B
provides
a
list
of
conditions
and
their
outcomes
with
fuzzy-set
value
definitions
that
were
identified
during
the
study
process.
4.2.2.
Calibration
of
fuzzy-sets
Calibration
is
crucial
to
fsQCA
and
should
be
transparent,
open
and
replicable
during
the
process
of
assigning
membership
scores
(Ragin,
2006).
A
qualitative
calibration
method
was
used
to
develop
anchor
points
and
identify
cases
that
were
more
in
a
particular
set’s
membership
or
out.
Theoretical
knowledge
as
well
as
empirical
insights
was
used
to
assign
cases
according
to