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The paradox of water management projects in Central Asia: An institutionalist perspective

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  • Chatalova, Lioudmila
  • Djanibekov, Nodir
  • Gagalyuk, Taras
  • Valentinov, Vladislav

Abstract

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Central Asian countries have been faced with numerous development challenges in agriculture, especially those related to water use. Well-intentioned foreign donors and development agencies have stepped in to support local farmers, research centers, and public authorities in devising innovative solutions. Yet, development aid projects have borne fruit only partially. Paradoxically, innovative and apparently useful technologies proposed by foreign donors have rarely and only partially succeeded in taking root in the local institutional contexts. To explain this paradox, this paper draws on the institutional approach which shows the possibility of technological innovations being encapsulated by dysfunctional institutions. Reviewing recent studies of water-related projects in Central Asia, the paper shows this encapsulation to be at the core of the development project failures pervasive both in the Soviet period and today. If the concept of encapsulation is valid, then the current development efforts can be made more effective by detecting and counteracting the structures of vested interest on the part of all the actors involved, such as foreign donors, public authorities, research centers and local farmers.

Suggested Citation

  • Chatalova, Lioudmila & Djanibekov, Nodir & Gagalyuk, Taras & Valentinov, Vladislav, 2017. "The paradox of water management projects in Central Asia: An institutionalist perspective," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 9(4), pages 1-14.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:170540
    DOI: 10.3390/w9040300
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    Cited by:

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    2. Shan Zou & Abuduwaili Jilili & Weili Duan & Philippe De Maeyer & Tim Van de Voorde, 2019. "Human and Natural Impacts on the Water Resources in the Syr Darya River Basin, Central Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Daniel Mercado-Garcia & Thomas Block & Jheni Thalis Horna Cotrina & Nilton Deza Arroyo & Marie Anne Eurie Forio & Guido Wyseure & Peter Goethals, 2023. "Freshwater Management Discourses in the Northern Peruvian Andes: The Watershed-Scale Complexity for Integrating Mining, Rural, and Urban Stakeholders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Lee, Seung Oh & Jung, Younghun, 2018. "Efficiency of water use and its implications for a water-food nexus in the Aral Sea Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 80-90.
    5. Dimitrios Zikos, 2020. "Revisiting the Role of Institutions in Transformative Contexts: Institutional Change and Conflicts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.

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