Water resources management in trans-boundary river basins involves multifaceted interactions among various stakeholders at all levels of water management hierarchy and requires a shared vision of sustainable water resources management and development in Central Asia.
Therefore, since 1991 the newly formed independent states of the Central Asian region have been faced with an acute necessity to develop regional cooperation on water allocation in the Aral Sea basin. Although availability and exchange of information are the key instruments to maintain effective and efficient regional cooperation, limited access to data on water/land resources use and socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea Basin has been an obstacle for making adequate shortand long-term decisions on trans-boundary water resources management and on implementationof relevant policies.
In response to this challenge, an agreement was adopted in 1992 by the five Central Asian governments to establish the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) in charge of the regional water resources management within the Aral Sea basin. The Scientific-Information Centre (SIC ICWC) was subsequently founded as an ICWC executive body to coordinate regional water management cooperation and improve information exchange among the member states.
In this context, the development of a regional information exchange system became one of the most important components of the efforts to improve water resources and ecosystem management at the regional, national and province levels. The application of IWRM tools available by 2003 demonstrated that more advanced and sophisticated methods of communication between water stakeholders were needed - such as a special interactive web-based Basin Information System.
Such a system with constantly updated information could be used by agencies and other targeted partners in the water arena to identify the best management options for specific conditions, tasks and planning zones in line with overall river basin management goals and targets. It was also essential to introduce an interactive Geographical Information System (GIS) designed for use within agencies or for targeted partners in a water management context.
Despite the complexity of the current socio-economic situation in the Central Asian countries, water resources use and management at on-farm, WUA, canal and irrigation system/basin levels are undergoing positive changes, adapting to current developments, and meeting multifaceted challenges of the transition to participative water management and market economy. By enhancing information exchange in the water sector, the CAREWIB Project has undoubtedly been contributing to this favorable development.
