Lessons on cooperation building to manage water conflicts in the Aral Sea Basin; Technical documents in hydrology: pc-cp series; Vol.: 11; 2003

4.2. At the Interstate Level 
● 
Assume the “common use” doctrine as a basis for inter-sectoral water relations. 
● 
Strengthen regional bodies of the ICWC along the lines of enhancing their rights, 
authority, and responsibilities. There should be mandatory provisions to include 
in these organizations not only representatives of water management from the 
countries of the region, but also hydro-energy and water-delivery specialists, 
ecologists, and others. They should be granted diplomatic status and freed from 
requirements to follow decisions taken by the country they are staying in. 
● 
Reliable financial support by the states for all water management agencies, 
hydrometeorological services, and nature conservancy authorities in flow 
formation and delta zones. 
● 
As a substitution for fuel/energy–water exchange, implement payments for flow 
regulation in reservoirs (over an annual, seasonal, or other period) with 
participation by all countries of the Aral Sea Basin in covering expenses for flow 
formation, as well as protection of the deltas. 
● 
Set well-defined limits on water withdrawal from the basins, taking into account 
ecologically viable volumes of water in the rivers, and allocate them among the 
countries in an equitable and reasonable manner. 
● 
On the basis of these limits, implement payments for exceeding the set levels of 
water withdrawal at a rate that reflects the price for water as a resource, and 
utilize this money for development of joint water saving activities in the basin. 
● 
Conclude a set of agreements that strictly regulate procedures and interactions 
among the countries as to water resources management, use, and protection 
(unfortunately, this process has been delayed for several years).
● 
Establish well-defined regulations for operating regional organizations under 
various conditions and in different situations (water scarcity, floods, etc.); make 
these activities equitable, multinational, and transparent. 
● 
Equip all headworks of BWOs with automatic control and management systems 
(SCADA), preventing any possibility of uncontrolled water withdrawal from the 
river. 
● 
Lay down regulations for joint design, construction, and operation of multi-
objective works (similar to Kambarata, Ragun, etc.), which will ensure that these 
complex hydro-structures will not be used in the interests of only one country. 
● 
Develop systems of education, professional improvement and training, and the 
like. 
● 
Work out regulations for management of transboundary waters returned to the 
rivers. 
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Countries of the region have acquired broad experience of mutual interaction and 
understanding of their responsibilities, combined with political will. The abandonment 
of individual state claims could allow the region not just to survive, but to become an 
example to the world of rational water resource use in a large-scale transboundary 
basin. 
Detailed recommendations on some specific issues are presented in the Annex 
below. 
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Figure 4. Scheme of Water Partnership in Central Asia
Scientific ground