Comparative assessment of irrigation sector reforms in Central and Eastern European countries of transition

At the beginning of the 1990s the period of transition from a central planning economy to a market economy started in all Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC). During this period distinct economic difficulties and a rather critical situation have been observed. A lot of common issues in agriculture and water management were recognised. In irrigated agriculture the majority of CEEC faced similar problems: decrease of agricultural production, deterioration of irrigation and drainage on-farm infrastructure and breakdown of the previous markets. Everywhere in CEEC, the process of agricultural reforms as well as reforms in water management were started and developed to solve these problems. Reforms in agriculture and water management in different countries were initiated with respect to the local natural conditions, traditional farm practice, infrastructure particularities as well as institutional and legislative developments. During the implementation of the reforms new experiences were gained and new approaches developed. To learn from these experiences and to analyse the results of reform processes the international project on "Irrigation Management Transfer in European Countries of Transition" was initiated by the Ukrainian National Committee of ICID and embodied in the activities of the European Work Team on Sustainable Irrigation Management (EWTSIM), a working unit of the European Regional Working Group (ERWG) of ICID. The project was funded by the German GTZ and started in 2003. Eleven countries were involved in the project. The main objectives of the project are: prepare country reports using a common structure; perform comparative assessments of irrigation reform processes in the participating countries; work out recommendations for further developments. In this report the project coordinators present the first results of the comparative assessment of irrigation reform processes: analysis of the basic conditions and the initial situation in agriculture and water management practice at the beginning of the reforms assessment of the differences in agriculture reforms comparison and analysis of changes (in irrigation management practice, irrigation management transfer policy and institutional development, legislation and financing systems) and their results comparison of proposed scenarios for future developments. The comparative assessment of different reform processes is understood as a useful tool to identify obligatory actions in order to successfully implement a transformation policy. This procedure may also serve to identify advantages and disadvantages of its implementation as well as of definite stages or lacking stages of the transformation process. Internationally recognised advanced experiences in irrigation management transfer are additionally applied for the conclusions. On the basis of the comparative assessment the drafted lessons learned are presented. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.