R4D Kazakhstan

The Development of Civil Society in Central Asia.

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:32:00 GMT

Miscellaneous J. Giffen, L. Earle and C. Buxton 2006 143 pp. This book is based upon a series of research studies undertaken by local research institutes, academics and NGOs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan between 1999 and 2003. The studies had a dual aim: firstly, to deepen understanding of the dynamics of civil society development in these countries, and secondly, to strengthen local institutions research capacity in data collection and analysis. Drawing on the findings of these studies and placing them within the wider body of programmatic experience and research undertaken by INTRAC and its local partners since 1994, this book will provide insight into the way in which civil society has developed during the period of Central Asian independence to date. Maintaining a critical stance and acknowledging the complexity of Central Asian realities, it examines how civil society has been shaped, hindered and enriched by internal and external forces, both contemporary and historical. Combining findings from empirical case studies with analysis of relevant literature, this book is both an investigation into the specificities of Central Asian civil societies and a broader examination of the emergence of civil society in transition countries.

Health service utilisation in the Former Soviet Union: evidence from eight countries.

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:49:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Balabanova, D.; McKee, M.; Pomerleau, J.; Rose, R.; Haerpfer, C. 2004 Health Services Research, 39(6), Part II, 1927-1949, 2004. In the past decade, the countries that emerged from the Soviet Union have experienced major changes in the inherited Soviet model of health care, which was centrally planned and provided universal, free access to basic care. The underlying principle of universality remains, but coexists with new funding and delivery systems and growing out-of-pocket payments. The objectives of this study were to examine patterns and determinants of health care utilization, the extent of payment for health care, and the settings in which care is obtained in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine.

Working Paper No. 39. The SCO: a regional organisation in the making.

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:22:00 GMT

Miscellaneous A. Matveeva and A. Giustozzi 2008 Crisis States Working Papers Series No.2, No. 39, 32 pp. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which was established in 2001, comprises six Eurasian states (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and covers territory hosting a quarter of the world's population. This article examines the rapid growth of the SCO. The study is structured in the following way: it first assesses the recent history of violence and potential for conflict in the region, and then outlines the SCO mandate, balance of power and internal and external dynamics. It discusses the SCO's shared values, and how they facilitate or impede the development of common action. It then proceeds to outline the SCO's main activities in the security sphere and its 'alternative model' of statehood and covers the role of observers and other actors in the region vis-à-vis the SCO. Finally it concludes with reflections on the SCO's effectiveness. Some of our judgements are tentative because the SCO is a new organisation. It might well become a major player in Central Asia and beyond but it could also limp along with little impact if Sino-Russian relations deteriorate.

Privatisation/transfer of irrigation management in Central Asia.

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Technical Report Onno Schaap, Jon Pavey, Andrew Kirby 2004 The overall purpose of the research is to provide guidelines for irrigation management transfer (IMT) applicable to the conditions which currently prevail in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan was excluded from the study owing to problems obtaining information in the country).

While focusing on these four countries, it is anticipated that these guidelines will provide insight into what may be suitable practices for implementing IMT in other locations.

This report summarises the in-country surveys undertaken, identifies relevant experience obtained in other countries, analyses the conditions affecting IMT in Central Asia and presents guidelines aimed at improving the

IMT process.

This report has five purposes:

To describe briefly the approach and methodology employed in this investigation.

To summarise the in-country surveys undertaken.

To identify relevant experience obtained in other countries.

To analyse the conditions affecting IMT in Central Asia.

To present guidelines aimed at improving the process of IMT in Central Asia and to help sustain irrigation management recently transferred out from state operation.

Overall, the research's intended purpose is to provide guidelines and models for irrigation management transfer appropriate to the conditions prevailing in Central Asia, based on experience to date, meeting a demand for such

information from development professionals engaged on IMT in the region. It is not intended that this document is a step by step general manual on how to implement IMT as this is covered in other references described in the

Literature Review. It is intended that these guidelines are non-prescriptive and are capable of adaptation to differing physical, political and institutional conditions, reflecting the variety of farming systems and differing

national approaches (and speed of change) to IMT.

Working Paper No. 13. The Regionalist Project in Central Asia: unwilling playmates.

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Working Paper A. Matveeva 2007 The Regionalist Project in Central Asia: unwilling playmates, Working Paper No. 13 (series 2), 2007, London, UK; Crisis States Research Centre, 24 pp. This paper comprises three sections. Firstly it introduces the states of Central Asia and outlines their rather dismal record on regionalism. It then assesses the donor-driven promotion of regional cooperation, describing the mismatch between the interests of national players and external strategists. Finally, it proceeds to outline the roles of regional organisations and the increasing perception of geopolitics behind their development. The paper argues that:

- A region cannot be prescribed from outside without genuine incentives coming from within, and regional organisations can only do so much in fostering this

- The resolution of bi-lateral political problems is a precondition for the advancement of regionalism rather than a means to achieve it. It is unrealistic to expect regional cooperation to become a conflict prevention tool

- In reality, regional cooperation is more likely to take place on an ad hoc basis over areas of common concern, concentrating on challenges and on a negative agenda, rather than pro-actively advancing some positive vision.

CHIP Report 8: Childcare and early childhood development programmes and policies: Their relationship to eradicating child poverty

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Penn, H. 2004 Penn, H. (2004) CHIP Report 8: Childcare and early childhood development programmes and policies: Their relationship to eradicating child poverty. Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP), London, UK, ISBN: 1-904922-09-0, v + 55 pp. Early childhood development (ECD) covers a variety of interventions with young children and their carers/families, including health and nutrition, childcare, education and parent support. While the World Bank, World Health Organisation, UNICEF and UNESCO have all emphasised the importance of ECD in improving physical and psycho-social wellbeing, promoting cognitive gains in young children, and directly or indirectly combating poverty, it is largely North American influences, assumptions and extrapolations which underlie these assertions. Using two country case studies, Swaziland and Kazakhstan, the paper reveals three significant issues arising from the direct transfer of these international approaches and conceptualisations of ECD from the North to developing countries. Firstly, the inappropriateness of ECD recommendations and programmes in developing countries which have been based on evidence from the North, has underlined the importance of the context in which ECD interventions take place. The paper notes that extrapolation and transfer from North to South is likely to be simplistic and inaccurate. Secondly, the evidence about the efficacy of ECD programmes in developing countries lacks robustness. Thirdly, the loss of quality (of ECD) in the transfer from the North is an outcome of the under-resourcing of such initiatives in developing countries. The paper suggests that ECD needs to have a pro-poor orientation to support poor families. It can also provide practical relief specifically to mitigate childhood poverty in particular circumstances, by providing childcare for time-poor working mothers with subsistence earnings, childcare for orphans and other vulnerable children, especially those affected by HIV/AIDS, and childcare and support for children experiencing war and conflict. The paper recommends that, given the long-term poverty reduction potential of ECD, donor support is critical in many countries which are too poor to provide short-term finance. It stresses that all ECD initiatives need to be carefully evaluated.

Review of planning and policies on extensive livestock development in Central Asia

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed Migratory livestock husbandry - the traditional livelihood for many Central Asian peoples - persisted in altered forms during the Soviet period of collectivisation, and today continues to make an important contribution to the national economies of the newly-independent states of Central Asia. Much of Central Asia, being semi-arid to arid grassland, is suited to extensive livestock production, but can only be converted to other uses through irrigation, which has proved to have major environmental costs. Many livestock management questions revolve around the seasonal variability of usable pastures, due to differences of altitude, cold, biomass production and pasture quality. There are recurrent problems in the dry desert-steppe-mountain ecology of Central Asia. Over the last century, several approaches have been applied to these problems. Prior to Soviet collectivisation, animals migrated in order to avoid areas of temporary feed insufficiency, snow and/or cold, and to take advantage of natural forage surpluses in other areas. Later, under collectivisation, livestock movement was restricted, cultivated forage substituted for the natural pastures previously captured through migratory movements, and winter settlements were imposed. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the introduction of agricultural markets has, however, subjected the partially sedentarised livestock producers to new pressures. The newly independent Central Asian republics are now in various stages of transformation, including in some cases, privatisation. Restructuring of the extensive livestock sector has three main components: legal changes in the status of grazing land, the distribution of formerly collectively-owned livestock to individual families or co-operatives, and lastly, the emergence of free markets for livestock inputs and products. The rapid co-evolution of these three processes means that profound changes are occurring in the livestock economies of households and nations., at a depth and pace which cannot be monitored by the normal state statistical services. The momentum of change means that policies and projects are being designed in an information vacuum. To identify policy and research issues on extensive livestock production systems dependent on natural pastures, in the ex-Soviet Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan The review presents policy and research issues on extensive livestock production in the ex-Soviet Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, where up to 60% of land is pasture. It is based on English and Russian material, and discussions with livestock and pasture specialists in June 1995.

The dry desert-steppe-mountain ecology of Central Asia is well-suited to extensive, mobile livestock husbandry, which persisted during Soviet collectivisation and is still economically significant. Current restructuring brings legal changes in grazing land, redistribution of collectively-owned livestock and emerging open markets for livestock inputs and products. Concurrently, export markets and prices for livestock products are substantially shifting. In response, pastoralists are altering their management of livestock and land. One option is to make greater use of natural pastures by lengthening the migratory cycle, thus reducing dependence on expensive cultivated fodder. With the pace of economic change and pastoral response, policies and products are being designed in an information vacuum. There is a debate among scientists within Central Asia and the international community about the environmental sustainability and economic benefts of extensive versus intensive livestock husbandry in semi-arid areas. Proposed collaborative research by natural and social scientists from Central Asia, UK and USA would contribute to this debate and provide some policy guidelines.

Impacts of privatisation on range and livestock management in semi-arid Central Asia

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed In ex-Soviet Central Asia, political change has provoked debate about policy on property rights and the organisation of output/ input markets. How best to use the region's dry rangelands covering about 60% of the five Central Asian Republics is a crucial part of these wider debates. Policy formulation is hampered by unresolved questions about the relative environmental and economic advantages of extensive, mobile versus intensive, irrigation-based livestock production. The research proposed here will address these questions. Senior applied scientists in Central Asia are influential advisors to ministers and cabinets of their national governments. This institutional relationship was established under the Soviet Union and differs from that common in Western European countries, in which scientific conclusions are rarely communicated directly to policy-makers. However, policy formulation on the vast and globally-significant grasslands and deserts of Central Asia is now severely constrained. Local scientific advisors lack contemporary data on the dynamics of livestock and natural resource use, and the effects of these changes on pastoral livelihoods. They also lack appropriate methods for rapidly analysing these changes. To update what is known about the rangeland, using methods adapted for market-based livestock production systems, would greatly improve the relevance of advice given by national scientists to policy-makers in the future. Pastoralists in Central Asia are currently neglected in the drive for market reform. Commercial attention is focussed on the mineral and industrial sectors, while agricultural development is concentrated on the irrigated and rainfed croplands. Pastoralists have lost many of their productive assets, namely livestock, are isolated geographically from social services and lack access to and knowledge of new market opportunities. They are particularly vulnerable to the economic changes taking place, since few have skills suitable for urban employment, they are no longer buffered by government support programmes, and they must cope with an environment characterised by low productivity, low return on investment, and high climatic risk. The relative and absolute decline in the output of livestock from rangelands has relegated this sector to a low national priority, while international donors are mainly concerned with environmental degradation on rangelands rather than with pastoral welfare (eg: ADB 1996; World Bank 1997). The rangelands still have the potential to provide livelihoods to millions of people whose contribution to national income could also be raised under better-informed policies. To research two issues leading to poverty among pastoralists in Central Asia and in neighbouring regions: (a) loss by livestock producers of effective use of the rangelands. (b) loss of access by pastoralists to secure markets for their products.

To provide policy guidelines for improved management of semi-arid rangeland and extensive livestock production systems under new market and institutional conditions in Central Asia and neighbouring Asian Regions. Information for better natural resource management.

Analysis of livestock feeding systems; livestock economy at household and wider scales. Research institutional building.

Policy recommendations for improving range management, livestock production and marketing, and property rights institutions.

First year results peer-reviewed at workshop in Nov 1998.

Workshop results disseminated to national policy-makers, donors, NGOs and international scholars, early 1999.

International Research Placements for MSc Students

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed MSc students on courses in Irrigation Engineering and Engineering for Development at the Institute of Irrigation and Development Studies (IIDS) follow taught courses in technical, social and economic subjects relevant to overseas development for nine months of the one-year course. The final three months are devoted to a research project which leads to a written dissertation. It is of great benefit to the students through the experience gained and to IIDS through the overseas work, experience and contacts, if this research can be carried out on existing projects in developing countries. Students from the United Kingdom and Europe are therefore placed on such projects with consulting engineering firms, commercial enterprises, research institutions and non-governmental organisations, to carry out field research which is directly related to the ongoing work. This proposal seeks funding to facilitate these overseas placements. The research will be carried out by MSc students in irrigation engineering and engineering for development.

Improve understanding of technical and social issues related to both rural water supplies and irrigation. Literature reviews and guided field research studies leading to analysis of research findings and reporting in the form of MSc dissertations. Publication of papers on some original topics.

Privatisation/transfer of irrigation management - Central Asia

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed The five Republics of Central Asia, as elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, have suffered considerable economic hardship following independence. Except in the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan, in 1999 GNP was lower than 10 years earlier (by over 10% in Tajikistan). Despite a 2.3% increase in GNP in the Kyrgyz Republic, GNP per head remains at US$300. Only in Kazakhstan is GNP/head above US$ 1,000.

In this situation, Governments cannot afford to keep the often-sophisticated irrigation systems operable and are transferring ownership, together with responsibility for operation and maintenance, to users and to quasi-private sector organisations.

At the same time, there is considerable other social change, including division, distribution and privatisation of farms whilst social services are strained by the ongoing transition. As large farming units are broken up, major modifications to the canal systems are required. In many areas, the rural population is ill-prepared for the changes; in the irrigation sector, for example, former farm operatives are having to learn both irrigation system and farm management. Considerable investment is required to keep the ageing irrigation systems operable. Without effective transfer of irrigation system management, investment in rehabilitation will fail to deliver reliable, sustainable water supplies - on which the vast majority of the 32.5 million rural population depend.

To date, the largely project-based approach to irrigation management transfer (IMT) has treated the rural populations as 'guinea pigs' in the search for a model for successful turnover. Such initiatives frequently include support to the newly established small farms in establishing water management organisations such as Water User Associations and Federations and institutional support to Government to create a suitable institutional framework. Governments and local institutions have been helped in this IMT by several donors, usually operating independently. The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and USAID are all involved in significant IMT projects, whilst NGOs and organisations such as Tacis have separately been obtaining valuable experience in more discrete assistance exercises.

Despite appreciable effort and financial support, there has been mixed success in such transfer of irrigation system management. Failed 'experiments' not only represent a waste of investment, but also set back the process of transfer to private management. This leaves communities dependent on limited Government funding, and fails to capitalise of the full potential human resources that could be available to keep the irrigation systems functioning. The rural poor can be left more vulnerable than before the 'experiment' took place.

After nearly a decade of change, there is a wealth of information potentially available for Governments, donors, local and foreign specialists to tap into and to help avoid the pitfalls of earlier transfer programmes. However this information is largely held either at project level or with individual development professionals. There is little easily accessible within the public domain.

Bringing together and disseminating this information, as guidelines, would give confidence to Governments and local institutes that their projects were building on best practice and were not part of continued experimentation. It would meet a specific need perceived by both foreign development professionals and government institutes as demonstrated by the support set out in Annex 3.3, and through this, reduce the vulnerability of rural communities' to inappropriate project design.

Although the research is aimed at the five Republics, it is anticipated that this will concentrate on generic lessons and thus will be applicable elsewhere. Indeed, for this reason the research's success is not contingent on obtaining good co-operation from Governments in all countries.

To raise awareness of best practice in applying appropriate institutional and operational changes to achieve irrigation management transfer, learning from regional experience in Central Asia. Better awareness of the successes and pitfalls in adopting irrigation management transfer to improve irrigation system functionality.

The Extent and Nature of Absolute Poverty

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Current To produce cost-effective and efficient ways of eradicating poverty, it must be defined and measured accurately. Social science research shows that, whilst all cultures have a concept and definition of poverty, these often vary. Until the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen there was no agreed definition. However, the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action included the preparation of national anti-poverty plans based on measures in all countries of 'absolute' and 'overall' poverty. 'Absolute' poverty is defined as ,a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to social services., This research will provide reliable scientific estimates of the extent and nature of absolute poverty in the world, based on the definition agreed to by the government of 117 countries at the 1995 World Summit on Social Development and within the framework of International Human Rights Conventions. This research will provide reliable and valid scientific measurements of the extent and nature of absolute poverty of adults and children, by operationalising the internationally agreed definition. Without good comparable measures of poverty, it will be impossible to determine if any anti-poverty policies are working effectively and efficiently.