ICID SLUBICE DECLARATION

During the implementation of the agrarian reform processes in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) specific experiences were gained and reforms in water management approaches were developed. To learn from these experiences and 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 the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) which entrusted its European Regional Working Group (ERWG) with the realisation. The project is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is implemented with support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). The project started in 2003. Ten countries, i.e. Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Slovenia and Ukraine are involved.

The objective of the project is to induce transnational exchange of recently gained knowledge and experiences between the individual countries with respect to irrigation sector reform. The main tasks of the project are: preparation of country reports on irrigation reform using a common structure of contents; performance of comparative assessments of reform processes and progress in the participating countries; working out of recommendations of further developments in irrigation sector reform.

The countries participating in the project, held a second international workshop on irrigation sector reform in CEEC in Slubice, Poland, on May 13 – 15, 2005, reviewed the presented country reports and drew from these a comparative analysis, assessing the similarities and differences in the various reform processes. The following has been adopted:

1. Intensity and shape of the reform process are different from country to country according to the prevailing economic and political structures. In some countries like Czech Republic, Germany or Poland, radical restructuring of the irrigation sector took place, while in others, like Slovenia and Macedonia, some governmental organizations still play an important role in the management of irrigation systems. In various other countries, like Bulgaria, Romania, Russia and Ukraine, the process of reorganization has just started.

2. With respect to its past economic and organizational structures, the CEEC are faced with common specific transfer problems concerning e.g. dramatic reduction of irrigated area, inadequate performance of irrigation systems at on- farm and conveyance level, lack of experience with entrepreneurship, loss of agrarian markets, deficits in practice of participatory decision making processes. Especially in some of the countries with very large sized hydraulic infrastructure, special solutions need to be developed in consensus with the water users to come to a fit between reforms in water management and reforms in agriculture.

3. In CEEC, the irrigation sector reform is a newly introduced process that includes various stages of development. Important stages are dialogues with stakeholders and users to reach agreement upon a reform strategy and gain approval on highest political levels. This strategy needs to fit into the agrarian reform and into sustainable rural development. Within this framework the following is needed: development of new or adapted legislation for the transformation process; creation of awareness and understanding on all levels about the intentions and details of the reform; set-up of an organizational structure that takes the reform process forward and ensures proper dialogue and conflict solving with different interest groups; set-up of monitoring and evaluation facilities to follow closely the progress and impacts of the reform; start with the implementation of the reform in definite selected areas that have priority combined with necessary investments in infrastructure and agricultural development; etc.

4. In order to enhance the irrigation reform process it is vital to clearly specify the roles, functions and responsibilities of the various actors involved, as well as the governance of their interrelationships. Depending on the stage of the reform process and on the economic situation on farm level, governments would have to retreat step by step from involvement in management, operation and maintenance functions.

5. Irrigation is to be understood in the context of Integrated Water Resources Management within rural areas. That means, that the agricultural water utilization has to be coordinated with the other water uses in order to find sustainable solutions. The principles of the European Water Framework Directive would have to serve as an orientation.

6.The aim would be to apply the principle of subsidiarity, which means that decision making should be devolved to the lowest appropriate level. The corresponding decisions require the participation of the water users, for example through legalised water user associations and federations. The establishment of water user organisations will have to precede investments in water infrastructure in support of agricultural production.

7. The users’ willingness to pay depends strongly on the quality of the services provided. With this in mind the target would be to cover at least operation- and maintenance cost by user fees. Investment cost may be shared between state and users according to the income situation in agriculture and on the basis of clear agreements.

8. Due to the particular situation in the CEEC mentioned before, these countries are challenged to continue the mutual exchange of their experiences in order to promote the appropriate reforms in the irrigation sector.

Slubice, Poland, May 15, 2005

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