The document presents the situation regarding the problem of inefficient use of water resources for the purpose of irrigation of agricultural crops.
Thus, it is said that the largest consumer of water resources in Kazakhstan is the agricultural sector, which consumes up to 80% of all irrevocably consumed water resources in the country.
Moreover, according to the Supreme Audit Chamber, due to the deterioration of irrigation systems and the use of outdated technologies, unproductive water losses in agriculture reach 50% of the water intake. Furthermore, in earthen canals, 40% of the water is simply lost to seepage into the ground before reaching the fields it was intended to irrigate.
In the context of increasing water resource shortages due to climate change, this situation directly threatens Kazakhstan’s food security.
For this reason, in recent years, government strategic documents have regularly included measures to reduce unproductive water losses in irrigation systems. These measures, funded by the state budget, apply to state-owned canals, such as main and inter-farm canals.
Measures to reduce water losses in on-farm canals, the length of which is not precisely known (an inventory is required), but according to some estimates is tens of times longer than the length of main and inter-farm canals (accordingly, in which the main unproductive water losses occur), are generally absent from the documents of the State Planning System.
To address the described problem of the threat of water resource shortages in certain regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is proposed to amend the Land Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, granting land owners and land users the right to create an irrigation condominium in the manner established by the Water Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as establishing their responsibilities in relation to the common property of the irrigation condominium.
In addition, it is proposed to amend the Land Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan regarding the transfer of state- or privately owned irrigation systems to participants in an irrigation condominium or a management organization created by them for lease or trust management for joint management and operation.
The Ministry believes that this will solve the problem of unproductive water losses in irrigated agriculture and reduce water shortages in many regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Additionally, a legal basis is being created for participants in irrigation condominiums to jointly manage the maintenance and operation of irrigation canals and collector-drainage systems that are common to them, and legal uncertainty will be eliminated in cases where the need arises for the full or partial alienation of state or private property in irrigation and collector-drainage systems, when the need arises for their joint management and operation (the state or private party on one side, and participants in irrigation condominiums on the other side) on a contractual basis.
The document is posted on the Open Regulatory Acts website for public discussion until August 26.
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