Of transboundary basins, integrated water resources management (IWRM) and second best solutions: the case of groundwater banking in Central Asia Akmal Karimov a , Mark Giordano b , Aditi Mukherji b , Vecheslav Borisov c and Jamol Djumanov c a Corresponding author. International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Tashkent 700000, Uzbekistan. E-mail: a.karimov@cgiar.org b International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo 2075, Sri Lanka c The Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Tashkent 100041, Uzbekistan Abstract This paper tells the story of trade-off between hydropower and irrigation and its implications for groundwater use in Syrdarya basin in Central Asia. With the independence of the central Asian republics, this trade-off has become a transboundary issue. Efforts to coordinate bilateral action using integrated water resources management (IWRM) principles of basin-wide cooperation have not yet yielded the hoped for results. This paper shows that there could be a ‘second best’ option of solving at least part of this transboundary problem by ‘banking’ winter flows released for hydropower production in Kyrgyzstan in the underground aquifers of Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley and extracting it for irrigation in the summer months. Keywords: Groundwater development; Syrdarya River; Transboundary river basin management; Water banking 1. Introduction Integrated water resources management (IWRM) has emerged as the core mantra of water manage- ment discourse since the ideas were codified in the Dublin Declaration of 1992. IWRM has been defined as ‘a process which promotes coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner with- out compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems’ (Global Water Partnership (GWP), 2000). One basic premise of IWRM is the use of river basin as the fundamental management unit. The theoretic appeal of the IWRM concept is clear. However, implementing IWRM principles is a complex issue; Water Policy 14 (2012) 99–111 doi: 10.2166/wp.2011.149 © IWA Publishing 2012 Downloaded from https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-pdf/14/1/99/405952/99.pdf by guest on 02 June 2020