task - perceptions of peace and stability in south of kyrgyzstan - final draft

Perceptions of Peace and Stability in South Kyrgyzstan

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November 2012

Conflict Mitigation and Peace Building in Kyrgyzstan - Programme funded by the European Union’s Instrument for Stability

The Action is funded by the European Union

The Action is managed and implemented by the TASK Consortium and local partners


Funded by: European Union, Instrument for Stability

Implemented by: Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED)

Lead Author: Matthew Lucas (ACTED, TASK Project Manager)

Research Team: Byron Pakula (ACTED, Country Director Kyrgyzstan)

Pataev Maksatbek (ACTED Project Coordinator)

Yann Kerblat (ACTED, AMEU Intern)

Vera Scholtz (ACTED, AMEU Intern)

Aiperi Kalybekova (ACTED, AMEU Officer)

Farhod Tolipov (ACTED, AMEU Officer)

Emma Pakula (DCA, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist)

Dariha Erketaeva (DCA, TASK Coordinator)

Date of Publication: November 2012

Reference: ACTED, “Perceptions of Peace and Stability in South Kyrgyzstan”, Osh 2012.

Contacts: ACTEDHouse #1, Street10, Q15a723500 Osh, Kyrgyz RepublicE-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]: +996 (322) 2559 80 / 86www.acted.org

TASK c/o ACT Alliance402 Frunze Street720033 Bishkek, Kyrgyz RepublicE-Mail: [email protected]: +996 312 32 32 98www.danchurchaid.org

Reviewed by the TASK Board of Directors (ACTED, DCA, DRC, IA, ICCO, HELVETAS and STC)

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http://www.danchurchaid.org/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.acted.org/




This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the TASK consortium and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

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Acronyms and Terminology

AO Ayil Okmotu, Administrative subdivision of rayon

CDWUU Community Drinking Water User Unions

EU European Union

IfS Instrument for Stability

KGS Kyrgyzstani Som

Oblast Administrative division, equivalent to province

Rayon Administrative subdivision of oblast, equivalent to district

REACH REACH is a programme of IMPACT that supports planning and coordination. IMPACT Initiatives is a Swiss-registered Association that advocates and promotes development and humanitarian issues related to countries in crisis or at risk of crisis

TASK Transition and Rehabilitation Alliance for Southern Kyrgyzstan

WUA Water Users Association

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ContentsExecutive Summary.......................................................................................................................................................vIntroduction..................................................................................................................................................................1Methodology.................................................................................................................................................................2

Survey Design............................................................................................................................................................2

Sampling....................................................................................................................................................................2

Biases and Distributions to Consider.........................................................................................................................2

Perceptions of Economic Influences on Peace and Stability.........................................................................................4Primary Income Sources and the Insufficiency of Household Income Levels............................................................4

Conflict Potential: Economic Vulnerability................................................................................................................4

Conflict Potential: General........................................................................................................................................5

Conflict Potential: Crop Agriculture...........................................................................................................................6

Conflict Potential: Animal Husbandry.......................................................................................................................7

Conflict Potential: Urban...........................................................................................................................................8

Private Sector Employment.......................................................................................................................................9

Remittances and Social Benefits................................................................................................................................9

Public Sector Employment........................................................................................................................................9

Perceptions of Social Influences on Peace and Stability..............................................................................................11Access to Social Services.........................................................................................................................................11

Education................................................................................................................................................................11

Health Services........................................................................................................................................................12

Justice......................................................................................................................................................................12

Water and Sanitation..............................................................................................................................................14

Perceptions and Social Identifiers...........................................................................................................................15

Perceptions of Inequality........................................................................................................................................15

Trust........................................................................................................................................................................16

Participation in Government and Society................................................................................................................17

Summary: Perceived Socio-Economic Drivers of Disputes, Conflicts and Peace.........................................................19Conclusion: Development of a Holistic Peacebuilding Programme.............................................................................20

Early-warning..........................................................................................................................................................20

Primary responsiveness...........................................................................................................................................20

Secondary Responsiveness......................................................................................................................................21

References..................................................................................................................................................................23Contacts......................................................................................................................................................................24

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Executive SummaryThe violence throughout South Kyrgyzstan in June 2010, which left hundreds dead and shredded the fabric of local society, was both symptomatic of systemic governance failures and indicative of a non-response to decades of latent conflict triggers and underlying sources of tension. Although a relative calm has prevailed over the previous two years, the absence of conflict should not be confused with peace or reconciliation.

Following the events of June 2010, TASK, an alliance of international non-governmental organizations, was founded in order to coordinate programming and to work strategically towards a holistic approach that responded to not only the symptomatic outbreaks of violence, but to the social and economic instability and inequality that had engendered the environment conducive to them.

Through the European Commission-funded Conflict Mitigation and Peace Building in Kyrgyzstan programme, which began in November 2011, members of TASK conducted the largest household survey in South Kyrgyzstan since the violence of June 2010 in an effort to collect data on a range of socio-economic issues. Although the data collection was originally envisioned as a baseline for the programme, the purpose of this report is to share the findings from 1,733 household surveys, in order to contribute to the understanding of disputes and conflict potential throughout the region.

It is important to note that although ethnicity plays a strong and visible role in South Kyrgyzstan, this report studies the economic and social factors that can create the environment necessary for ‘inter-ethnic’ conflict to manifest itself and, as such, the vehicle of conflict should not be confused with its root causes. These factors, including issues outside the scope of this report such as the increasing nationalist rhetoric and the north-south divide, are important for understanding the complex dynamics of conflict in South Kyrgyzstan. It is clear that comprehensive programming, taking into account these inter-locking relationships, is essential to responding to larger, systemic, issues and not merely their symptomatic manifestations.

Perceptions of Economic Influences on Peace and StabilityRegarding the economic influences on peace and stability, it is clear that rural respondents are heavily reliant on crop agriculture and animal husbandry activities for their primary income, although these appear unable to provide sufficient income necessary to cover their basic household needs. In fact, the proportion of rural households facing poverty exceeded official national statistics. Urban respondents, though having higher monthly household income nonetheless also had significant levels of income insufficiency. Both sets of respondents also had high levels of primary income that had been negatively affected by recent conflicts.

Bearing this economic situation in mind, respondents typically agreed that issues of unemployment, inequality and unfairness, poverty and governance carried high potential for both inter- and intra-communal conflicts. Urban respondents also identified discrimination, which scarcely arose among rural respondents. Respondents also agreed on the issues inhibiting their economic development, namely the difficulty in selling products in the market (32%) and inability to access credit or loans (14%). The difficulties inherent in these two issues indicate flaws within the larger economic sphere and failures within micro-economic markets. Given the prevalence of income insufficiency and economic fragility, coupled with the high conflict potential placed on issues of unemployment, poverty and inequality, the potential for inter and intra-communal conflicts in South Kyrgyzstan is high, and will remain so unless significant transformation is undertaken to respond to these issues.

Crop AgricultureLooking specifically at those respondents whose primary income is derived from crop agriculture, the irrigation infrastructure throughout South Kyrgyzstan is extensive and complex. It is, unfortunately, collapsing and conflict over access and use of the irrigation water is likely to increase. In fact, a relative majority of rural crop agriculturalists noted that poor access and infrastructure, as well as unequal distribution, poorly defined property rights and the lack of sharing arrangements were the main issues preventing access to community resources. Inequality and unfairness, as mentioned, carry high conflict potential and as a result of the rural respondents’ heavy reliance on the irrigation infrastructure, crop agriculture is considered one of the most volatile economic sectors in South Kyrgyzstan.

In response, Water Users Associations (WUAs), local bodies tasked with canal maintenance and irrigation water distribution, have been created throughout South Kyrgyzstan. Despite some weaknesses, the establishment of

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such maintenance and governance mechanisms is crucial for increasing economic potential through improved access and distribution. The WUAs, in their role of irrigation water distribution by a legitimate and communally accepted management system, can also contribute to the reduction of conflict potential stemming from opaque or unfair irrigation water allocation.

Animal HusbandryRural respondents whose primary income is generated by animal husbandry have had to overcome a history of Soviet pasture practices, which sought to maximize short-term production at the expense of the long term carrying capacity of pastures in South Kyrgyzstan, which resulted in land degradation, soil erosion and increasing communal tensions. Following independence, these poor pasture use practices continued and a significant majority of individuals throughout the region voiced concern at the persistent decline of pasture quality. In fact, animal husbandry respondents shared many of the concerns of the crop agriculturalists, namely poor access and infrastructure, unequal distribution and the lack of sharing arrangements. These issues have been exacerbated by unclear demarcation of pasture borders and the inability of local authorities to adequately govern pasture use, resulting in increased tensions and hindered economic development.

In response, Pasture Committees, bodies of experienced pastoralists, have earned a mandate to govern pasture access and use on a local level. By overseeing the creation and implementation of pasture management plans, these committees seek to ensure sustainable use, mediate conflicts and, through the collection of fees, improve pasture infrastructure. Strong Pasture Committees, therefore, are well placed to proactively respond to many of the issues facing pasture users throughout South Kyrgyzstan.

Unlike rural respondents, whose primary income is typically generated by either crop agriculture or animal husbandry, urban respondents noted a significantly more diverse array of economic opportunities. It should be noted though, that due to the small urban sample size, it is difficult to make generalizations about the urban responses. In this report, these primary income sources are presented as the following three income sectors:

Private Sector EmploymentThis income sector includes those involved in small business, trade, labour and salaried employment, comprising 38% of the urban respondents. 75% of these respondents noted that their income had been negatively affected by recent conflicts, which, considering the violence of June 2010, is unsurprising. Of the three different income sectors, these respondents also had the highest proportion of respondents with a household income of less than 5,000 KGS a month, though, interestingly, the lowest proportion of respondents with income insufficient to cover their basic needs. It is clear that due to the high levels of conflict-affected income and the low levels of household income, private sector individuals are highly vulnerable.

Remittances and Social BenefitsThis sector includes the 31% of urban respondents whose primary income is derived from remittances, government allowances and support from non-governmental organizations. 42% of these respondents noted household income lower than 5,000 KGS a month, making them, by this measure, better off than private sector individuals. Their income was also less conflict-affected than those individuals as well.

Public Sector Employment Lastly, the public sector, representing 19% of urban respondents, includes such professions as doctors, teachers, government administrators and others. It is noticeably better positioned than either of the previous income sectors, having the lowest proportion of respondents with household income below 5,000 KGS a month, as well as the least likely to have conflict-affected income.

Perceptions of Social Influences on Peace and StabilityEconomics binds individuals to larger markets in the same manner that social structures bind individuals to larger communities. Levels of trust, access to social services, perceptions of differences (and similarities), histories of disputes and their method of resolution all play important roles in shaping the collectivity and cohesion of any particular community. The report divides these issues into two broad categories: 1) social services provided (or not) by an identifiable party and 2) thoughts, beliefs, biases and perceptions existent within respondents in order to better understand the ‘social environment’ that the respondents operate within.

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Firstly, regarding access to social services, the report will review rates of access and other issues related to the services of Education, Health, Justice and Water and Sanitation.

Education Following independence, the quality of education in Kyrgyzstan deteriorated rapidly and many schools lack textbooks, teaching equipment or current curriculums. Additionally, the influx of new teachers into the education system is insufficient, in terms of size or quality, to replace the existing, Soviet-trained, teaching staff. As a result, nearly 20% of respondents noted poor access to educational opportunities, laying the foundation for future conflicts throughout South Kyrgyzstan. A poor education often does not provide students with the skills required to secure meaningful employment, increasing the likelihood of future unemployment and inequality, both of which have been identified as carrying high conflict potential.

HealthMuch like education, healthcare has seen a collapse of basic infrastructure since independence and approximately 1 in 4 respondents stated that they had little or no access to healthcare. As doctors and nurses leave, the replacement rate has been insufficient to meet the needs of the population. While quality healthcare certainly exists in Bishkek, it is not necessarily available to everyone, further increasing perceptions of inequality within the country.

JusticeThe respondents, in general, felt that justice was typically an unattainable service, with the poor quality of services (29%), financial barriers (21%) and the fact that the services are not available (11%) as the main reasons preventing access. A significant portion of respondents also noted the incidences, within their communities, where disputes had not been satisfactorily resolved. Firstly, in terms of quality, it appears to be a question of poor governance, and the existence of distorting factors is apparent. Secondly, as discussed, many of the respondents noted that their household incomes were already insufficient for basic needs. As a result, it is unlikely that these households would have sufficient income available to engage with the justice system. Lastly, in terms of non-accessibility, the respondents noted a heavy reliance on elders or informal justice structures in order to advance their claims. In fact, the majority of rural respondents selected elders as the individual or institution that typically resolves disputes within their communities. While this proportion is certainly lower in urban areas, it nonetheless exposes the importance that individuals throughout South Kyrgyzstan place on mediation and dispute resolution activities that fall outside of traditional government structures.

Water and SanitationDrinking water access remains a significant issue throughout South Kyrgyzstan, with much of the Soviet-era infrastructure collapsing. Local authorities are frequently unable to respond to this collapse and, as a result, many respondents, especially in the rural areas, noted a dramatic decline in their access to drinking water. Often, people also rely on irrigation canals for their drinking water access, increasing the likelihood of illness, as well as inter-community conflict. Much like many other social resources, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, maintenance responsibility for the drinking water systems was disbursed, often to institutions with no financial resources or capacity. As a result, Community Drinking Water User Unions (CDWUUs), local bodies responsible for the maintenance and management of the water supply systems, have begun appearing throughout South Kyrgyzstan as water management has become decentralized.

The pervasiveness of local governance structures, such as WUAs, CDWUUs and courts of elders, indicates substantial community involvement and participation in the governance of their resources and social services. This involvement is highly important, especially considering the potential for conflict inherent in unequal distribution and access to resources and services. This report also considers the intersection between these governance issues and the social perceptions of inequality, trust and societal participation. These convictions influence our interactions with the environment, as well as contribute to our beliefs, values and perceptions.

Social identifiers are not mutually exclusive, one can be Kyrgyz, Muslim or from Mady, and individuals are free to don whichever particular identifier they choose in a given situation. Identifiers, however, can be as divisive as they can be inclusive and this report looks at perceptions of similarities and differences, levels of trust, feelings of security and other social aspects which are harboured on a more individual, and less systemic, level. As the information will show, rural and urban respondents differ substantially in these perceptions.

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Perceptions of InequalityInequality, unfairness and unemployment are conditions that are frequently tied to numerous economic and socio-governance issues, including economic opportunities and standards of living. Rural respondents were nearly twice as likely as their urban counterparts to note equality in the economic opportunities available to residents of their communities. Rural respondents were also more likely to perceive similar living standards between their community and those that neighboured their own. As discussed previously, perceptions of inequality, in terms of opportunities or living standards, can foreshadow conflicts as individuals seek to redistribute goods or services.

Rural areas are also much more homogenous in their composition than urban areas, with 77% of rural respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement that “in this community, most people have the same religious and cultural beliefs,” whereas urban respondents were actually more likely to disagree than agree with that statement.

TrustAs previously shown, the differences between rural and urban responses are often stark and their disparity in the levels of trust is no different. Considering that rural communities are typically smaller, have stronger intra-communal relationships and are more homogenous, respondents from rural communities were more than twice as likely as their urban counterparts to state a high level of trust between ethnicities in their communities.

Interestingly, the youngest age bracket of respondents (18-29) were the most likely to note the presence of inter-ethnic trust within their communities, which appears contradictory to the findings that show high levels of participation, by youths from rural mono-ethnic communities, in the June 2010 violence. It is possible, however, that in homogenous communities with little minority representation, individual inter-ethnic relationships are easier to cultivate than in more diverse areas can pockets of society can exist autonomously.

Interestingly, the gap between rural and urban respondents continues to widen as the questions of trust become more narrow, with rural respondents being considerably more trusting than their urban counterparts, both in regards to intra-regional as well as intra-communal trust.

Participation in Government and SocietyIn terms of involvement in society, rural respondents expressed a significant involvement in trust building activities, such as inter- and intra-community joint activities and volunteerism. Noticeably absent from urban respondents, participation in these activities may also explain the high levels of trust noted in the previous section. Coupled with their stated involvement in government processes and decision-making, it is clear that respondents, especially in the rural areas, consider themselves to be quite active and engaged within their communities.

Women and youth were both noted to have active and positive involvement in community affairs. Especially regarding youth, it is interesting to see the positive role they are accorded in engagement in peacebuilding activities, considering their reputations to the counter.

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IntroductionTASK, an alliance of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocating for a strategic, coordinated and holistic approach to addressing the underlying triggers and causes of conflict in the region, was founded in the wake of the June 2010 violence in South Kyrgyzstan. This inter-communal conflict, primarily in Osh and Jalalabad cities, left hundreds of people dead, thousands of homes and businesses destroyed and put 400,000 people to flight. This event not only resulted in a humanitarian emergency, but has also deepened the social and economic instability that has long been present in the Ferghana Valley. The subsequent absence of open conflict since June 2010 should not be mistaken for peace however, as many of the same sources of disputes and conflict triggers continue to plague the stability and socio-economic development of the region. Despite the appearance of relative calm in the affected areas and beyond, the wider region remains tense and volatile as evidenced by significant protests, political challenges and other numerous micro-conflicts.

In 2011, a 15 member consortium comprised of TASK agencies, in partnership with national NGOs, designed a programme entitled Conflict mitigation and peacebuilding in Kyrgyzstan, which began implementation in November, 2011.1,2 This programme, which concludes in April 2013, is funded by the European Union in the framework of the Instrument for Stability (IfS) programme. It aims at mitigating the socio-economic drivers of conflict and strengthening community capacity for conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution.

In February and March, 2012, TASK conducted the largest post-conflict household survey in communities throughout South Kyrgyzstan in order to collect baseline information on a wide range of socio-economic and conflict related issues. 3 This included questions related to social infrastructure, economic stability, equality, engagement in governance, the role of youth, mediators in the community, access to justice, frequency and resolution of disputes and perceptions of trust. By understanding the communities’ perceptions on this range of issues, it enables practitioners, policy makers and others to utilise an evidence-based approach to conflict mitigation.

This household survey involved 1,733 respondents from 77 communities in Osh, Jalalabad and Batken oblasts, including 75 rural communities (92% of respondents) as well as Osh and Jalalabad cities (8% of respondents).The multi-thematic household questionnaire was supplemented by field observation in the surveyed communities, and by additional desk-top research on economic, social and conflict issues in South Kyrgyzstan that also influenced the data collection tools. In addition, conflict analysis has been undertaken as part of the TASK project, incorporating over 200 focus groups, which has been used to inform the methodology and the data analysis.

The purpose of this report is to share these findings so as to contribute to the further understanding of existing and potential disputes and tensions throughout South Kyrgyzstan – based on people’s perceptions of their own realities, as well as the foundational issues that underpin their beliefs. Common themes run throughout much of the report, which speaks of economic fragility, social vulnerability and imperfect governance mechanisms, but also of the peace potential of youth and local resolutions for local issues. Primary income sources, access to social services, governance and perceptions of trust and social cohesion are all issues that affected responses. Despite considerable variation among communities, people generally feel safe and secure in their communities and yet, many of the conditions necessary for conflict continue to exist and the general understanding is that the situation will maintain its downward trend into the foreseeable future.4 This report moves beyond anecdotal evidence to uncover not only why people feel safe in their communities, but perhaps more importantly why not.

The views and findings expressed here are solely those of the respondents and do not necessarily reflect those of the TASK consortium or the European Union. It is important to note that when referencing conflict in this report, it does not necessarily refer specifically to the June 2010 events or violence of that scale. Localised conflicts continue to take place, and, to the people affected, can be just as traumatic or damaging. TASK carried out this assessment as part of the programme’s baseline study in order to better understand the complex environment of South Kyrgyzstan and to hear firsthand the opinions, experiences and thoughts of households throughout affected areas.

1ACTED, ACT Alliance (DCA and ICCO), DRC, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, International Alert, Save The Children2BioService, Center Interbilim, Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, Development and Cooperation in Central Asia, Foundation for Tolerance International, Legal Perspective, Mehr-Shavkat, Rural Development Fund, TES Centre3For more information regarding the survey itself, please contact ACTED or DCA directly4 55% of respondents stated they “always” felt safe and secure in their communities

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Methodology

Survey DesignThe questionnaire was designed by ACTED and DCA, building on TASK’s existing experiences of conflict prevention in the Ferghana Valley, and borrowing practices from the international literature of monitoring and evaluation in the peacebuilding and conflict mitigation sectors. The survey tool includes indicators related to:

The current trend of inter-communal violence and disputes in Kyrgyzstan The presence of factors that drive conflict or that promote peace in communities across South Kyrgyzstan, and

their current levels of influence The existing ways communities respond to disputes and potential sources of conflicts and the effectiveness of

these approaches and mechanisms The nature of inter- and intra-community relations across South Kyrgyzstan

SamplingThe sample of communities selected for inclusion into the survey was comprised of three components due to the fact that at the time of sampling, many communities had already been selected for programmatic implementation. Therefore, it was necessary to utilise a hybrid methodology so that control communities (randomly selected, no interventions) and impact communities (randomly or otherwise selected, TASK interventions) were both included in the sample in order to provide the opportunity to identify future attributable and causal effects of the TASK programme. The sampling methodologies included:

1. A random sample of 20 rural communities in each of the three oblasts identified using a random number generation methodology from the list of P-codes for each community, creating a statistically significant number of household surveys including case and controls.5

2. A sub-sample of 139 households from Osh and Jalalabad cities derived using random GPS point generation to select a list of coordinates / households within each city for survey execution. It is worth noting that urban responses were segregated from rural responses due to the fact that different types of TASK activities are being implemented in these areas.

3. An additional cohort of 15 rural communities that were pre-selected for TASK activities were identified using a purposeful sampling methodology, to ensure deliberate representation of all TASK partners, concentrated areas of TASK activities and geographical spread. This also ensured the information could be used to influence ex ante programme design.

Within each community, 20 households were selected using purposeful sampling by the interviewers to survey a deliberate spread of households across the village. Random selection of the household member, including equal gender distribution, was attempted by requesting to survey the household with the most recent birthday.

In addition to household surveys, observation sheets were filled in by the enumerators in each community to provide an overview of the key issues in each community. This included comments on the community itself (e.g. ethnic make up) and whether there had been a trend in the types of conflicts exposed. This supported the cluster analysis approach, and was used to inform the analysis of the household surveys.

Biases and Distributions to ConsiderIt is important to stress that the data collection that underpins this report is overwhelmingly based on rural respondents, where much of the TASK peacebuilding programmes are targeted, but is not necessarily representative of all programmes (e.g. mediation of IA or legal aid of DRC) or of all conflicts. As a result, 92% of the respondents are considered, for this report, to be ‘rural’ respondents (namely, residing in areas other than Osh and Jalalabad cities). The remaining 8% comprise the urban residents of those two cities. Therefore, because of the relative size of the urban respondent pool, analysis of urban responses is less in-depth and more focused on general thematic issues. Regarding the gender breakdown, 62% of respondents were male, whereas 38% were female.

5Due to the fact that surveying was undertaken during the winter months, it was believed that a number of the randomly selected communities would be inaccessible due to snow. As a result, additional alternate communities were randomly selected, although a requirement that 75% of the original random sample for each oblast was put into place.

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In terms of ethnic distribution, 80% of respondents stated that they were ethnically Kyrgyz, 16% stated that they were ethnically Uzbek and the remaining 4% were distributed among various ethnicities, such as Russians, Tajiks and others. These figures differ from the ethnic composition of South Kyrgyzstan as reported through official statistics, which states that 71% of the population is ethnically Kyrgyz and 25% are ethnically Uzbek. 6 It is important to note, however, that these statistics were collected prior to the violence of June 2010, which many people believe has affected the ethnic composition of South Kyrgyzstan and these demographic characteristics should be acknowledged when interpreting the survey results. Before analysing the report, however, it is important to state that mono-ethnicity in communities does not necessarily equate peace and trust, anymore than multi-ethnicity implies intolerance and suspicion. Economics, social status, politics and access to resources are only a few of the avenues of conflict which exist, and the presence alone of multiple ethnicities is not a sufficient answer for anyone seeking to understand the conflict dynamics of South Kyrgyzstan.

6Kyrgyz Republic. National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. Population and Housing Census 2009. Bishkek. (2010). Web. 20 November 2012.

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Batken respondents perceive themselves as considerably more vulnerable than those in other rural locations. For example, 82% of Batken respondents noted income insufficiency to cover basic needs. Additionally, they had a higher rate of conflict affected income, which, at 59%, is nearly double the rate reported in the overall rural sample, likely due to the cross-border issues. Although spared the destruction of the June 2010 violence, it is clear that lesser known conflicts in Batken are just as damaging to the lives and livelihoods of affected households.


Perceptions of Economic Influences on Peace and Stability

Primary Income Sources and the Insufficiency of Household Income LevelsThe rural regions of South Kyrgyzstan are, by and large, economically fragile areas of the country, heavily reliant on crop agriculture and animal husbandry, which, in turn, depends on reliable and consistent access to irrigation water, pasture lands and markets. This is especially evident among rural respondents, 62% of whom stated that their primary income was derived from either agricultural or livestock activities. Common crops in South Kyrgyzstan include such staples as cotton, rice and wheat, although others, such as tobacco, corn, potatoes and sunflowers are also widespread. Goats, sheep, cows and poultry are prevalent in livestock rearing, although ownership of horses, due to their expense, is relatively limited. Interestingly, only 4% of rural respondents stated that remittances from family members were their primary income source. While although it is apparent that Kyrgyzstan is a net recipient of remittances, in fact one of the most remittance dependent countries in the world, rural respondents are either under-reporting their reliance on remittances or consider it a supplementary, and not a primary, source of income.7

The primary incomes of rural respondents, therefore, often hinge on the ability to plant, harvest, process and sell their crops or rear, feed and market their animals or meat products. Other avenues of income, such as day labour, trade, business and remittances are certainly available, though much of this remains in the informal sector and are far from stable. The majority of rural respondents (67%) stated that the average monthly income of their household was less than 5,000 KGS per month (or just over $100 USD per month). This proportion is significantly greater than national poverty rate, as measured by an individual’s ability to purchase a pre-identified ‘basket of goods,’ which states that 34% of the population lives in poverty.8 Likely due to the fact that the research was undertaken largely in the rural areas of South Kyrgyzstan, this discrepancy highlights rural-urban and other inequalities.

The proximity of many of these households to the poverty line signals that, for many of the respondents, their income-generating activities barely provide subsistence and certainly not growth. In fact, the same percentage of rural respondents (67%) noted that their household income was insufficient to cover even their basic needs, such as food, shelter, or clothing, which undoubtedly is a contributing factor to the high levels of outward migration from the rural areas. Furthermore, one in three rural respondents (33%) noted that their already insufficient incomes had been affected by recent conflicts.

In contrast to the rural areas, urban respondents have a much more diversified set of income sources. Additionally, although urban respondents noted higher levels of income overall, half of the respondents stated that their monthly household income was at or below 5,000 KGS. While, at first glance, this data seems to show lower levels of economic vulnerability, the increased cost of living in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad drives down the overall sufficiency of household income. In fact, 76% of urban respondents noted that their incomes were insufficient to meet their basic needs; a higher proportion than the rural respondents. As with rural respondents, this income insufficiency fuels high levels of migration as people search for better economic opportunities elsewhere. Additionally, urban respondents had an appreciably higher proportion of individuals whose income had been affected by conflict (65%), which is understandable considering the violent events of June 2010 in Osh and Jalalabad cities.

Conflict Potential: Economic VulnerabilityBearing this economic vulnerability in mind, it is important to note the significance that respondents placed on different factors in regards to their perceived conflict potential. For example, the most salient intra-communal conflict issues

7Camm, George. “Tajikistan Tops Remittance-Dependency Ranking.” Eurasianet 6 December 2011. Web. 18 November 2012.8Central Intelligence Agency. World Fact Book. Web. 23 November 2012.

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identified by rural respondents were unemployment, inequality and unfairness, poverty and governance. Such perceptions can potentially create the environment necessary to provoke actions based on the theory of relative deprivation, in which inequality, real or perceived, among groups and/or individuals may cause them to act, potentially violently, politically or otherwise, to redistribute the resources seen as unfairly allocated.

Urban respondents also identified unemployment as having high potential for intra-communal conflict as well. However, discrimination, which scarcely registered in the rural areas, was the second most significant issue identified by urban respondents. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that the discrimination may be related to real or perceived differences in treatment by social institutions, such as those related to access to justice, urban land for housing, government services, or more. Other issues, such as poverty and financial factors were also noted as having high potential for conflict. Regarding the question of the main issues with conflict potential between communities, the responses fell, with slight variations, along similar lines as those above.

If two-thirds of rural and three-quarters of urban respondents do not have sufficient income to meet their basic needs, and if issues of inequality, governance, unemployment, poverty and discrimination are so heavily weighted with conflict potential, it stands to reason that the potential for inter- and intra-communal conflicts in South Kyrgyzstan is high and that the situation is largely untenable in the long-run, barring significant systemic transformation. This is especially the case when considering the economic opportunities for youth, whose economic contribution and inclusion is vital to development and whose unemployment is often considered a harbinger of economic and social disruption. In fact, 90% of rural respondents stated that youth in their communities have practically no economic opportunities. Urban responses were only slightly improved, at 79%. Poverty and unemployment, however, do not exist in a vacuum and are often symptoms of larger, more systemic issues within governance, such as, for example, poor access to services, unequal distribution of resources, or the absence or collapse of basic infrastructure.

Conflict Potential: GeneralThe household surveys, supplemented by data from the REACH tool, an on-line early warning mapping system, allow the identification of various factors that can contribute to income insufficiency, unemployment, inequality and other conditions with high conflict or dispute potential.9 Some of these, such as degraded irrigation infrastructure or roads, especially if Soviet-era construction with little post-independence maintenance, are tangible and have a widespread impact. Others, such as difficulty in accessing credit or loans for small businesses are less visible, but certainly no less felt.

Crop agriculture, animal husbandry and urban income sources are certainly unique in many aspects, such as their reliance on different inputs, their geographic locations and level of physical labour required, among others. However, when prompted to identify the main issues faced regarding their income generating activities, it is clear that, for many respondents, these livelihood activities share common symptoms of a larger, systemic economic deterioration and associated market failures. Rural and urban respondents both chose the difficulty in selling products in the market (32%) and inability to access credit or loans (14%) as the main factors inhibiting their economic development.

Although it is not in the purview of this report to discuss either the macro or the micro economic intricacies of bazaars in South Kyrgyzstan, it is nonetheless valuable to note general similarities and differences between market difficulties in the rural and urban areas. Broadly speaking, in the rural areas of South Kyrgyzstan, the difficulty comes from the literal lack

9REACH Online Mapping Platform for Kyrgyzstan. IMPACT Initiatives, (2011). Web. 6 August 2012.

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To a very small extent

To a small extent

Neither small nor

great

To a great extent

To a very great extent

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

Chart 1: Overall Reported Levels of the Extent of Economic Opportunities for Youth in Your Community

Extent of economic opportunities for youth

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of market access and the dearth of quality products, such as high quality seeds, fertilizers, and other valuable inputs, as well as unfamiliarity with best practices and new technology, although innovative agricultural practices certainly exist. What markets that do exist are typically small, under-stocked and located far from one another, increasing transport costs for merchants and buyers alike. Individuals seeking to enter the urban markets however, especially with the expansive Osh and Kara-Suu bazaars in mind, face an entirely different set of issues. In urban areas with high unemployment, any person can become a trader and often sees the bazaar as an easy point of entry into the income generating sector. However, these urban bazaars have long histories replete with little regulation or institutionalisation and new stallholders may face highly protected market-control and power dynamics that impose significant barriers to entry with typically low returns for entrepreneurs. Additionally, in these and other smaller urban bazaars, it may also be a question of simple economics and is likely a blend of the inability to sell on the vendor’s part and the inability to purchase on the buyer’s. The reasons for this are many and varied: poor quality goods, over-production of certain items which drives down the price, shortages in others due to under-production or border closures and the inability of residents to cover their basic needs, to name a few.

Additionally, the inability to access cost effective loans or credit hinders individual business expansion, as well as some day-to-day activities and, by extension, limits overall economic growth potential. As shown earlier, a substantial majority of respondents (67% rural and 76% urban) are unable to meet even their basic needs, likely not leaving much income available for economic pursuits. Subsistence income generating activities have a way of snaring individuals in a cycle that is often difficult, though certainly not impossible, to escape from without external assistance. Yet, difficulty accessing credit or loans should not be confused with its non-availability, as micro-finance institutions, banks and black markets exist as avenues of financial lending. Often, however, due to frequently prohibitive interest rates, even those safely away from poverty would struggle with interest and capital payments, making them especially risky for those with little collateral and much to lose.10

Conflict Potential: Crop AgricultureIn order to go deeper into agricultural-specific issues, a shift in discussion from intangibles to hard infrastructure is required. Specifically regarding irrigation infrastructure, the system throughout South Kyrgyzstan is complex, vital and extensive. Indeed, the prevalence of irrigation-reliant income generating activities, such as crop agriculture and animal husbandry, are testament to the impact that the irrigation system has on the economic livelihoods of a majority of the rural population. Yet, it is also collapsing and, as a deteriorating resource supporting a growing population, conflict over its access and use is increasingly likely. As a result of this heavy economic reliance, the degrading infrastructure and overall high conflict potential, crop agriculture can be considered one of the most volatile economic sectors, especially should the current downward trend continue. In fact, an associated qualitative socio-economic research project conducted by ACTED in 2011 found that in 127 communities, comprised of 381 focus groups held throughout South Kyrgyzstan, 79% of the communities noted that the trend in the quality, access and availability of the irrigation water system was downward, as compared to only 5% who perceived an improvement in the system.11

Considering the fact that rural respondents whose primary income is crop agriculture were more likely to report an average household income below 5,000 KGS/month (78% versus the overall rural proportion of 67%), it is clear that these individuals are particularly vulnerable given their dependency on an unreliable irrigation system.

It is important to recognize, however, that regarding irrigation water, it is not a question of availability as much as it is a question of distribution and access, both in terms of geographical location and sharing arrangements. Respondents were requested to identify the main problems that people face within their communities regarding access to community resources such as water, land or pasture. A relative majority of rural crop agriculturalists who noted a specific issue claimed that poor access and infrastructure was the most common problem, followed by governance issues such as unequal distribution, poorly defined property rights and the lack of sharing arrangements. Significantly, many of these issues, such as inequality and unfairness, carry high conflict potential, as identified previously. Therefore, it is not simply a question of non-availability, but also of the conflict potential that is engendered by unequal distribution and poor access to the resources that do exist.

10World Bank. Lending interest rate (%). Web. 18 November 2012.11REACH Online Mapping Platform for Kyrgyzstan. IMPACT Initiatives, (2011). Web. 6 August 2012.

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As a result of poor irrigation water distribution and other factors, residents throughout South Kyrgyzstan have a pessimistic view of the state of the irrigation system, and the perception of declination in the quality and size of irrigated, and even non-irrigated, farmland is widely held.12 Consequently, the potential for conflicts over irrigation water access and use is likely to increase as the distribution network continues to fail. In response, Water Users Associations (WUAs), from the mid-nineties, began being created throughout South Kyrgyzstan. Whereas in the Soviet Union, where large collectives were responsible for water distribution and irrigation

canal maintenance, independence saw the fragmentation of these into smaller landholdings, along with the unwelcome disbursement of distribution and maintenance responsibilities. Without a comprehensive plan, and lacking much of the financial resources necessary, maintenance has often been haphazard and water use uncontrolled (or controlled in an unfair or opaque manner). WUAs, which vary in skill, capacity and budget, are nonetheless tasked with canal maintenance and ensuring transparent distribution of water, as well as serving as a mechanism for dispute resolution. 13 WUAs are also responsible for the collection of water use fees, a sensitive challenge given frequent water scarcities, as well as the common belief that access to irrigation water is less of a service to be bought and more of a right to be claimed. Irrigation water is a valuable resource that much of the population relies on for their livelihood and its unequal distribution is often a point of contention. Therefore, the establishment of adequate governance mechanisms, despite some current weaknesses, to set up, regulate and maintain these shared infrastructural assets, is crucial for increasing the economic potential of the region, while at the same time reducing conflict potential. It is important to note that irrigation water governance does not end at the canal’s edge and maintenance of infrastructure is only one piece of a much larger governance mechanism. Equitable distribution by a legitimate and communally accepted management system is equally as important as the concrete itself.

Conflict Potential: Animal HusbandryAlthough the information provided regarding community resource access is applicable to pasture lands as much as it is to irrigation water, those who engage in animal husbandry face a completely different set of issues. Pasture land is widespread throughout South Kyrgyzstan, with many communities driving their animals into the ‘jailoos,’ or summer pastures, high in the mountains, later descending into warmer climates with the onset of winter. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, herd sizes collapsed due to the division of state-owned farms into smaller entities, although they are now slowly increasing. This respite allowed much of the pasture land to rest after decades of questionable Soviet pasture management practices, which sought to maximize animal and crop production at the expense of the long-term quality and carrying capacity of the land. Centralized planning, in which Moscow set production quotas and frequently promoted unsuitable resource management strategies, directly contributed to significant environmental degradation and communal tensions.14

The subsequent decentralization of pasture and land management responsibilities, however, to a community or individual whose prior animal husbandry experience was solely under state direction, did not bode well for sustainable

1294% of ACTED focus groups noted a negative trend or no change in the quality or accessibility of irrigated land in their communities; 77% of ACTED focus groups had a similar perception of non-irrigated land 13Sehring, Jenniver. "Water User Associations (WUAs) in Kyrgyzstan: A Case Study on Institutional Reform in Local Irrigation Management."Discussion Paper. Zentrum für internationale Entwicklungs und Umweltforschung der Justus Liebig Universität Gießen. 7. (2005). Web. 3 August 2012.14 Lim, Michelle. "Laws, Institutions and Transboundary Pasture Management in the High Pamir and Pamir-Alai Mountain Ecosystem of Central Asia." Law, Environment and Development Journal. 8/1. 47. (2012). Web. 3 August 2012.

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21%

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Chart 2: Issues with Resource Access from the Perspective of Rural Crop Agriculture Dependent Households

Unequal distribution of resources

No arrangement for sharing resource

Property rights for land are not well defined

Poor access and infrastructure to use resources

Not consulted in terms of resource distribution

Other


practices and pastures in South Kyrgyzstan are again experiencing high levels of degradation and overuse as herd sizes grow. In fact, from the previously mentioned data collection involving 127 communities throughout South Kyrgyzstan, only 3% of the communities surveyed felt that their pastures, either summer or winter, had improved in the past ten years.15 In the household survey, rural respondents whose primary income is derived from animal husbandry also voiced many of the same concerns regarding access to resources as their crop agriculture counterparts did. Poor access and infrastructure was the most commonly mentioned issue, followed by unequal distribution of resources and the lack of sharing arrangements. Additionally, unclear borders and the inability of authorities to adequately govern pasture use has resulted in increased conflict potential over pasture access and has inhibited further development.16

As a result, Pasture Committees, recently created bodies of experienced pastoralists, have the mandate to govern pasture access and use throughout their ayil okmotu (local municipality). These Pasture Committees oversee the creation of pasture management plans, which outline pasture use to ensure sustainable management practices. These committees are also the recipients of pasture use fees, which, in turn are (or should be) ploughed back into the communities to support improvements in pasture infrastructure, such as bridges and roads.17 Pasture Committees are also designed as a dispute mechanism whereby communities and individuals can seek redress for perceived wrongs, such as unequal pasture distribution, illegal use and/or unclear pasture demarcations. A strong and respected Pasture Committee, especially one with an equitable and transparently designed pasture management plan, removes many, though not all, of the conditions necessary for conflict over pasture use. Conversely, a weak committee without a comprehensive plan helps engender the environment where conflicts thrive and disputes go unresolved, damaging both the economic opportunities of individuals and the physical capabilities of pastures.

Conflict Potential: UrbanAlthough urban respondents are certainly affected by irrigation water access or pasture over-use and degradation, the household survey found that they also face a unique set of challenges in regards to the underlying factors and causes of their inhibited economic development.

As Chart 3 shows, urban respondents have a diverse array of economic opportunities available to them. As a result, there is not a homogenous or “typical” urban income source to the extent that agriculture or animal husbandry is in the rural areas. Each of these primary income sources are quite distinct, rendering urban-wide assertions fallible and impossibly broad. In fact, even many of the categories of primary income, such as “Public Sector,” are simply extended spectrums that can include a highly varied set of different trades or occupations such as,

government officials, teachers, nurses, or police officers. The household survey was not deep enough to capture the intricacies of urban livelihoods, and the urban sample size, as previously mentioned, is inadequate to provide generalizable or representative findings. Accordingly, bold theories of causality are avoided and this report, in an effort to provide a level of clarity about these urban economic issues will, however briefly, review the general economic and governance factors that underpin the primary income sources for the majority of the urban respondents.

15REACH Online Mapping Platform for Kyrgyzstan. IMPACT Initiatives, (2011). Web. 6 August 2012.16Saferworld. "Looking back to look forward." 5-6. (2011). Web. 18 November 2012.17ur-Rahim, Inam, and Daniel Maselli. "Participatory Pasture Management Project." Baseline Study. 5-6. (2008). Web. 3 August 2012.

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Private Sector38%

Public Sector19%

Remittances and Social Benefits

31%

Other 12%

Chart 3: Aggregated Primary Sources of Income Reported by Urban Areas


Private Sector EmploymentFirstly, this report will consider private sector employment, namely those respondents involved in small business, trade, labour and salaried employment, which comprise 38% of the urban respondents. Considering the physical destruction of businesses in June 2010 and the resulting economic tremors and scarcity of investment, it is understandable that private sector individuals would be hardest hit economically. In fact, 75% of these respondents noted that their primary income had been negatively affected by recent conflicts. This proportion was considerably higher than the other sectors of remittances and social benefits and the public sector, which were 56% and 54% respectively. Of these three primary income sectors, private sector workers also had the highest proportion of respondents with a household income of less than 5,000 KGS a month, though, interestingly, the lowest proportion of respondents with income insufficient to cover their basic needs. The differences in the income insufficiency are minor and due to the small sample size of the urban respondents, it is impossible to draw any specific conclusions. What the numbers do appear to show, however, is that despite their relative economic position, these individuals have a different perception of basic needs than others who occupy slightly higher income brackets and that income and income insufficiency are not necessarily inversely related. Yet, it is clear that private sector individuals are extremely vulnerable considering the highly affected nature of their already insufficient household income.

Remittances and Social BenefitsThe second income sector, which includes 31% of urban respondents, is comprised of households whose primary income is derived from remittances, government allowances and support from non-governmental organizations. Although these are distinct categories in their own right, they are aggregated here as a source of income reliant on external entities or individuals. As a group, they are better off than the private sector, by the measure of monthly household income above 5,000 KGS, with only 42% of respondents below that amount. Furthermore, as discussed previously, their primary income has also been less affected by conflicts. Given the highly remittance-dependent status of Kyrgyzstan, considering that by some estimates upwards of 30% of the active labour force are working abroad, it is interesting that the level of self-reporting of remittance dependence at a household level is quite low amongst respondents, though given the small urban sample size, it is not possible to make reliable inferences.18

Public Sector Employment Lastly, public sector employment, which includes doctors, teachers, government administrators and others, represents 19% of urban respondents. As a group, the public sector was noticeably better positioned economically than the other primary income sectors, often significantly so. Not only did they have the lowest proportion of respondents with a monthly household income below 5,000 KGS (27%), they were also the least likely to have their income be conflict affected. They did, however, share a common proportion of responses in regards to the insufficiency of their income to meet their basic needs, which again may reflect different perceptions of ‘basic needs,’ although again, due to the small sample size, caution should be taken with generalizations. This income sector was also the only one of the three that was

18Moldobaeva, Bermet. "External and Internal Migration Processes in Kyrgyzstan: What Are The Last Year Trends?" American University of Central

Asia. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. 7 February 2007. Lecture.

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Household Income below 5000 KGS/month

Income Affected by Conflict

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Chart 4: Urban Poverty and Conflict-Affected Income

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inclined to agree with the statement that people within their community had the same economic opportunities, whereas the private sector and remittances groups tend towards disagreement with that statement, implying perceptions of income inequity.

As the next section will show, it is the public sector which nearly all individuals, regardless of income source, rely on for the provision of social services and, in many cases, basic needs. It has been made clear that individuals throughout South Kyrgyzstan, both rural and urban, are often unable to attain basic services or be free from the damaging effects of conflict. In many cases, the blame for this is laid at the feet of government, an identifiable political structure. Debilitating shortages in public financing and non-transparent budgeting processes are the focus of significant attention in public reform initiatives. Perhaps more fairly, as the following section will show, it is often a question of governance, used here to describe the system of management, distribution and oversight of economic and social resources and the ability and capacity of the individuals within that system to do so. Although the structure and the system undoubtedly share many individuals and responsibilities, governance need not be performed only by government.

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Perceptions of Social Influences on Peace and StabilityJust as economics can bind individuals to, or exclude them from, a greater market, so to can social structures and issues bind individuals to, or exclude them from, a larger community. Levels of trust, access to social services, perceptions of differences (and similarities), history of disputes and their method of resolution all play important roles in shaping the collectivity and cohesion of any particular community, be it a village, an ethnic group, a nationality or a religion. This section of the report will divide these issues into two broad categories: 1) social services provided (or not) by an identifiable party and 2) thoughts, beliefs, biases and perceptions existent within respondents in order to better understand the ‘social environment’ that the respondents operate within.

Access to Social ServicesSocial services, from the intangibles of education, health and justice to the consumables of water and sanitation, are valuable inputs into our daily lives. However, on a day-to-day basis, individuals are typically on the receiving end of these services and change is only affected with great difficulty. The providers of many of the intangible services, such as teachers, lawyers and doctors, require years of training and improvements in quality are often accompanied by unprecedented shifts in attitude and outlook. Consumables are no less daunting, necessitating the construction and maintenance of complex infrastructure, and their decline is frequently much swifter than their ascent. Additionally, the residency system of propiska, which still remains a barrier for social inclusion and freedom of movement, also serves to limit access to social services such as education and health, especially for internal migrants who are away from their official residency or who have no formal residency registration at all. Furthermore, considering that only 15% of respondents stated that they understood how the government budget was spent, compounds the likelihood of misallocation of funds, low levels of community participation in public affairs, non-transparency of budgeting, corruption and other issues that prevent the provision of social services. As a result, as can be seen in Chart 5 above, not all of these services are provided equitably.

EducationGiven even an introductory knowledge of the state of these services in South Kyrgyzstan, these results would appear unsurprising, necessitating the importance of discovering the underlying causes of these shortcomings in social services provision. Looking first at education and healthcare, it quickly becomes apparent that the provision of poor quality services in these sectors bear a number of resemblances. For example, the quality of education in Kyrgyzstan has deteriorated rapidly following independence, both in terms of the teaching materials available and of the skill level and size of the teaching workforce. Due to funding constraints, many schools lack textbooks, modern teaching equipment or current, relevant curriculums.19 Additionally, despite recent salary increases, teachers are not well compensated and there is a marked non-interest of qualified graduates to enter the education field. In fact, three out of four teachers in Kyrgyzstan are older than 45 years old and, having studied in the Soviet education system, are often replaced by poorly trained and inexperienced teachers.20

19International Crisis Group. "Central Asia: Decay and Decline." Asia Report No. 201. 7. (2011). Web. 20 August 2012.20Mogilevsky, Roman. "Public Expenditures on Education and Health in the Kyrgyz Republic before and during the Global Financial Crisis." CASE Network Reports. 34. (2011). Web. 1 August 2012.

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Education Health Services

Justice Water and Sanitation

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Chart 5: The Proportion of Rural and Urban Respondents with Little or No Access to Social Services

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As Chart 5 indicates, relatively high levels of access to education services were reported by respondents, especially in relation to the other services identified. Nearly 20% of respondents, however, reported low or no access and, given that unemployment was identified by respondents has possessing high conflict potential, reflection on the trend in education services and the causal relationship between education and employment is warranted.

Poor education cannot be attributed to the structural failure of the educational system alone, and other issues, such as poverty and migration, play a significant role. For example, large numbers of students drop out of school in order to join the workforce and provide contributions to their household income, which, while providing temporary economic relief, nonetheless hinders longer-term development by inhibiting later professional advancement. Additionally, as rural families continue to migrate into urban areas, the increasing population places financial strains on the capacities of already over-burdened schools. As a result, in many cases, students of these families are turned away due to the lack of proper propiska documents.21 As such, in order to make up for budgetary shortfalls, schools are often reliant on financial contributions from parents, which distorts the equality of education throughout South Kyrgyzstan, and significant differences in quality, conditions and outcomes have appeared.22 This divide between a small number of properly funded educational institutions and the majority of others who lack even rudimentary materials reinforces inequality and contributes to the belief that not everyone possesses the same economic opportunities, given the stark differences in educational quality. The rich and well-connected continue to access improved education, while the poor are often exposed only to declining educational standards and out of date textbooks.

Though perhaps not immediately apparent, the education system is laying the foundation for future conflicts through South Kyrgyzstan. The differences in educational standards widen the already expansive divide between poor and rich, contributing to continuing unfairness and inequality. Furthermore, poor education contributes to higher levels of unemployment, as it does not provide students with the skills or knowledge necessary to develop professionally. As identified previously, it is these issues of inequality and unemployment which carry high conflict potential.

Health ServicesApproximately 1 in 4 respondents reported low or no access to health services, and this access issue was slightly more pronounced in rural areas. Healthcare, like education, has seen a flight of qualified medical professionals and general collapse of much of the basic infrastructure. The numbers are stark indeed. Between 1990 and 2009, the number of doctors per 1,000 people fell from 3.5 to 2.4, while the number of nurses per 1,000 people collapsed from 10.3 to 5.4. 23 Additionally, many of these healthcare professionals were trained in the Soviet Union and too few doctors and nurses, often poorly trained, are entering the medical system each year to reach replacement rates. It is likely that the impact of this continual downward slide will be felt more strongly in the rural areas, as irreplaceable medical professionals continue their migration to larger cities or depart the workforce.24 Corruption within the medical system is also reported to be endemic, with many patients required to make unofficial payments for their medical care, which is especially difficult for those whose income is already insufficient for their other needs. As in education, propiska also plays a part in limiting access to medical care, as many internal migrants outside of their official residencies face higher costs for medical services.25

Much like education, the difference in healthcare quality is also a manifestation of the inequality inherent in South Kyrgyzstan. Those with the means to do so can access quality healthcare, likely through private clinics in Kyrgyzstan or abroad. Conversely, others must gamble on the current healthcare structure, frequently unsuccessfully, and it is the idea of unequal distribution of goods and services and the perceived inability to access basic health services which may increase conflict potential over healthcare.

21International Crisis Group 8.22Mertaugh, Michael. "Education in Central Asia, With Particular Reference to the Kyrgyz Republic."Challenge of Education in Central Asia. 6-7. (2004). Web. 4 August 2012.23Mogilevsky 49.24International Crisis Group 2-3.25Mogilevsky 58.

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JusticeDespite the shortcomings in their provision however, education and healthcare are considerably more accessible to respondents than justice. In fact, individuals with little or no access to justice who stated a specific reason noted that the defining factors preventing access were the poor quality of services (29%), financial barriers (21%) and the fact that the services are not available (11%). Additionally, of these respondents, 70% noted that recent disputes in their communities had not been satisfactorily resolved, which was much higher, proportionally, than those respondents who perceived the ability to adequately access justice.26 In fact, only 30% of all respondents stated that “the most recent dispute” in their community had been adequately resolved to where both parties were satisfied without the outcome. 27,28 Although there are many reasons for such poor access to justice, what is clear is that without such access, wrongs are difficult to right, conflicts are left unresolved and reliance on formal law-enforcement and justice processes may be insufficient for communities seeking dispute resolution and conflict mitigation.

Firstly, in terms of poor quality, the perversion of justice can come in many forms; corrupt judges and law enforcement bodies, poorly written or unenforced laws, favouritism or weak independent oversight. In short, it is often a question of governance and the presence of these and other distorting factors can be assumed given the high levels of non-accessibility. Even assuming an equitable provision of justice, regardless of social or economic status of the recipients, the poor quality of the service will ensure that the application of justice is non-standardized in terms of fairness or legality and more likely to engender problems than it is to solve them.

The individuals on the supply-side of justice are not the only ones to blame however. The general public’s typically low awareness of laws, coupled with a general disregard for the rule of law certainly negatively affects the juridical environment. Whether this is a cause or a consequence of the style of justice mentioned above, however, is difficult to state with any accuracy.

Secondly, given the financial situation of many of the respondents, it is clear that household finances play a strong role in the inability to access social services. Those unable to cover the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing will certainly be unable to access transparent and equitable justice, given the expenses, frequently informal.

In terms of non-accessibility, there are certainly many responses, of varying degrees of social acceptability, open to individuals wishing to advance their claim. Individuals themselves can be non-responsive to the issue, and through tacit

2638% of respondents who stated they had medium or high access to justice noted that recent disputes within their communities had not been satisfactorily resolved.27 43% of respondents noted that the most recent dispute in their community had not been satisfactorily resolved for both parties. 28The robustness of the data is not strong enough to demonstrate a causal relationship between these indicators, however the concurrency of these trends is of interest to note.

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Chart 6: Reported Resolution Outcomes of Most Recent Disputes by Geographical Area

BatkenJalalabadOshUrban

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Interestingly, Batken also showed a heavy reliance on family members for dispute resolution. In fact, 82% of all respondents who identified family members as the usual arbiter of disputes were from Batken. Initiative Groups in Osh oblast were also significantly higher than any of the other locations.


acceptability, allow the perceived wrong to go un-redressed. In the longer-term however, this is not sustainable and only delays, and often augments, the dispute upon its manifestation. People can take justice into their own hands, which, perhaps fulfilling in the short-term, nonetheless promotes a culture of vigilante-ism and vendettas, which are not conducive for cooperative dispute resolution. Trained community mediators are available throughout South Kyrgyzstan, although the culture of external mediation is relatively new in the region and is only slowly gaining prominence as a mechanism of dispute resolution. As a result, without access to a functioning and impartial court system, community members seeking redress often turn towards decentralized, localized and more informal structures within their communities.

Foremost in the rural communities were elders, of which 51% of rural respondents noted as the institution or individual who typically resolves community disputes. This, of course, manifests itself along a large spectrum of access, from trusted individuals to more formalized Aksakal Courts, comprising numerous elders. Formalized in 1995, Aksakal Courts are mandated to resolve local disputes based on customary law and local tradition, while at the same time remaining consistent with national law. Their services are provided free of charge and are seen as a mechanism for providing access to legal remedies in communities without state legal institutions. However, as members of the courts are not required to have official legal training, research questions the legal soundness and constitutionality of many of their rulings and outlines fears regarding the breach of human rights, especially on behalf of women.29 The proportion of urban respondents who relied on aksakals for their dispute resolution was notably lower, at only 23%, with a heavier reliance on formal state structures. Elders are listened to because they are respected members of the community and, as will be shown, internal migration patterns have strained cohesion, especially in urban centres and elders have been displaced as purveyors of justice. Interestingly, even urban respondents who selected elders believed that they had a lower dispute resolution success rate than those elders who operated in rural areas. 88% of rural respondents noted that elders were successful always or most of the time in resolving disputes, while only 57% of urban respondents believed they were as frequently as successful.

Water and SanitationUrban-rural differences are not limited to cases of justice. Regarding access to water and sanitation services, the divide between these two sets of respondents is stark, with urban respondents far more likely to perceive adequate or good levels of access. Water and sanitation infrastructure is difficult to build, expensive to maintain and frequently requires expansion into new areas. In many communities, drinking water systems are a vestige of the Soviet Union and, lacking the funding or capacity to properly maintain them, many of these systems are slowly, but quite explicitly, collapsing. Additional research from 127 rural communities, where 60% of communities surveyed noted a decline in drinking water access and availability, confirms this negative, downward trend. In addition, this same research identifies drinking water access as a significant conflict potential source throughout South Kyrgyzstan.30

In many cases, this collapse drives people to access irrigation canals or other surface water for their drinking needs, often at the expense of their health. This increases inter-communal conflict potential due to common accusations of upstream communities polluting the water system with trash and other waste. Increases in sicknesses can also strain the resources of local medical points, if present, and places additional financial burdens on individuals who, as has been shown, are typically unable to bear them.31 Additionally, as more drinking water is taken from the canals, less water is available for downstream communities for irrigation (or drinking) purposes, engendering conflicts between communities who are perceived to be disregarding the resource needs of one another.

Governance of the water systems, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, was dispersed, sometimes to an identifiable entity and sometimes not. Unclear responsibilities, coupled with the financial deficit, ensured that the drinking water system would continue to fail unless local organizations with a stake in the outcome participated in their maintenance. As a result, local level organizations such as Community Drinking Water User Unions (CDWUUs) have

29Ranjbar, Azita. Eurasia Foundation. The Declining Use of Aksakal Courts in Kyrgyzstan. 11. (2012). Web. 6 August 2012. 30REACH Online Mapping Platform for Kyrgyzstan. IMPACT Initiatives, (2011). Web. 6 August 2012.31Igoe, Michael. "Kyrgyzstan: Bathing in the Neighbors’ Drinking Water." Eurasianet 2 July 2012. Web. 5 August 2012.

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begun appearing throughout South Kyrgyzstan as water management is decentralized. These unions, which possess their own management structure, supervise the maintenance and management of the community water supply systems. 32 Although many of these unions are new and questions regarding their sustainability remain, they are clearly in response to an unfulfilled need, and those communities that rely on local government for rehabilitation and maintenance can be worse off.33 Due to chronic shortages of resources, however, both community unions and local government are typically underfunded relative to needs and, at best, appear to be able to do little to stem the tide of infrastructural collapse.

The pervasiveness of governance structures such as WUAs, Aksakal Courts and Drinking Water Users Unions points to a larger interest in community participation in governance of their resources and social services, the majority of which are, or should be, provided by the government. As previously shown, however, unequal distribution, or even the perception of it, invites high conflict potential and, as a result, community participation in governance issues is important to ensuring some level of equality and transparency.

As the next section will show, however, issues of governance, despite their importance, cannot be isolated and, in fact, co-exist with social issues, such as perceptions of inequality, trust and society. These individual convictions influence that person’s interaction with the environment around them, including the way choices are made and beliefs are shaped. These social beliefs are often neither rigid nor abstract, creating values, perceptions and beliefs with the capability to both perceive conflict with, or identify commonality between, individuals with whom we relate.

Perceptions and Social IdentifiersSocial identifiers are not mutually exclusive and individuals are free to don whichever particular hat is relevant to them given the situation. Today I am Kyrgyz, yesterday I was from Mady and tomorrow perhaps I will be Muslim. Such identifiers, however, can be as equally divisive as they are inclusive and this section of the report will look at perceptions of similarities and differences, levels of trust, feelings of security and other social aspects which are harboured on a more individual, and less systemic, level. As the information will show, rural and urban respondents differ substantially in these perceptions.

Perceptions of InequalityInequality, unfairness and unemployment, as has been shown, carry high conflict potential. These issues are tied to numerous economic and socio-governance factors and it is interesting to note the differences in perceptions between rural and urban respondents as they relate to economic opportunities and standards of living. Rural respondents were considerably more optimistic than their urban counterparts when asked about the equality of economic opportunities in their communities (50% of rural respondents compared to 31% of urban respondents). Perhaps this is due to the wider spectrum of economic opportunities present in urban areas, whereas the majority of rural respondents primarily rely on one of two income generation activities. Not all employment opportunities are equal in terms of work load, payment, respect or other defining factors and where there are differences there is often economic stratification and, as a result, unequal opportunities for income generation or economic advancement.

While the previous analysis sought to understand economic opportunities within communities, this section of the report also looks into respondents’ perceptions of the economic opportunities and, by extension, the living standards of communities neighbouring their own. As Chart 7 shows, urban respondents were much less likely than rural respondents to perceive similarities between their standard of living and that of their neighbouring communities. As identified in the prior sections, this inequality can foreshadow the conflicts based on an individual’s desire to seek the reallocation of goods and services, possibly through the use of violence.

32Wardle, Chris. Building the Capacity of Village Communities to Manage the Provision of Clean Drinking Water: Lessons from Kyrgyzstan . 3. (2010). Web. 18 November 2012.33Regallet, Gabriel. United Nations Development Program. Communal Services in Kyrgyzstan: A Poverty and Social Impact Assessment. 19. (2011). Web. 3 August 2012.

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Additionally, perceptions of differences are not only be confined to economic opportunities or standards of living, but also encompasses religious and cultural beliefs. Take, for example, the question that asks whether respondents agreed or not with the statement that “in this community, most people have the same religious and

cultural beliefs.” In the rural communities, 77% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this statement, as compared to only 41% of urban respondents. In fact, urban respondents were more likely to disagree than agree. Considering that 96% of urban respondents were either ethnically Kyrgyz or Uzbek, the assumption is that the difference here is not referring to religion, as the vast majority of these populations are Sunni Muslims. The distinction, therefore, appears to be regarding perceptions of cultural differences.

When the question was expanded to include perceptions of neighbouring communities, the response rates appeared similar. From these findings, it is clear that rural communities typically consider themselves as homogenous in their makeup and, in general, are representative, in their cultural and ethnic nature, of the areas in which they are located. Urban respondents, conversely, appear to perceive a significantly higher level of multiculturalism in, and around, their communities.

Given the recent June 2010 conflict, it would be easy to draw out conflict potential in the multiculturalism of the urban communities. However, the belief that social differences

alone are sufficient for provoking conflict is a simplistic view that ignores primary causal factors, such as those governance, socio-economic, and financial issues mentioned above.

TrustThe perception of trust among individuals throughout South Kyrgyzstan is also an important thread in the fabric which binds various individuals or communities together. As noted throughout this report, the urban-rural divide is often stark and their differences in the levels of trust are no different. While many of the rural communities are heavily tilted towards a homogenous population, the urban communities of Osh and Jalalabad are considerably more diverse in their make-up. Generally, rural communities are smaller and consist of large informal extended networks of families, friends and acquaintances. People certainly migrate outward from the rural areas, but often leave behind vestiges of these establishments with whom they are familiar with and can rely on. Conversely, urban areas, frequently the recipients of migratory individuals, lack these long-standing social bonds and shared experiences. 34 As a result of these, and other factors, respondents from rural communities were more than twice as likely as their urban counterparts to state a high

34When prompted to respond to the statement that “people have lived together in this community for a long time,” only 55% of urban respondents agreed or strongly agreed, as compared to 83% of rural respondents.

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0%20%40%60%80%

Chart 8: Perceptions of Religious and Cultural Differences

RuralUrban

Prop

ortio

n of

Tot

al R

espo

nden

ts w

ho A

gree

or

Stro

ngly

Agr

ee

People in this and neighbouring communities have similar living standards

People in this community have the same economic opportunities

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Chart 7: Perceptions of Economic Equality in Rural and Urban Areas

Urban Rural

Rural respondents noted a considerably higher level of participation in government processes and decision making than their urban counterparts. In fact, 67% of rural respondents, and only 34% of urban respondents, believed that people within their communities were involved in government processes.


level of trust between ethnicities in their communities. Interestingly, the youngest age bracket (18-29) of respondents were the most likely to note this trust (53%). The increasing age of respondents appears inversely related to their perception of inter-ethnic trust as only 40% of those aged 65 and over felt that different ethnicities within their communities trusted one another.

Without delving too deeply into the psychology of relationships, which is certainly not in the purview of this report, it is interesting to note what appear to be contradictory beliefs, given recent findings that show high levels of participation, by youths from rural mono-ethnic communities, in the June 2010 violence. What is quite possible, however, is that in homogenous communities with little minority representation, these individual inter-ethnic relationships are easier to cultivate than in more diverse areas, where pockets of society can be insular and difficult to penetrate. As a result, according to the Contact Theory, these rural inter-ethnic relationships engender higher levels of trust due to familiarity. Exposure to different beliefs, different ways of life and different people humanizes them in a manner to where they are no longer the unknown ‘other’ who are to be feared or hated. The multi-cultural urban areas should also be experiencing higher levels of trust at first glance, but due to the fact that many neighbourhoods can function autonomously, in the social sense, and what trust exists intra-communally can often be withheld from its neighbours. Of course, exposure does not necessarily translate into trust or social cohesion, but it can begin to chip away at the conflict potential of certain situations, however imperceptibly.

Interestingly, the gap between rural and urban respondents continues to widen as the questions of trust become narrower. For example, as Chart 9 shows, rural respondents continue to be considerably more trusting than their urban counterparts, both in regards to intra-regional as well as intra-communal trust.

Trust alone, however, is not an antidote for conflict, as can be seen in rural communities throughout South Kyrgyzstan where residents, with reported high levels of trust and cooperation, nonetheless have disputes over access to water, pasturelands or the bazaar. Change of any type, a new water gate or pasture bridge, brings conflict, though it need not always be negative. Everything hinges on the mechanism of its resolution and people’s trust in its transparency and impartiality. Without this, when wrongs go un-righted and ‘justice’ goes to the highest bidder, the system collapses. Increased involvement in the system, be it governance structures or society in general, strengthens peoples belief in it, as well as their willingness to invest their time and effort into a communal good.

Participation in Government and SocietyRural respondents, on a whole, expressed a significant level of involvement in trust building activities, on a scale and scope that were noticeably absent in the urban areas. For instance, rural respondents are more than twice as likely as urban to note the presence of “a large number of joint activities within and between the communities” (73% to 31%, respectively). There is also a considerably higher incidence of inter- and intra-communal volunteerism in the rural areas as well (66% to 31%).This high level of community involvement may explain the intensity of trust that rural respondents noted in the previous section.

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There is a high level of trust between those within this community

There is a high level of trust between members of this region (or area)

There is a high level of trust between members from different ethnicities

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Chart 9: Trust Tendencies (% agree) in Rural and Urban Areas

UrbanRural

Proportion of respondents who agree or strongly agree with the statement

Fact

ors o

f Tru

st


Not only are respondents involved in trust building initiatives and volunteerism, but a large portion of individuals, especially in the rural areas, stated a considerable involvement in government processes and decision-making. 35 Respondents’ interpretation of “participation in government processes” certainly takes many forms and shapes, including voting, participation in election campaigns, protesting, involvement in resource governance structures such as pasture committees and, of course, employment by the government itself. Regardless of the interpretation, however, it is clear that respondents consider themselves, by a substantial margin in the rural areas, to be active and engaged within their communities.

Additionally, when looking specifically at women’s involvement in community affairs, over half of all respondents agreed or strongly agreed that women were active and engaged in their community. Despite this strong and active involvement, however, women remain a largely untapped source of dispute resolution in their communities. In fact, only 2 respondents out of 1733 stated that women usually resolved disputes in their communities.

Youth is another particularly interesting segment of society to consider when reviewing perceptions of community participation and representation. Respondents, by a significant margin, agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that youth were well represented in their communities.36 In fact, youth respondents in the 18-29 year old age bracket were

the most likely to note high levels of youth representation in their communities. Representation, much like participation, can, of course, take many forms. What is clear though is the respondent’s belief that youth have both a voice as well as the opportunity to shape decision-making within the community.

Despite the high profile accorded to youth by the respondents, however, as noted previously, youth continue to suffer from an acute deficiency of economic opportunities. Growing populations of unemployed youth with a declining number of avenues of personal and professional advancement are often see as heralds of ill tidings and such youth are often fingered as the perpetrators, if not the causes, of conflict. For that reason, data regarding the

perceptions of youth involvement in peace and conflict is all the more interesting. Chart 9 clearly outlines respondents’ belief that, in fact, youth are actually heavily involved in promoting peace and harmony within their communities. Furthermore, when speaking of youth involvement in conflict, ‘never/rarely’ outweighed ‘most of the time/always’ by a factor of 18 to 1 in rural areas and over 3 to 1 in urban.

3567% of rural and 34% of urban respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “people of this community often participate in government processes and decisions.”3663% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “youth are well represented in this community,” though rural and urban responses differed significantly – 66% in the rural areas and 38% in the urban.

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8%

13%

13%

23%

37%

5%

Chart 10: The Role of Youth in Promoting Peace and Harmony in the Community

NeverRarelySometimesMost of the timeAlwaysDon’t know


Summary: Perceived Socio-Economic Drivers of Disputes, Conflicts and PeaceThroughout this report, many economic and social issues have been isolated from one another and considered for their effect on the individuals involved, their conflict potential and governance shortcomings. Much of it has been negative; declining educational and healthcare standards, income insufficiency and collapsing infrastructure, among others. Many positive aspects of socio-economic life in South Kyrgyzstan, however, can also be taken from the report, such as youth involvement in peacebuilding and women’s active engagement in community leadership. Communities have realized that sound local management is essential to the long-term sustainability of their physical and abstract resources, as seen by the rise and empowerment of WUAs, Aksakal Courts and other local bodies.

This report does not contain any specific programmatic recommendations, as it exists, in part, to increase the awareness of interested individuals and organizations about the current situation in South Kyrgyzstan and to allow them to make their own informed judgements and decisions. The issues discussed in this report are complex and multi-faceted, and though may be isolated for the sake of clarity, are in actuality very much interconnected, and the targeting of any single individual piece alone is insufficient to stimulate noticeable and sustainable change. It is not so much of circle of economics, governance and social cohesion as it is a web of inter-related issues and factors that support, or disrupt, each other in turn.

The answer, were there a single one, is not found in the rehabilitating of irrigation canals alone, anymore than it is in the advocating for legal rights or the filling of government coffers. Irrigation canals, regrettably, cannot maintain themselves any more than the scales of a blindfolded statue can dispense justice. It would be much easier if they could, but the backs and minds of men and women are required for such things and it is important not to confuse recognition of a problem with its mediation.

This report has looked at economic and social factors, but issues outside the scope of this report, such as the increasing prevalence of nationalist rhetoric and the north-south divide, often indicative of the search for scapegoats or attempts to mask failures and divert attention, are equally important in understanding the conflict dynamics of South Kyrgyzstan. It is clear that comprehensive programming, taking into account these inter-locking relationships, is essential to responding to larger, systemic, issues and not merely their symptomatic manifestations.

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Conclusion: Development of a Holistic Peacebuilding ProgrammeAs described in the introduction, the purpose of this household survey was as a baseline assessment for the TASK programme, Conflict Mitigation and Peace Building in Kyrgyzstan. The household survey incorporated over 70 questions and provides a snapshot of factors that affected peace and stability in South Kyrgyzstan prior to the implementation of the programme. As such, a baseline value for a range of impact indicators has been measured using the survey. In addition though, the household survey contributed to the context analysis for the programme, and has validated the theory of change and intervention logic behind it.

While the programme is relatively short (18 months), it largely responds to long-term socio-economic determinants of conflict or risks to peace and stability in the region, and does not treat the events of June 2010 as an isolated outbreak of inter-communal tension.

The overall objective of this EU-funded Conflict Mitigation and Peace Building Programme is to “mitigate the drivers and factors of conflict, and promote durable peace and stability in Kyrgyzstan,” by strengthening community action for conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution, to reduce underlying sources of tension and to promote shared peaceful interests related to socio-economic development opportunities. The programme embodies a three-tiered multi-sectoral approach:

1. EARLY WARNING: Increasing capacity of both the local and international communities to monitor and prevent conflict (conflict risk mapping)

2. PRIMARY RESPONSIVENESS: Enhancing mediation, confidence-building and protection resources within and among communities to sustainably resolve tensions (community mediation, psycho-social support and legal aid)

3. SECONDARY RESPONSIVENESS: Improving socio-economic opportunities for wider communities and marginalized groups (agricultural and social infrastructure, vocational education and training, natural resource management governance initiatives, agricultural support, and support to small-scale enterprises)

Nearly a year of the programme is now completed and, with six months remaining it has become a time of reflection for the TASK consortium, contemplating successes to-date, re-assessing relevance and responsiveness to the context, contemplating the benefits of a consortium approach to peace-building, and looking to the future to act on the intention of being a long-term presence in addressing long-term risk factors. To date, the following has been achieved:

Early-warningACTED, through the TASK programme, has continued to develop the REACH Early Warning Mapping Tool – an online interactive tool that consolidates and presents a wide range of information on factors for conflict and peace in a visual, geographical way. The tool enables actors to concurrently consider information, derived both from talking to individuals (including youth and women) in their village about the challenges they face, and from regional and national statistics. Through TASK, ACTED extended the tool to include 62 additional villages, bringing the total to 127 communities assessed.

A range of linkages have been established between the TASK partners, such that and the early-warning tool resulted in early responsiveness. Most importantly, the village passports and the REACH mapping tool played an important role in prioritising issues and planning interventions by the TASK consortium in over 180 communities.

Primary responsivenessInternational Alert, in collaboration with Foundation for Tolerance International and Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, is training over 700 community mediators across Batken, Jalalabad, Osh and Chui oblasts. Community mediators are being developed as a resource for communities to resolve community-level tensions. International Alert continues to work with other mediation sector leaders and actors, in particular OSCE, to combine efforts and undertake complementary initiatives to develop community mediation capacity across Kyrgyzstan. Over 700 community mediators were selected on the basis of their existing levels of influence and conflict resolution role in their communities, and are

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receiving an extensive series of trainings on facilitative mediation (now entering into the second of three cycles of Training of Trainers). In addition to training, International Alert and their partners are developing a range of resources to support community mediation practices, including mentoring structures, a mediation handbook, a case studies publication and show-cases in communities that promote public awareness of community mediation practices. International Alert and their partners are also undertaking institutional development initiatives, such as facilitating the development of a community mediators network. They have also been holding extensive consultations and round-tables to facilitate a national dialogue about whether Kyrgyzstan’s capacity, ability and desire to move towards deeper institutionalisation and professionalization of community mediation, such as through mediation legislation, registration and certification.

DanChurchAid, in partnership with Center Interbillim, is implementing a community-based psycho-social support initiative in 10 communities in Osh, Jalalabad and Batken. 2 members from each target community are undergoing a training programme across the life of the programme in psycho-social support, and are working with Initiative Groups within their communities to implement small-scale social projects aimed at addressing psycho-social issues. Some of the initiatives include establishing social facilities for children and youth, such as kindergartens and sport facilities or organising handicraft courses. Other initiatives address child bullying and intra-communal conflicts between community residents and newcomers, between children of different ethnicities residing in one community, establishing economic opportunities for single-headed women households through providing support to open a sewing shop and many others. The initiatives allow decreasing the level of emotional stress and tension among community members and contribute to restoration of confidence, hope and dignity of those affected by conflicts or disputes as well as contributes to building trust among and between community members.

Danish Refugee Council, in partnership with Legal Perspective, has provided, and continues to provide, legal assistance to businesses and households in Osh and Jalalabad whose property rights were jeopardised as a result of the June 2010 events. To date, over 600 legal consultations have been provided to the affected entrepreneurs. In addition, a number of awareness-raising activities (including distribution of 1300 pamphlets and a radio programme in Batken) have been undertaken as part of a campaign to improve citizens’ knowledge and awareness of their rights and responsibilities pertaining to their business and household property.

Secondary ResponsivenessTo address unemployment issues, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation has been supporting 6 Vocational Education and Training Centres in Osh and Jalalabad to provide skills-training to 500 predominately young people. The courses were designed based on a labour demand analysis undertaken with businesses in surrounding areas, and two rounds of training have been provided. Courses include cooking, baking, driving, computer use, sewing, hair dressing, electrical work and welding services. After completion of the training courses, the students will be followed up with to discover the usefulness of the skills training in accessing stable employment.

To address water governance issues HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is working with 10 Water User Associations in Osh and Jalalabad to strengthen their ability to distribute water efficiently and equitably. Support is provided in a range of ways, including supporting the construction of 42 stationary water measuring structures, as well as the provision of mobile water measuring devices. These devices are necessary to managing water flow and delivering the correct irrigation allocation to communities and individual farmers. In addition, ten trainings have been provided, including in technical measurement of water allocation and saving technologies, conflict resolution around water disputes and WUA management.

Inter-Church Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO), in partnership with Rural Development Fund, Mehr-Shavkat and TES Centre, is providing agricultural inputs and associated training to 750 farmers in Osh, Jalalabad and Batken. They are supporting locally appropriate agricultural activity innovation, such as small scale egg production units, livestock fattening, green-houses and apple nursery and propagation. To support these activities and to enhance sustainability after the project life time, all farmers are organised into farmer or self-help groups and are also provided

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technical advice on accessing financial credit. ICCO is also working with Bio-Service in Jalalabad to support value-adding agro-economy, and has established 2 processing centres (bakery and calibrating and packaging facilities) in Jalalabad and will source from approximately 900 farmers.

Danish Refugee Council has provided 20 cash-grants to businesses in Osh and Jalalabad affected by the June 2010 violence, as well as additional cash grants to 3 business associations in Osh, Jalalabad and Batken. These businesses include sewing shops, bakeries, photo studies, car repair shops and hair dressers. Additionally, ACTED is providing in-kind support to entrepreneurs in 40 communities throughout South Kyrgyzstan and attempting, where possible, to directly or indirectly complement other economic or social infrastructure projects in those target communities.

ACTED and Save the Children will, by the end of 2012, complete 90 infrastructure projects across Osh, Jalalabad and Batken. These projects were indentified with the assistance of Initiative Groups in these communities, which, as a result, reflect many of the priorities outlined in this report. Irrigation and drinking water projects are most prevalent, though electrical, educational and medical projects, and others with similarly significant social impact, have been implemented.

All of these initiatives are having direct impacts on the communities in which they are taking place, and some are directly addressing open tensions and disputes. However this is long-term work, and such initiatives need to be sustained and scaled-up to have lasting and substantial influence on peace and stability in the region.

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References

Camm, George. “Tajikistan Tops Remittance-Dependency Ranking.” Eurasianet 6 December 2011. Web. 18 November 2012.

Central Intelligence Agency. World Fact Book. Web. 23 November 2012.

Igoe, Michael. "Kyrgyzstan: Bathing in the Neighbors’ Drinking Water." Eurasianet 2 July 2012. Web. 5 August 2012.

International Crisis Group. "Central Asia: Decay and Decline." Asia Report No. 201. (2011). Web. 20 August 2012.

Kyrgyz Republic. National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. Population and Housing Census 2009. Bishkek. (2010). Web. 20 November 2012.

Lim, Michelle. "Laws, Institutions and Transboundary Pasture Management in the High Pamir and Pamir-Alai Mountain Ecosystem of Central Asia." Law, Environment and Development Journal. 8/1. (2012). Web. 3 August 2012.

Mertaugh, Michael. "Education in Central Asia, With Particular Reference to the Kyrgyz Republic."Challenge of Education in Central Asia. (2004). Web. 4 August 2012.

Mogilevsky, Roman. "Public Expenditures on Education and Health in the Kyrgyz Republic before and during the Global Financial Crisis." CASE Network Reports. (2011). Web. 1 August 2012.

Moldobaeva, Bermet. "External and Internal Migration Processes in Kyrgyzstan: What Are The Last Year Trends?" American University of Central Asia. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. 7 February 2007. Lecture.

Ranjbar, Azita. Eurasia Foundation. The Declining Use of Aksakal Courts in Kyrgyzstan. (2012). Web. 6 August 2012.

REACH Online Mapping Platform for Kyrgyzstan. IMPACT Initiatives, (2011). Web. 6 August 2012.

Regallet, Gabriel. United Nations Development Program. Communal Services in Kyrgyzstan: A Poverty and Social Impact Assessment. (2011). Web. 3 August 2012.

Saferworld. "Looking back to look forward." (2011). Web. 18 November 2012.

Sehring, Jenniver. "Water User Associations (WUAs) in Kyrgyzstan: A Case Study on Institutional Reform in Local Irrigation Management."Discussion Paper. Zentrum für internationale Entwicklungs und Umweltforschung der Justus Liebig Universität Gießen. (2005). Web. 3 August 2012.

ur-Rahim, Inam, and Daniel Maselli. "Participatory Pasture Management Project." Baseline Study (2008). Web. 3 August 2012.

Wardle, Chris. Building the Capacity of Village Communities to Manage the Provision of Clean Drinking Water: Lessons from Kyrgyzstan. (2010). Web. 18 November 2012.

World Bank. Lending interest rate (%). Web. 18 November 2012.

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Contacts TASK Alliance

Osh Office:23 Lomonosova str. Osh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic

Bishkek Office:402 Frunze StreetBishkek 720033, Kyrgyz Republicwww.danchurchaid.org

Osh Office:House #1, Street 10, Q215aOsh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic

Bishkek Office:111 Mederova StreetBishkek 720031, Kyrgyz Republicwww.acted.org

Osh Office: 23 Lomonosova str. Osh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic

Bishkek Office:107/502 Kievskaya str. Bishkek 720001, Kyrgyz Republicwww.international-alert.org

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http://www.acted.org/

http://www.danchurchaid.org/


Osh Office: 22 Michurina str. Osh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic

Bishkek Office: 107 Kievskaya str. 4th floor, room 408Bishkek 720001, Kyrgyz Republicwww.drc.dk

Osh Office:9G Mamyrov StreetOsh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic

Bishkek Office: 111 Mederova str. Bishkek 720031, Kyrgyz Republic www.savethechildren.net

Osh Office: 23 Lomonosova str. Osh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic

Bishkek Office: 65, 7 Liniya str. Bishkek 720044, Kyrgyz Republicwww.helvetas.kg

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http://www.helvetas.kg/

http://www.savethechildren.net/

http://www.drc.dk/


Local implementing partners of the Programme

14-B Jamashov StreetJalal-Abad 720906, Kyrgyz Republic+996 3722 55279www.organicfarming.kg

23 Toshmatova StreetAravan 723100, Kyrgyz Republic+996 3231 50800

102/104 Toktogul StreetBishkek 720040, Kyrgyz Republic+996 312 976100www.rdf.in.kg

33-E Petrova StreetOsh 723000, Kyrgyz Republic+996 3222 54226www.tes-center.org

27/36 Umetalieva StreetBishkek 720010, Kyrgyz Republic

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http://www.tes-center.org/

http://www.rdf.in.kg/

http://www.organicfarming.kg/


+996 312 910757www.fti.org.kg

25 Orozbekov StreetBishkek 720040, Kyrgyz Republic+996 312 900324www.coalition.kg

305/13 Lenin StreetOsh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic+996 3222 73553www.dcca.dk

21 Michurina StreetOsh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic+996 3222 25796

335/11 Lenina StreetOsh 723500, Kyrgyz Republic+996 3222 22952

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http://www.dcca.dk/

http://www.coalition.kg/

http://www.fti.org.kg/


www.interbilim.org.kg

The Action is funded by the European Union

The European Union is made up of 27 Members States who have decided to gradually link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, during a period of enlargement of 60 years, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders.

Delegation of the European Union to the Kyrgyz Republic21 Erkindik Boulevard (5th floor)720040, Bishkek, Kyrgyz RepublicTelephone: +996 312 261001Fax: +996 12 261007Email: [email protected]: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/kyrgyzstan

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http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/kyrgyzstan


http://www.interbilim.org.kg/

task - perceptions of peace and stability in south of kyrgyzstan - final draft

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