Water User Groups Research Articles

Participatory irrigation management, social capital, and efficiency in rice production. Understanding the linkage in the case of irrigated rice farms in Northern Thailand

Enforcement of rules to increase farmers' involvement in participatory irrigation management (PIM) has been ineffective given the non-exclusivity nature of surface irrigation. In this study, we investigated the interrelationship of the social capital's role in higher participation in PIM and the effects towards farmers' efficiency using the case of rice farmers in Northern Thailand. We found that higher intention to participate in PIM collective activities is largely driven by the water user's social capital endowments. Farmers' efficiency level is positively associated with PIM participation and the condition of the collective irrigation management. Our findings suggest the importance of complementing current government efforts with policy interventions focusing on strengthening water user groups' social capital, such as improving group cohesion and their capacity for networking in compensating for various impediments faced by farmers.

Placing civil society in water security governance: challenges and opportunities for engagement

ABSTRACT Achieving water security requires action at all levels of governance, and cooperation among state and non-state actors, including civil society. However, in many places, participatory arrangements to enable cooperation, such as river basin committees or water user groups, have not been created, due to resource constraints or scepticism regarding their effectiveness. Here, we develop a typology of five key ‘governance actions’ that non-state actors may undertake to address environmental problems. We apply this typology to empirical findings from a water scarcity situation in Johor, Malaysia, where subnational civil society actors undertook a range of responses. The analysis reveals that, despite the absence of formal engagement mechanisms, civil society positively contributed to the governance of water security through ‘defining issues’, ‘creating and sharing knowledge’ and ‘taking independent action’ that could potentially inform wider practice, but faced challenges in ‘monitoring and evaluating’ or otherwise providing a critical perspective on impacts of water insecurity. The findings indicate possibilities for place-based and interest-based partnerships between government and civil society, and for supporting vertical relationships among civil society actors operating at different levels of governance. The study contributes to debates around power relations, knowledge sharing, and decision making across multilevel environmental governance.

The Impact of Climate change on Water Resources in Northern Sri Lanka: Stakeholder Perspectives

Climate change is a global phenomenon affecting the entire planet, including Sri Lanka. The Northern Province of Sri Lanka is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, especially regarding water resources. Public awareness of climate change and its impact on water resources is crucial for sustainable water management practices in the study area. In this context, this study attempted to analyze public perception of the climate change impact on the water resources of Northern Sri Lanka. There are different groups of water users in the study area. They were stratified as agriculture water users, industrial water users, fishing water users and domestic and drinking water users. Accordingly, a questionnaire survey was conducted using a stratified sampling method to identify consumer perceptions, and the collected data were analyzed using the SPSS tool. 87% of the consumers believe that climate change has a significant impact on water resources, and 50% of the people expressed vulnerability of the agriculture sector to the climate change impact on water resources. Water scarcity during the yala season became a crucial threat to paddy cultivation in the study area. Other kind of water users such as industrial water users, fishing water users and drinking and domestic water users face difficulties in obtaining water resources for their needs during the SWMS and FIMS. Furthermore, drinking and domestic water users mentioned that they face water quality issues especially during July, August and September. During the southwest monsoon season, water users face difficulties in obtaining water for their domestic needs due to water scarcity. Majority of the water users know about climate change, but many of them don’t know how climate change affects their water sources. Water suppliers should implement special projects regarding climate change impacts on water resources in the study area. This will lead the water users to use water efficiently and protect the water sources sustainably.

Research on the status of the irrigation and drainage network in Iran based on the viewpoint of water users and experts using SWOT analysis

AbstractIn many arid and semi‐arid regions, such as Iran, traditional irrigation systems consume a large proportion of surface water and groundwater resources. In the last few decades, due to the undesirable effects of climate change and continuous drought, many studies have been conducted on reducing threatening factors using the capacity of irrigation and drainage networks and participating water users in irrigation management. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the irrigation and drainage network of the Varamin Plain using the SWOT model that is an analytical model used based on the results of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the subject, considering the cooperative management of water users. In addition to conducting interviews, a questionnaire was used to collect data from two groups of network water users and experts. According to the results, the farmers and water users of the network are in a relatively good situation in terms of access to water, possibly due to the available three annual planting seasons (due to the existence of irrigation and the drainage network and the use of grey water, conditions for irrigation and crop cultivation are available in four seasons of the year). The most critical concerns of the water users were the lack of knowledge about the organization of water collectors, the inconsistency among governmental organizations and the insignificant action of the Agricultural Jihad Organization (a government ministry in Iran to advance agricultural goals and all related matters) in solving issues related to water rights. Failure to inform the users about the costs of creating network infrastructure, maintaining facilities and canals, not accepting water shortage conditions and the state of groundwater resources, consecutive cropping seasons throughout the year, cultivation of crops with high water demand, people with political and social influence obtaining excess water rights, and the lack of coordination among related governmental policies were the most critical concerns of the experts.

Gender and social inclusion in community water resource management: lessons from two districts in the Himalayan foothills and the Terai in Nepal

ABSTRACT Despite decades of concerted efforts to address the problem, Nepal’s rural water supply sector continues to be laced with gender and social exclusion. This study provides insights from community water-user groups in two geographically and socially diverse contexts to better understand, from a gender and social inclusion perspective, and through institutional bricolage, how some water-user groups adapt to local contexts, shaping varied group dynamics that are not always equitable. Findings reveal that policies promoting social inclusion are difficult to implement amid the complex web of social and economic factors associated with community-managed water supply systems.

The Context Relevance of ICT, Freshwater Management Activity and Sustainability Goal: A Proposed Encapsulated Conceptual Framework

This study proposes an Encapsulated Conceptual Framework (ECF) for understanding the links between Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), water resource management activities, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study aims to contribute to national, regional, and global debates on the potential of ICTs in achieving sustainability goals. A combination of two socio-technical theories - Relevance Theory (RT) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was adopted to inform the study. The literature review further informed the construction of the ECF. The framework testing involved sampling participants and collecting and analyzing the data. A sample of 251 (n = 251) individuals from formal and informal water user groups on the Tanzanian side of the Lake Victoria Basin participated in testing the framework. The study adopted the cross-sectional design to a mixed research approach. Furthermore, it used three quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques: Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and Questionnaire Administration (QA). Each FGDs session accommodated a group of participants with 9 – 12 members across the selected sites. KIIs targeted groups network leaders, water resource managers at various levels, and other individuals with potential information. Gathered dataset was cleaned, summarized, and analyzed using descriptive, correlation, and content analytical methods. The study capitalized on the strength of Tableau and R statistics to produce the visualizations that support the descriptive analysis of the data. Furthermore, the study used R and MS Excel software to establish the relationships among the variables. Results indicated the prominent use of mobile as ICTs for freshwater management activities. Furthermore, mobile-based tools such as SMS, voice call, image and video supported these activities to attain some indicators of SDGs related to water resource management. The study concludes that the framework contributes to understanding the contextual issues on ICT, freshwater management and SDGs.

Functionality of Rural Community Water Supply Systems and Collective Action: a Case of Guras Rural Municipality, Karnali Province

Ensuring the long-term functionality of community-managed rural water supply systems has been a persistent development challenge. It is well established that the technicalities of keeping the systems going are impacted by complex political, social, financial, and institutional challenges. While the shift to federal, three-tiered governance allocates concurrent responsibility for drinking water management to the local government with federal and provincial governments, water and sanitation user groups continue to shoulder the management of local supply systems voluntarily. All three levels have jurisdiction over water-related services resulting in confusion of roles. This study focuses on the local level, where community management of water and sanitation decentralisation is the key approach in this complex tangle of diverse institutions with different actors managing and governing water. User Groups and their Committees in the Guras Rural Municipality of Dailekh district, Karnali province, in West Nepal, provided the case study, which was analysed using Ostrom's well-recognised Eight Principles for Sustainable Governance of Common-Pool Resources. The community-based model, established formally through the Water Resource Act 1992 (2049 BS), is critically analysed in light of the changing socio- economic context through the intervening years. The results highlight the need for stronger collaboration between the rural municipality and users to achieve good water supplies and the risks of losing access and voice in water management for women and marginalised people when inactive user groups are replaced by private or group interests taking control of the water access.

Aggregation in bottom-up vulnerability assessments and equity implications: The case of Jordanian households’ water supply

Bottom-up methods for water resources modeling rely on acceptability thresholds to find, through a response surface, which deeply uncertain futures lead to system failure. They commonly treat water users as aggregate actors, which may preclude analysis of the equity impacts of interventions. This paper explores how aggregation choices for large groups of water users lead to different policy recommendations in response surface assessments. Two aggregation methods with varying parameters are considered: percentile satisfaction targets and generalized mean. A 2-dimensional stress-test assessment across groundwater availability and population is applied to household water supply in Jordan. The study compares six different policies covering supply enhancement and rebalancing, using a country-wide multi-agent model that characterizes households across socioeconomic strata. For different aggregation levels, policies are ordered by their associated robustness index. Results show that aggregation choices strongly determine policy preference. A focus on the most vulnerable households favors the equalization of access to water, in terms of regional allocation and weekly supply durations, as it substantially reduces robustness disparity. Combined policies with additional resources allow to withstand higher levels of stress under most aggregation choices. Preferences defined by aggregation intervals provide a finer understanding of trade-offs among water users and may improve deliberation over equity under deep uncertainty.

Banana Production Status and Its Role on Income Generation and Livelihood Improvement in Chitwan, Nepal

The demand of banana fruit is ever increasing and Nepal's Terai region has immense potential for this high value crop. Government has kept it at top most priority where it can be grown like Chitwan district. This study examined the banana production, problems of banana production and about the livelihood improvement of banana farmers in Chitwan district, Province No.3 of Nepal during the year of 2022. Tharu were the dominant ethnic group of these villages. The numbers of respondents selected for this study belong between 22-59 years old. The major occupation of these respondents was farming 91.4 percent and 8 percent were in other services. A survey was conducted from a representative sample size of 60 banana growers. The sample was selected by using simple random sampling technique. Banana producers of Chitwan district are taking good benefit from the banana fruit as income was higher than the cost. It was found that from 1 bigha farmers can have income of Rs 650000 with the cost of Rs 345000. It was found that among different sources of credit, people were mostly reliant on their own fund. People's participation in various social groups such as savings and credit group, farmers group, water user group, cooperatives and other social groups have increased over the time. To enhance more banana production quantity and quality major problems of farmers should be dealt with, which would help to increase their earning resulting in higher living standard day by day and that way we can encourage more production.
 Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 10(2): 93-98.

Governance drivers of rural water sustainability: Collaboration in frontline service delivery

This paper contributes to a long-standing debate in development practice: under what conditions can externally established participatory groups engage in the collective management of services beyond the life of a project? Using 10 years of panel data on water point functionality from Indonesia’s rural water program, the Program for Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation, the paper explored the determinants of subnational variation in infrastructure sustainability. It then investigated positive and negative deviance cases to answer why some communities successfully engaged in system management despite being located in difficult conditions as per quantitative findings and vice versa. The findings show that differences in the implementation of community participation, driven by local social relations between frontline service providers, that is, village authorities and water user groups, explain sustainable management. This initial condition of state-society relations influences how the project is initiated, kicking off negative or positive reinforcing pathways, leading to community collective action or exit. The paper concludes that the relationships between frontline government representatives and community actors are important and are an underexamined aspect of the ability of external projects to generate successful community-led management of public goods.

Flower growing firms’ contribution to community water use management in Naivasha Sub County, Kenya

Water is a life necessity and is central to various social, economic and environmental aspects such as sanitation, health, economic growth, species protection, food etc. Companies require water for their production activities and can only thrive where the social, environmental and economic dimensions are well facilitated. Healthy and vibrant communities and environments cannot exist if water management is neglected. In a period of growing environmental concerns, collaborating and working collectively among entities in public sector, private sector and community based organizations to solve environmental problems seems more viable than ever. Naivasha area portrays an interesting case consisting of different formal and informal institutions as it has a long history of formal regulations as well as of self-organized water user groups all aimed at addressing sustainability in the use of water resources. With the observed lax on the authorities end in regulating the utilization of water resources among the diverse users, this study attempted to draw out the role played by flower growing firms in conjunction with the resident communities by examining how their activities affect the water resources available and the counter measures put in place to ensure availability of the resource for both mentioned stakeholders. The study was conducted among four wards in Naivasha Sub-County with the target population and subsequent sample size encompassing both flower growing firms and the residents inhabiting the selected areas. Majority of the residents interviewed confirmed having access to piped water. It was noted that the flower farms relied more on Lake Naivasha and ground water sources in the form of boreholes for their water requirements and made use of constructed wetlands for wastewater disposal and treatment to a larger extent. Waste water disposal systems were however not well developed among the resident communities with unrestricted disposal noted, leading to contamination of the surroundings. Whilst the local authorities confirmed efforts made by the flower growing firms in waste water disposal were efficient, their contribution to local water management efforts was noted to be low with their initiatives barely recognized by the surrounding communities. The study recommended use of low cost techniques among the resident communities in waste water disposal and uptake of well-designed corporate social responsibility codes and standards by the flower growing firms to manage water abstraction while assisting the surrounding communities in their water use management efforts.

Design of Clean Water Piping in Cibeureum, Cimahi, West Java

Piping planning needs to be done to simplify the water distribution process. Starting from the inlet to the oulet. The piping design process is carried out according to field conditions. The implementation is carried out in areas in the area of ​​KP2A (Water User and User Groups), RW 14, Cibeurum Village, South Cimahi. The existing condition is that there are 2 water source pipes (1.8 liters / second) from artesian directly to Toren without any filtering process, there is a water reservoir measuring 1.6m x 2m x 2.2m x 3 tubs. This water capacity to distribute 180 families. The planning of the piping starts from the pipe coming out of the water source, entering the toren, until the backwash dirty water disposal pipe is discharged out, as well as adjusting to the dimensions of the existing water tank. The existing water tanks remain and are not damaged. Some of the important components needed in this installation include 4 toren, PVC pipe, watermur, valve, reducer, elbow, all of which are located around the site. The piping installation on 4 toren with the same water source is the installation mechanism of the toren inlet pipe, toren backwash oulet pipe and toren backwash inlet pipe, so that when the backwash process occurs, replacement of filter media, and repair of toren, it will not affect the another toren.The advantage of this piping design is that the cleaning process on one toren can be done without disturbing the other toren. Also during the cleaning / maintenance process on one toren it can be done without disturbing the other toren.

Inequality and transaction costs in a community-based water supply in rural area adjacent to national park

National parks can be sensitive state-property areas since the surrounding communities generally need the parks' resources for their livelihood. This paper focuses on inequality and transaction costs in PAMSIMAS (Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation), a water sector program in Indonesia’s rural and peri-urban areas. The method used is a case study of PAMSIMAS in Tajuk, a village adjacent to Mount Merbabu National Park in Semarang Regency, Central Java. The data were gathered from documentary studies, in-depth interviews, and observations, and were analyzed using transaction cost economics and institutional analysis. This study found that the rules of PAMSIMAS, especially water pricing mechanisms, enhanced water availability but could not diminish the uncertainty of water access and transaction costs born by water users. Inequalities of endowment, power, and information among the hamlets affected how PAMSIMAS was run. Mobilization of water resources is related to property rights, which should be well-defined. Still, there was an overlapping property institution of Mount Merbabu National Park forest and its water resources; thus, the water user groups had to bear different transaction costs. The study provides suggestions for providing broader 'rules of the game' in rural water management, recognizing local conditions and prospects, acknowledging community rights to resources, and developing inclusive community participation.JEL Classification D23; P48; Q15

Testing an open app-based water management information system and its uptake among stakeholders in the Upper-Comoé river basin (Burkina Faso)

ABSTRACT Managing sustainably natural resources in an increasingly populated world is challenging, even more so when information asymmetries and conflicting interests exacerbate tensions among stakeholders. We used a principal–agent framework to analyse these dilemmas while testing the development of an open-source information platform for water users in the Upper-Comoé river basin (Burkina Faso). Information on water retrieval and delivery was shared through schematic maps in a WhatsApp water user group. By reducing information asymmetries, the system enhanced water delivery and distribution, and attenuated water-related conflicts. The study suggests that an open-source, low-cost application can enhance information access and sharing, reducing common principal–agent problems.

Integrated Water Resources Management – the Way to Improve the Water Situation in the Republic of Crimea

The expediency of implementing the principles of integrated water resources management in the Republic of Crimea is substantiated and proposals for their implementation are developed based on the analysis of world experience in organizing the water resources management process. The introduction of integrated water resources management in the Republic of Crimea will significantly improve the current water management situation: it will improve the environmental condition of water bodies; it will allow us to assess the volume of water resources that can be further involved in production; reduce the imbalance of interests of different groups of water users.

Transformative Engagements with Gender Relations in Agriculture and Water Governance

Despite frequent calls for transformative approaches for engaging in agrarian change and water governance, we observe little change in everyday development and research praxis. Empirical studies on transformative engagements with gender relations among smallscale or tenant farmers and water user groups are particularly rare. We explore transformative engagements through an approach based on critical pedagogy (Freire, 1996) and transformative practice (Leder, 2018). We examine opportunities to promote empathy and critical consciousness on gender norms, roles and relations in agriculture and resource management. We developed and piloted an innovative “Participatory Gender Training for Community Groups” as part of two internationally funded water security projects. The training consists of three activities and three discussions to reflect on gender roles in families, communities and agriculture, to discuss the gendered division of labour and changing gender relations over time and space, and to create empathy and resolve conflicts through a bargaining role play with switched genders. The approach was implemented in twelve villages across four districts in Nepal and India (Bihar, West Bengal). Our results show how the training methods can provide an open space to discuss local gender roles within households, agriculture and natural resource management. Discussing own gender norms promotes critical consciousness that gender norms are socially constructed and change with age, class, caste and material and structural constraints such as limited access to water and land. The activities stimulated enthusiasm and inspiration to reflect on possible change towards more equal labor division and empathy towards those with weaker bargaining power. Facilitators have the most important role in transformative engagements and need to be trained to reinterpret training principles in local contexts, and to apply facilitation skills to focus on transforming rather than reproducing gender norms. We argue that the gender training methods can initiate transformative practice with the gender-water-agriculture nexus by raising critical consciousness of farmers, community mobilisers, and project staff on possibilities of social change “in situ”.

Evaluation of Water Saving Potential for Short-Term Water Demand Management

Water shortage has become more frequent with occurrence of severe and frequent droughts and increasing water demand due to many factors, e.g., population growth and socio-economic development. Adaptive water management plans, including both supply-side and demand-side measures, provide water supply utilities guidance during water shortage situations. Among those measures, short-term demand management, e.g., water restrictions for outdoor water use, has gained increasing popularity in reducing water consumption. One key to successful implementation of short-term demand management is to evaluate water saving potential from different water user groups. Evaluation results could facilitate developing effective public messages tailored for different groups of water users. In this study, single-family water consumption in the Tampa Bay Area, located at the west coast Florida in the United States, is analyzed. Different factors including precipitation, temperature, household income and water restrictions are examined through multiple linear regression. Water use data were segregated into five sub-groups based on median household income gathered at census block group level. Analyses using aggregated data reveal potential saving from water shortage based 2-day watering per week to 1-day watering per week is very limited (< 1%), although striking differences between potable water use in distinct socio-economic groups of water users is observed. Analyses based on segregated data found that saving potential for subgroups of water uses with high household income is larger. This result provides important information for water demand managers, considering development of tailored messages for distinct groups of water users to reduce water consumption during shortages. Application of results findings in designing and implementing a water shortage mitigation plan is discussed.

Caught in the middle? Access to water in the rural to urban transformation of Bushenyi-Ishaka municipality, Uganda

AbstractThis paper aims to contribute to the relatively few empirical studies done on how processes of urbanization affect water supply in smaller towns by providing an in-depth case study of Bushenyi-Ishaka municipality in Uganda. The paper shows how changes in water service provision as a result of the rural to urban transformation of the area differently affect various groups of water users in their access to water. Based on this research, the authors question the process of categorization and labelling in public service delivery, especially rigidly distinguishing between urban and rural water infrastructures and management models, as it often (re)produces binaries and potentially creates structural inequities. Building further on literature focusing on understanding and dealing with complexity, the paper calls for more empirical research to document everyday practices of providing and accessing water in changing environments in the hope to ultimately inform more effective policy interventions that aim for equity in water distributions.

Farmer-Led Irrigation and its Impacts on Smallholder Farmers' Crop Income: Evidence from Southern Tanzania.

Irrigation projects in sub-Saharan Africa are mostly unsustainable because of lack of maintenance by their users or government planners. By contrast, evidence shows that the smallholder farmers are developing and expanding the irrigated land, using their initiatives. Farmer-led irrigation, a revolutionary agricultural intensification approach, is already in progress with the magnitude to significantly transform the living standards of smallholder farmers. However, a rigorous assessment of its impact on household welfare to ascertain this is lacking. This paper bridges this gap by assessing factors influencing the adoption of this particular approach as well as its effects on the farmers’ per capita net crop income. Our data set consists of 608 smallholder farmers in Southern Tanzania and used propensity score matching to estimate the effects of adoption on the per capita net crop income. Our results indicate that the uptake of farmer-led irrigation practices is influenced by drought experience, water user group membership, farmer organization membership, and government extension, as well as the sex of the household head. Further, there was a positive and significant effect on the adopters’ per capita net crop income, thus encouraging the need to promote farmer-led irrigation as a complement to externally promoted innovations in achieving sustainable food security. This study, therefore, recommends that the government should support the farmers’ initiative by improving roads, removing market barriers, and helping farmers who have not yet taken up the initiative. Also, the government should enact regulations to make sure farmer-led irrigation initiatives do not harm the eco-environment such as protecting domestic water users. Finally, the government should leverage microservices to the farmers such as promoting affordable and appropriate credit facilities. It is necessary to continue pursuing this vein of research to gain information regarding the definite impact of the farmer-led irrigation on household welfare.

Hapa irrigation for promoting sustainable agricultural intensification: experience from Bankura district of India

This research examines the implications of rainwater harvesting structure hapa in the Bankura district of West Bengal, India. The paper finds that proper management and harvesting of surface and subsurface runoffs in hapas can facilitate groundwater recharge and increase both net irrigated area and moisture in soil leading to higher cropping intensity and yield in dryland areas. However, dissected plateau and residual hillocks can reduce irrigation efficiency of hapas. Although sprinkler or drip irrigation along with cultivation of drought and lateritic resilient, low moisture crop can help in coping up with geophysical and climatic vulnerability, appropriate crop diversification is also necessary. There is also a need for regular maintenance and desiltation of hapas. The water user groups should play an active role for this, especially for hapas in common land. Further, scientific guidance is necessary for designing appropriate structure of hapas in different geo-physical conditions.