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Water User Associations (WUAs)

Water User Associations (WUAs). Community Based Organizations Shared Interest of the Members: Well Performing Irrigation System Reliability of water provided Amount of water delivered Timely delivery of water. Members – Farmers Water – Income Level – Tertiary/Secondary.

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Water User Associations (WUAs)

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  1. Water User Associations (WUAs) • Community Based Organizations • Shared Interest of the Members: Well Performing Irrigation System • Reliability of water provided • Amount of water delivered • Timely delivery of water

  2. Members – FarmersWater – IncomeLevel – Tertiary/Secondary

  3. Advantages of WUAs Taking Over Tertiary/Secondary Level Irrigation Systems • Better Water Delivery Service: • Flexible allocation patterns • Monitoring of actual deliveries • Better System Maintenance: • Less damages • Prompter repairs • Lowering of costs: • Investment costs • Recurrent costs

  4. Effects on Social Capital • WUAs as an Expression of Common Interest of the Community: • Facilitate democratization and empowerment by providing an organized forum for the farmers to address their common concerns and interests • Increase the organizational density

  5. Are Effective WUAs Enough to Ensure the Systems’ Sustainability? • NO, Other Crucial Elements Are Needed: • Appropriate legal framework • Rational and efficient irrigation infrastructure systems • Existence of a regulatory authority, etc.

  6. Effective WUAs – Community and Individuals • Individual Interest is a Strong Incentive for Sustaining Cooperative Arrangements • Benefits Should Exceed or Should be Perceived by the Members as Exceeding the Associated Costs

  7. Information and Attitude • Attitude – Positive Cost-Benefit Balance – Cooperative Behavior • Role of the Leadership in Helping this Attitude to Emerge • Role of Information Activities (Working Groups, Focus on the Skeptics) • New Organization – Other Organizations that Have Successfully Promoted Cooperation in the Past

  8. Information Activities • Focus on the Skeptics • Field visits • Seminars

  9. Leadership • Opinion Leader – Respect – Accountability • Professional Staff – A Tool for Reducing Conflict and Overcome Problems • Representation – Dismissal of Leaders • A Catalyst whose Role Can Attract Critical Masses of Members if Needed; Ability to Solve Coordination Problems (Charisma can not be Replicated, but can be Improved when Trained…)

  10. The Group Size • The Group Size – Economies of Scale • The Group Size – Transaction Costs • The Group Size – Personal Incentives

  11. Personal Incentives and the Group Size • Possible Decrease of Expected Benefits from Cooperation • Reduces Observability and Capacity to Impose Penalties • Increased Anonymity (Deviations Become Negligible)

  12. Enforcing Community Rules • Credibility of Penalty is Critical • Highlight Anti-Social Behavior

  13. Effective WUAs • Existing Functioning Organizations • Internally Originated (Started Spontaneously) • When Externally Originated – Need for an Institutional Organizer to Act as a Catalyst • Adaptable and Flexible WUAs to the Local Reality

  14. Leadership • Charisma - training • Size • Local conditions – Build the trust • Personal Incentives • Focus on individuals

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