Addressing Irrigation Governance Challenges in the 21st Century

1. Innovative Research Issues Addressing Policies, Institutions and Governance Challenges of Irrigation in Twenty-First Century Ganesh P Shivakoti, PhD Professor of Agricultural and Natural Resources Asian Institute of Technology Thailand

2. Presentation outline • Introduction • Emergence of methodological approaches for policy feedback • Linking policy with local context • An Agenda for Policy Research and Initiative in Responding Challenges

3. Introduction • Major changes in irrigation policies over the periods • Participatory planning and decision making about irrigation investments • Management transfer programs • New approaches toward assistance to farmer-managed irrigation systems, and • Joint financing of irrigation systems

4. Introduction….. • Over last few decades—focus on improving institutional framework • However, not sufficient for developing effective institutions—needs understanding of dynamic of institutional development • Increased water scarcity and quality concerns have generated new approaches to water management and reform • responding to competition for water between agriculture and other sectors • degradation of water quality and water reclamation • climate change and global warming

5. Introduction….. • Trans-basin and trans-boundary water transfers • Lack of appropriate institutions (River basin committees) • Property rights and water rights • Resistance against dam construction • Rapid economic development and changes in political and social setting has posed a new setting to irrigation management • Economic development has changed farmers’ cost-benefit calculus of irrigation management

6. Introduction….. • At the beginning of the twenty first century, additional water related issues are emerging: • Coping mechanisms with the state’s retreat policy, alternative modes of governance and management at irrigation system levels • Multifunctional WUAs • Alternative O&M Mechanisms • Farmers-to-farmers training approach • Policy feed-back through innovative methodological approaches

7. Emergence of methodological approaches for policy feedback • Earlier papers mostly focused on use and efficiency of water resource • In recent decades, irrigation management reform and impact of interventions have been matter of concern • Some emerging methodological approaches: • Dynamics study with cross-sectional data • Integration of hydrological boundary with political boundary • Analyzing effect of intervention overtime • Livelihood asset pentagon: Analytical framework for irrigation system performance assessment • Rules and collective actions for improving irrigation governance

8. Methodological approaches….. Dynamics study with cross sectional data • Study about the dynamic aspects of evolution of irrigation policy and institutions using cross-sectional data • Scholars from The University of Hong Kong and Asian Institute of Technology have devised an approach trying to capture dynamism of irrigation management with changes in macro level political, economic and social settings in country • “Asian Irrigation Institutions and Systems (AIIS) Dynamics study and Database Management”project • Compares cases of three countries; Nepal, Thailand and Taiwan

9. Taiwan Differences in management considering stages of growth as proxy for time Thailand Time Variable (proxy) Nepal Stages of economic development Framework to capture dynamism with cross-sectional data Methodological approaches….. Dynamics study with cross sectional data…….

10. Methodological approaches….. Integration of hydrological boundary with political boundary • Conventional studies on irrigation management have focused either on hydrological boundary or on political boundaries as study units • As water resources follow natural boundaries (river basins, watersheds), the concentration on administrative boundary will not capture the characteristics of resource well • Similarly, the irrigation systems and water use in different ecological regions vary significantly • The integration of the hydrological boundary with political boundary allows us to capture both the characteristics of water resources and human/management factors

11. Methodological approaches….. Integration of hydrological boundary with political boundary…. • In our ongoing study we have tried to integrate hydrological boundary (river basins) with administrative/political boundary (regions) and ecological boundary • The approach divides country into comparable regions considering major river basins and ecological regions which is covered from all the administrative regions

12. Sampling strategy of the study • At broader level, covered major river basins; representing different ecological regions (hills and plains) as well. • At system level, representing both farmer managed irrigation systems (FMIS) and agency managed irrigation systems (AMIS) from both ecological regions, wherever applicable. • Three criteria have been adopted for selecting irrigation systems: • Ecological region • Economic characteristics • Management structure

13. Major river basins of Nepal

14. Sampled regions with number of systems in Nepal

15. Major river basins of Thailand

16. Sampled regions with number of systems in Thailand

17. Earlier analytical frameworks tried on institutional decomposition and analyzing institution-performance interaction, however, did not measure the exogenous influencing factor explicitly • We try to develop a theory of institutional change that could describe and explain why and how institutions evolve in different settingsand how they affect performance of irrigation system • We have developed two separate analytical framework for assessing institutional change and performance of irrigation systems Institutional change and dynamics: Theoretical framework of the analysis

18. Causes Unobserved Construct Indicators Exogenous change agents: Political stability, state of economic development, State policies, accessibility and commercialization Adoption of set of new rules Physical attributes: type of system & degree of water scarcity Change in common understanding Institutional Change Institutional and social attributes: design of institutions and occupation Resistance to change Governance regime: Legal recognition of WUA, degree of autonomy Analytical Framework for Assessing Institutional Change

19. Political stability, State policies Institutional context: design of institutions and autonomy Physical condition Economic Pressure: State of economic development, accessibility and commercialization Water delivery Performance Local irrigation institutions Physical attributes: type of system & degree of water scarcity Agricultural productivity Social context: Occupational status of the community Analytical Framework for Assessing Performance

20. Empirical analytical approaches and proposed models Assessing institutional change • Institutional change is the outcome of series of choices of rules made by a group of individuals • Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause (MIMIC) model • We include three observable indicators of institutional change; and four groups of causal factors in our analysis using MIMIC model

21. Definition of indicators and causal factors of institutional change

22. Definition of explanatory variables for different dimensions of performance

23. Analytical approaches… Assessing the performance of irrigation systems • Confirmatory factor analysis • Multiple regression model • Dimensions of Performance = α + β1 (MODE) + β2 (HEAD) + β3 (LINING) +β4 (TERRAIN) + β5 (LENGTH) + β6 (SAREA) + β7 (NOAPP) + β8 (FARMING) + β9 (ACCESS) + ε • Separate models for three dimensions of performance ; • physical condition, • water delivery, and • agricultural productivity

24. Methodological approaches….. Analyzing effect of intervention overtime • Studies on water resource management focused on assessing direct effect of interventions which were aimed at improving resource characteristics and also facilitating the provision mechanisms • Comparing direct effect of any intervention immediately before and after intervention with some basic indicators like change in participation, resource mobilization, crop productivity and cropping intensity at head and tail end of the system is easy • only few studies have adopted such approaches that can examine interactive effect in the long-run

25. Methodological approaches….. Analyzing effect of intervention overtime….. • Analysis of the interactive effect of intervention on agricultural productivity and irrigation management in long-term • Long-term effect of WECS/IIMI intervention on 19 irrigation systems of Indrawati watershed in Nepal; using three time slice data for analysis: before intervention, and two periods after intervention • Analysis of the dynamism in resource use pattern by examining the changes in the institutional arrangements within a Socio-Ecological Systems • Dynamism and robustness of two irrigation systems in northern Thailand in the context of changing governance mechanisms and evolution of technological and market forces using data of three time periods: before intervention; initial operation; and long-term.

26. Methodological approaches….. Livelihood asset pentagon: Analytical framework for performance assessment • Conventional studies assessed irrigation system performance considering factors endogenous to irrigation system, and overlooked several livelihood aspects to which irrigation is closely tied • A framework of analysis was developed with identification of grossly overlooked but crucial livelihood factors that influence the performance of irrigation systems (Nepal study) • Five fundamental livelihood assets; human capital, natural capital, physical capital, financial capital and social capital were considered in the study. • Subsequent the analysis identified most significant livelihood variables which can be used to assess the overall performance of irrigation systems reliably and comprehensibly

27. Rules and collective actions for improving irrigation governance Analyzing the case of irrigation systems in Nepal we make an attempt to addresses following issues: • How do rule configuration vary across irrigation systems that are subject to various governance modes, • Are rule configurations influenced by diversity in biophysical characteristics of the irrigation system and community attributes, and • How do rule enforcement mechanisms affect performance and collective action regarding irrigation performance?

28. Analytical Framework

29. Using ADICO Syntax Used grammar of institutions, ADICO Syntax, to analyze rule configuration (Crawford and Ostrom 1995; Ostrom 2005):

30. Using ADICO Syntax…… Rules include all five components (ADICO) norms with four components (ADIC), and shared strategies have only three components (AIC) ADICO syntax provides a basis for coding institutional statements and analyze the evolution of institutional statements

31. FMIS: Farmer-managed irrigation system AMIS: Agency-managed irrigation system Study area and sample irrigation systems in Nepal

32. Main features of samples systems Majority of the sampled irrigation systems in Nepal: run-off-the-river type Many systems rely on temporary intake and conveyance structure

33. Main features….. And exist in difficult terrain and diverse topography

34. Main features….. Most of the systems were very old (average 50 yrs to more than 200 yrs old) in case of Nepal. In Nepal, FMIS smaller (~200-500 ha) than AMIS (800 – 10000 ha); overall average around 500 ha Conflicts in water use among the farmers

35. Salient feature of irrigation policies

36. Existence of different rules

37. Rule configuration: ADICO Syntax Process of rule configuration In the beginning no rule situation Start with ‘Informal shared strategy’ – ‘AIC’ part of syntax Then add some component that permit/oblige/forbid certain actions making it ‘Norms’ – ‘ADIC’ part of syntax Finally farmer also add consequences for not following agreed norms making it formal ‘Rules’ – having all part of ADICO syntax

38. Rule configuration: role of autonomy Degree of autonomy of WUA is important in devising the rules High degree of autonomy in case of FMIS

39. Rule enforcement and collective action Monitoring and sanctioning arrangements in FMIS and AMIS (In Percentage)

40. Rule enforcement and collective action… Level of rule following among users in FMIS and AMIS (In Percentage) High level of collective action in FMIS as rules are mostly devised by users themselves considering condition of irrigation systems and ideas of the community

41. Rule enforcement and performance of irrigation systems FMIS>> Highly autonomous>>>MSI and Rule Following high>>> Better performance

42. High degree of autonomy in FMIS resulted into effective rule enforcement mechanisms and rule following thus high level of collective action: better performance ADICO Syntax very useful, however, it can be refined to capture the enforcement mechanisms Rules devised, based on the particular bio-physical condition of the area considering the ideas and understandings of the local community, can result in improved collective action and performance

43. Linking policy with local context • Governance change and coping mechanisms: Local multifunctional cooperatives • Farmers-to-farmer peer training approach • O&M mechanisms: Changed participation, targeted credit, and benefit sharing • Crops/drops of water---Agricultural research and irrigation

44. Linking policy with local context…. Governance change and coping mechanisms: Local multifunctional cooperatives • Important to examine what kinds of organizational changes may be needed to support IMT and to ensure sustainable productivity of irrigation systems • The issue of multi-functionality of WUAs is getting attention • Multifunctional WUA would be most appropriate organizations for small farmers to coexist with free market forces • In many countries WUAs are working as multifunctional cooperatives

45. Linking policy with local context…. Farmers-to-farmer peer training approach • Intervention project to assist 19 farmer-managed irrigation systems of Indrawati watershed in Nepal during 1985 by WECS/IIMI • Later realizing the need of training to the farmers of some systems intervened; an innovative training approach, farmers-to-farmers training approach was designed by WECS/IIMI • This approach aimed at stimulating transfer of experience from farmers in well-managed systems to those in poorly managed systems through site visits, informal exchanges, and guided discussions

46. Linking policy with local context…. O&M mechanisms: Changed participation, targeted credit, and benefit sharing • Participation as well as resource contribution from its users is most crucial for operation and maintenance of irrigation systems • In changing context both users’ participation and resource mobilization criteria are changing • Efforts to increase user participation have been spurred by poor performance but greater participation by farmers through water users associations has helped overcome those

47. Linking policy with local context…. O&M mechanisms: Changed participation, targeted credit, and benefit sharing…….. • Financing through targeted credit are reported from different countries • Benefit sharing is another important aspect of sustainable O&M, which ensures increased participation of users • Benefit sharing mechanism plays most significant rolein case of transboundary river basin management

48. Linking policy with local context…. Crops/drops of water---Agricultural research and irrigation • To meet the scarcity and competing use of water in different sectors; it is necessary to focus on productivity of irrigation water • ‘More crop per drop’, mission statement of International Water Management Institute, captures this principle • Researches on agricultural aspect and use of water for irrigation have developed different technologies for increasing water use efficiency

49. Linking policy with local context…. Crops/drops of water---Agricultural research and irrigation… • International Program for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID), FAO has been working for advancement of irrigation and drainage technologies in developing countries • Israel has been the pioneer in developing policies to meet the growing demand for water

50. An Agenda for Effective Irrigation Policy Interventions 1. Responding to competition for resources (water scarcity) • Transfer of water for multi-functions and irrigated land from agriculture to other uses (municipal) and its impact on agriculture • Watershed depletion, water-quality degradation and water reclamation • Property rights: water, land, infrastructure (including the planning, information and administrative requirements of these) • Linking downstream and catchment stakeholders in watersheds and effective management of water resources (including information and communication requirements)