Irrigation Governance in Developing Countries: Current Problems and Solutions

Abstract

The evolution of water governance and societal perception in large, public irrigation systems in developing countries has triggered successive waves of reforms since the 1980s. Among them are Participatory Irrigation Management, Irrigation Management Transfer, Public-Private Partnerships or Market Instruments. Reforms have generalized the implementation of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in continuous interaction with a public Irrigation Agency. This paper set out to review recurrent problems and reported solutions in the governance of irrigated areas in developing countries and to relate solutions to problems in a case study context. The combination of literature review and the experience of the authors permitted identification and characterization of eight problems and eight solutions. A semi-quantitative approach was designed to relate solutions to problems in case study WUAs. The approach is based on the definition of a generic problem-solution matrix and a WUA-specific problem vector. The solution vector indicates the adequacy of each solution to a case study WUA. It can be obtained by multiplying the problem vector with the problem-solution matrix. Application of this approach to seven case study WUAs demonstrated its potential. Local fine-tuning of the coefficients defining the problem-solution matrix seems required to draw conclusions effectively guiding decision-making.

Developing Irrigation Management at District Scale Based on Water Monitoring: Study on Lis Valley, Portugal

“…WUA's position of arbitration and regulation is fundamental to guarding and moderating the possible focus of conflict between users. This example meets many cases in which participatory irrigation district management has shown good results [1,50,51]. In reinforcing the importance of this issue, Ricart et al [52] present a study that analyzes how to improve irrigation water governance, bearing in mind the balances that must be involved.…”

“…The supply on the 15th, 16th, and 29th decades is explained by the time-step analysis of 10 days, and also by the delay on the inlet gates close up ( Figure 5). (1) Leiria data [31], in decades (counts from the beginning of the year); ET 0 , reference evapotranspiration; P, precipitation; K c , crop coefficient per Sectors: C1A, C1B, C2A, C2B, C4, C5, C7. The TIA values of the 2018 irrigation season per sector varied between 6470 m 3 /ha and 9220 m 3 /ha (C1A and C2A, respectively), with an average of 7400 m 3 /ha.…”

“…In this context of irrigation water reuse, controlling its physicochemical and microbiological quality is of utmost importance to prevent and control the health safety of farmers, food and consumer safety, as well as soil salinization. Under such conditions, these systems require a highly interactive management approach between the water users association and the farmer-beneficiaries themselves [1]. The rational management of collective irrigation should be based on an information system, with data from field monitoring, that provides key knowledge such as irrigation water volumes demanded and supplied, energy consumed on irrigation and drainage, costs of maintaining and conserving infrastructure, cultivated crops, and applied irrigation systems.…”

Evaluating the Effect of Farmers’ Participation in Irrigation Management on Farm Productivity and Profitability in the Mubuku Irrigation Scheme, Uganda

“…The widely varying implementation strategies makes the evaluation difficult. Furthermore, the paucity of data limits the ability to draw generalized lessons about the impacts, while well-demonstrated benefits of PIM is of paramount importance to convince reluctant farmers to take additional roles [21]. This is particularly the case in smallholder schemes of developing countries, where farmers are poorly resourced and their access to relevant information is cumbersome [22][23][24].…”

Success Factors of Irrigation Projects Based on A "Public–Private Partnership" Model in A Mountainous Area: A Case Study in the Nujiang River Valley, China

“…Though their initial investments are normally high, irrigation infrastructures can favor a large number of users at low cost. Public goods are commonly provided by governments; however, the quantity and quality are often limited due to insufficient funds and limited efficiency [4]. A public-private partnership (PPP) model is an institutional innovation, and acts to address those issues.…”