1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

Institutional dynamism and performance of irrigation systems: a comparative study between Nepal and Thailand

AuthorBastakoti, Ram Chandra
Call NumberAIT Diss. no.NR-10-08
Subject(s)Irrigation--Nepal
Irrigation--Thailand

NoteA dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resource Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
Series StatementDissertation ; no. NR-10-08
AbstractRapid economic development, political and social changes have posed major challenges for irrigation in Asia. Farmers have become less willing to cooperate on maintaining the irrigation systems. The investments in agriculture, relative to other sectors, have shrunk. Similarly, urbanization and associated land use changes have altered landscapes with impacts on irrigation infrastructure and livelihood options; many ‘rural’ households are no longer deriving all or even most of their incomes from farming. Similarly, the efforts by governments to intervene and improve the performance of irrigated agriculture are often been assessed as failures relative to investments and expectations. And at the same time the local institutional settings are considered crucial in better management of natural resources. In this context, this dissertation research compared irrigation management in Nepal and Thailand by examining how local irrigation institutions adapt to the changing economic and policy environment, and ultimately affect performance of the irrigation systems. Information was collected both at national policy level, and irrigation system level. The system level information is based on the extensive survey of 100 irrigation systems, 50 each from these two countries. Irrigation system level information was collected by administering structured checklist to the officials of water users‘ association in the selected irrigation systems. Both Nepal and Thailand have a large irrigation sector in which rules and policies for irrigation have changed amid economic and political changes. In both countries parts of the irrigation management have long histories of local management. Policy-making and investments in both countries have been influenced by international norms in development planning and reform, but economic differences have meant specific policies and outcomes have been quite different. In Nepal the national policy changes have led to huge expansion in irrigation, but mixed impacts on system performance. The irrigation management transfer (IMT) in general has resulted in the improved performance of irrigation systems specially in improving water delivery and the increase in crop productivity thereby total agricultural production. Another crucial achievement of IMT was the formation and empowerment of Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) that facilitated interaction among users regarding the emerging issues thereby improved water management. But conflict and lack of coordination between WUA and irrigation agency was also reported. Similarly, the national policy changes in Thailand over the past five decades have led to both expansion and contraction of irrigation areas, both shifts towards and away from state management, and mixed impacts on system performance. In some cases, Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM)approach was successful in terms of establishment of WUOs that created the sense of ownership in irrigation system. It resulted in better operation and maintenance of the system ultimately improving the water delivery. But in many cases WUOs did not continue effectively after projects ended. Expanding markets and trade have influenced land-use decisions of farmers in irrigation schemes in both Thailand and Nepal. In many cases it has resulted into intensification of the farming and introduction of new commercial crops thereby increasing per unit return from the farmland. But at the same time the increasing demand in agriculture and other sectors has created competition for water, especially during the dry season. The increased competition has resulted into the reduced collective action for irrigation management. Similarly, the increased competition for water in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors has resulted into various forms of conflicts. The extent of conflict in water use was higher in peri-urban areas compared to rural areas, having more competition with non-agricultural users. In such situation, the presence of strong community organizations (WUAs) in rural areas has resulted into successful management of conflict and they have adopted various coping strategies such as, alternate water allocation practices to cope with the changed situation. Farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMIS)generally were autonomous to devise their own rules based on the local context and taking into account the ideas, norms, and understandings commonly shared in the community. In contrary, in agency-managed irrigations systems (AMIS)mostly the irrigation officials developed the rules related to water management. The result implies that institutional changes in the form of new rules to manage the irrigation systems should fully consider the contextual factors. The influence of local institutions is reflected in better performance of farmer-managed irrigation systems. FMIS were in better overall physical condition and had higher cropping intensity. At the same time the autonomy of WUA in devising the rules for water allocation and design collective choice making mechanisms is crucial for performance of the irrigation system. Most of the FMIS reported high degree of autonomy whereas majority of the other systems had low degree of autonomy. Similarly, it was observed that both in Nepal and Thailand the local leaders play crucial role in operation and maintenance of the traditional irrigation systems. The local institutions have been able to adjust with external pressures relatively fast. Local institutions play an important role in maintaining the performance of irrigation systems. The local institutions provide alternative management options, which ultimately mediate the external pressure created to the irrigation systems in the changing macro-meso level context. Similarly, more autonomous FMIS largely satisfy the institutional conditions for the sustainable management of irrigation systems and they are relatively robust than AMIS.
Year2010
Corresponding Series Added EntryAsian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. NR-10-08
TypeDissertation
SchoolSchool of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD)
DepartmentDepartment of Development and Sustainability (DDS)
Academic Program/FoSNatural Resources Management (NRM)
Chairperson(s)Shivakoti, Ganesh Prasad;
Examination Committee(s)Anderies, John Marty;Schimdt-Vogt, Dietrich;Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad;Lam, Wai-Fung;
Scholarship Donor(s)Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship;
DegreeThesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2010


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