Beyond panaceas in water institutions
- Environment and Production Technology Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
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Edited by Elinor Ostrom, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, and approved June 29, 2007 (received for review March 12, 2007)
Abstract
The past 50 years of water policy have seen alternating policies emphasize the state, user groups, or markets as essential for solving water-management problems. A closer look reveals that each of these solutions has worked in some places but failed in others, especially when policies attempted to spread them over too many countries and diverse situations. A study of the variable performances of user groups for canal irrigation in India illustrates the factors that affect institutional performance. Research that identifies the critical factors affecting irrigation institutions can lead to sustainable approaches that are adapted to specific contextual attributes.
Footnotes
- *E-mail: r.meinzen-dick{at}cgiar.org
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Author contributions: R.M.-D. designed research, performed research, contributed new reagents/analytic tools, analyzed data, and wrote the paper.
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The author declares no conflict of interest.
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This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
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↵ † Lam's (22) study in Nepal provides one of the most comprehensive comparisons of performance of agency-managed and farmer-managed irrigation systems.
- Abbreviation:
- WUA,
- water users' association.
- © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
