Ram C. Bastakoti

Local irrigation management institutions mediate changes driven by external policy and market pressures in Nepal and Thailand.

This article assesses the role of local institutions in managing irrigation water use. Fifty irrigation systems in each country were studied in Nepal and Thailand to compare the influence of local institutions on performance of irrigation systems amid changes in external policy and market pressures. Nepal’s new irrigation policy after the re-instatement of multiparty democracy in 1990 emphasized participatory irrigation management transferring the management responsibility from state authorities to water users. The water user associations of traditional farmer-managed irrigation systems were formally recognized by requiring registration with related state authorities. In Thailand also government policies encouraged people’s participation in irrigation management. Today water users are directly involved in management of even some large irrigation systems at the level of tertiary canals. Traditional communal irrigation systems in northern Thailand received support for system infrastructure improvement but have faced increased interference from government. In Thailand market development supported diversification in farming practices resulting in increased areas under high water-demanding commercial crops in the dry season. In contrast, the command areas of most irrigation systems in Nepal include cereal-based subsistence farming with only one-third having commercial farming. Cropping intensities are higher in Nepal than in Thailand reflecting, in part, differences in availability of land and management. In both countries local institutions play an important role in maintaining the performance of irrigation systems as external drivers and local contexts change. Local institutions have provided alternative options for irrigation water use by mediating external pressures.

Rules and collective action: an institutional analysis of the performance of irrigation systems in Nepal

This paper focuses on understanding rule systems by documenting existing rules and their development in irrigation management in Nepal. We analyze the rule formation of a sample of irrigation systems based on the ADICO syntax (Crawford & Ostrom, 1995; Ostrom, 2005). Farmer-managed irrigation systems generally are autonomous in devising their own rules based on local context considering the ideas, norms and beliefs shared within the community. Rule formation in agency-managed irrigation systems, however, is mostly done by external officials. Strong rule enforcement mechanisms were found in farmer-managed systems compared with agency-managed systems. Better rule enforcement created favorable conditions for collective action among the users and ensured better performance of the irrigation systems. Results imply that the formation of new rules should fully consider biophysical attributes as well as community beliefs and ideas.

The robustness of Montane irrigation systems of Thailand in a dynamic human water resources interface

As an initial effort to understand the Asian irrigation systems dynamism and their robustness overtime, this paper examines two irrigation systems of Kok river system within Mekong river basin in Northern Thailand in the context of changing governance mechanisms and evolution of technological and market forces. Since the processes involved in first starting collective action are different than those of maintaining them overtime, the paper examines dynamism over three stages; initial, medium and long-term. During the initial stage of starting an irrigation system various attributes of the users including the benefits they could obtain from starting an organization to the skill of public entrepreneurs of brining them together affecting trust have been examined. The medium stage of irrigation systems development inquiry includes the process of development of rules, and the level of autonomy to develop their own rules over time. The long term stage focuses its analysis of external factors affecting the sustenance of these irrigation systems with special reference to the impact of changes in economic prices and labor mobility on the one hand and changes in the authority over irrigation and the availability of funding for irrigation on the other. The analysis is based on the framework developed by Ostrom, Anderies and Janssen (2003) in the linkages and relationship between the five elements, namely: resource, resource users, public infrastructure, public infrastructure providers and external disturbances. Thus, the paper evaluates the dynamism and robustness of irrigation systems overtime at operational and collective choice levels of analysis. 1 Paper to be presented at the Workshop on Workshop-3 at the Workshop on Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University, 513 N. Park, Bloomington, IN-47408-3829, USA during June 2-6, 2004. Funding for the research was provided by the Ford Foundation Project Grant Number 1015: “Asian Irrigation Institutions and Systems in Transition: Sustainability Implications” made to the Asian Institute of Technology which is duly acknowledged.

Fragility of the provision of local public goods to private and collective risks

Significance Smallholder farmers make a significant contribution to food security in developing countries. Those farmer communities are experiencing new challenges owing to integration with the broader economy (increasing price volatility) and climate change (increasing frequency of extreme weather events). Our study aimed to understand how smallholder agricultural communities make collective action decisions in a public good game with different types of risks. Experiments performed in 118 small-scale rice-producing communities in China, Colombia, Nepal and Thailand show that increasing the integration of those communities with the broader economic system is associated with lower investments in public goods when facing collective risks. As such, the provision of local public goods may be negatively affected by market integration and climate change. Smallholder agricultural systems, strongly dependent on water resources and investments in shared infrastructure, make a significant contribution to food security in developing countries. These communities are being increasingly integrated into the global economy and are exposed to new global climate-related risks that may affect their willingness to cooperate in community-level collective action problems. We performed field experiments on public goods with private and collective risks in 118 small-scale rice-producing communities in four countries. Our results indicate that increasing the integration of those communities with the broader economic system is associated with lower investments in public goods when facing collective risks. These findings indicate that local public good provision may be negatively affected by collective risks, especially in communities more integrated with the market economy.

Achieving strategic fit in onion seed supply chain

Purpose - The analysis focuses on the perspective of overall strategic fit in the supply chain of onion seed in Nepal. The purpose of this paper is to analyze current status of onion seed sector in Nepal from the perspective of selected functional strategies that fit in supply chain, and also identifies how various actors involved coordinate among each other. Design/methodology/approach - The integrated approach has been used. It is an actor-oriented approach used to trace product flows. Supply chains generally include several actors for the onion seeds supply chain in Nepal, all those actors may or may not be applicable. However, initial approach would be to first look for these actors then subsequently identify existing supply and its actors. Some traditional methods of product and market analysis isolate operational costs along various stages of production. But, this paper used more comprehensive methodology that has taken into account an entire spectrum of associated activities and inputs. Findings - Result revealed that the market actors of supply chain are taking significant benefit of value addition due to more investment in value creation. Vertical coordination is completely absent and the existence of horizontal coordination is in fragile form. The functional strategies in the upstream as well as the market side are not properly matching with the preference of the downstream actors of supply chain. It is suggested that the supply chain activities should work with different functional strategies such as proper drying and storage of seed and production of preferred varieties to satisfy the need of end consumers. Research limitations/implications - It covers a single crop. Originality/value - The findings and methodological discussions aim at providing practical guidance for supply chain researchers on how to analyze the strategic fit in supply chain.

Gender relations and water management in different eco-cultural contexts in Northern Thailand

This paper assessed water management by households from three ethnic groups in two contrasting ecological settings (upland and lowland) in the Upper Ping River Basin in Northern Thailand. Important gender differences in the use and management of water were identified. Women are major users of water for agriculture in the uplands, but less so in the lowlands. In the lowlands irrigation is viewed as a masculine activity. In the uplands the role of women is more widely accepted, with women frequently being members of water user groups. Men, however, dominate decision-making positions in community-based and state-led water organisations in both upland and lowland areas. Perceptions of contributions to daily tasks, and behavioural traits important to governance roles, differed between men and women, and sometimes also across eco-cultural contexts, underlining the complexity of factors influencing gender relations in water governance.

Role of Villagers in Building Community Resilience Through Disaster Risk Management: A Case Study of a Flood-Prone Village on the Banks of the Mekong River in Cambodia

Floods are a normal feature of the monsoon season around the Tonle Sap Great Lake and areas neighboring the Mekong River in Cambodia. In some years, floods are much more severe than others; in particular, when there is a combination of high discharge from upstream and a high run-off from rainfall within the area. Actions taken by villagers could help build resilience at household and community levels against these more serious floods and thus reduce the risks of disasters, loss of life, and costly damage. In a detailed study of impacts and responses to floods in Angkor Ang village in Prey Veng Province, we found evidence of major barriers to effective actions by villagers and other actors working at community and other levels. Building and maintaining resilience in flood-prone communities requires that attention be given to local capacity and knowledge, differences in wealth or poverty, gender relations, and local participation. Moreover, these factors need to be examined in various social processes before, during, and after major floods.