Browsing by Author "Faysse, Nicolas"

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An Assessment of Small-scale Users' Inclusion in Large-scale Water Users Associations of South Africa
(2004) Faysse, Nicolas
"The management of water resources is being transformed in South Africa. All water users, especially the small-scale ones, are now invited to participate in this management. At the local level, the former whites-only Irrigation Boards (IBs) are to become more inclusive Water User Associations (WUAs), incorporating all water users. The actual outcomes of small-scale user involvement in the already accepted WUAs are not obvious. This report reviews the process of inclusion of small scale users in the new large-scale WUAs. The analysis presented here uses information from previously published case studies. In order to assess the potential benefits of having small-scale users on board, the research investigated the possible overlap between water-related problems of small-scale users and the functions of the WUAs. The presence of small-scale users in the WUA is always beneficial, even though they are faced with the problem of lack of funds for operation and maintenance. The possible benefit of the presence of drinking water users (rural communities and farm workers) stumbles on a lack of clarity when it comes to the responsibility of the WUA with regard to water quality and drinking water supply. It appears that the lack of internal organization of small-scale users such as farm workers and rural communities is a major stumbling block. While the presence of small-scale users at the management committee helps them in terms of capacity building and enables them to voice their problems, such a practice has still proved to be insufficient. This report recommends external monitoring of small-scale user inclusion after the transformation of an IB into a WUA. The problem oriented approach of this research may also facilitate assessment of the inclusion of small scale users in the catchment management agencies of South Africa, as well as in water resource management organizations in other developing countries where large- and small scale users share water from the same source."
Can Water Allocation Rules in Irrigation Schemes be Used to Share Risk on Resource Availability between Users?
(2002) Faysse, Nicolas
"The research inquires to what extent can users of a CPR share the risk on resource availability between themselves or if the risk neutral State is bound to intervene to ensure an efficient risk taking and risk sharing. The study focuses on irrigation schemes and compares different traditional allocation rules, markets and insurance systems external to the CPR according to five goals that the collectivity may want to attain: water valorization, equity, risk sharing, an optimal collective risk taking and the diminishing of inter-annual income variability. A model is developed, with farmers being heterogeneous with regards to their risk aversion, and with farmers taking into account the allocation rules and the potential taxes or subsidies in their cropping decisions. This heterogeneity creates an opportunity for risk sharing among farmers. Traditional allocation rules are categorized into ex ante rules, which do not create any interdependence between farmers' cropping choices, and ex post rules where farmers acquire returns that are proportional to what they put under crops. Ex post rules share risk efficiently between farmers but, because of farmers' strategic behaviors, it may lead to over-cropping. In such an uncertain context, the 'Tragedy of the Commons' may thus correspond to a too big collective bearing of risk which may be more profitable during average years but which will also be catastrophic during dry ones. An inquiry made in Tunisia showed this pattern on an irrigation scheme managed by farmers. Finally, none of the studied rules can attain the five formerly defined goals all alone by itself. Nevertheless, ex post rules can be efficient if associated with a high water price, or if risk taking rotates among farmers: risk sharing between CPR users may hence be of interest."
Learning to Voice? The Evolving Roles of Family Farmers in the Coordination of Large-Scale Irrigation Schemes in Morocco
(2010) Faysse, Nicolas; Errahj, Mostafa; Kuper, Marcel; Mahdi, Mohamed
"In Morocco, large-scale irrigation schemes have evolved over the past twenty years from the centralised management of irrigation and agricultural production into more complex multi-actor systems. This study analysed whether, and how, in the context of state withdrawal, increased farmer autonomy and political liberalisation, family farmers currently participate in the coordination and negotiation of issues that affect them and involve scheme-level organisations. Issues related to water management, the sugar industry and the dairy sector were analysed in five large-scale irrigation schemes. Farmer organisations that were set up to intervene in water management and sugar production were seen to be either inactive or to have weak links with their constituency; hence, the irrigation administration and the sugar industry continue to interact directly with farmers in a centralised way. Given their inability to voice their interests, when farmers have the opportunity, many choose exit strategies, for instance by resorting to the use of groundwater. In contrast, many community-based milk collection cooperatives were seen to function as accountable intermediaries between smallholders and dairy firms. While, as in the past, family farmers are still generally not involved in decision making at scheme level, in the milk collection cooperatives studied, farmers learn to coordinate and negotiate for the development of their communities."
Possible Impacts of the Transformation of Water Infrastructure on Productive Water Uses: The Case of the Seokodibeng Village in South Africa
(2004) Ladki, M.; Seshoka, J.; Faysse, Nicolas; Lévite, Hervé; Van Koppen, Barbara
"The study assesses the current water supply system and water uses in the Seokodibeng village in the former Lebowa homeland, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. This village is part of a group of 96 villages that are to receive water from a pipeline built by neighboring mines in order to secure their development. The mines and the villages are members of the Lebalelo Water User Association. In 2003, this association was the only Water User Association in South Africa not based on farming activities. The initial question of this study concerns the future of productive uses of water at village and household levels once Seokodibeng's connection to the pipeline is achieved."
Recent Results of New Institutional Economics as a Basis for Analyzing Common Pool Resources
(2002) Faysse, Nicolas
This paper tries to draw some main lines in the abundant literature on economic analysis of Common Pool Resources. Some promising articles likely to pave the way to future research are more precisely presented. The paper presents the initial externality problem and describes the different ways which have been explored to enable cooperation through the paradigm of a non cooperative setting. Basically, all these approaches have tried to internalize the externalities using the game characteristics: the game outcomes, the size of the group, the game structure (e.g. repetition), the possibility of behavioral norms or the interdependency between an appropriation problem and a provision problem. Nevertheless, these approaches do not tackle the possibility of a negotiated change in the rules. The paper ends with some directions for future research.
Resolving Water Use Conflicts through Stakeholder Participation: Issues and Examples from the Steelpoort Basin in South Africa
(2003) Lévite, Hervé; Faysse, Nicolas; Ardorino, Florence
"An ambitious process to reform water resource management is currently under way in South Africa. An important component of this reform is increased involvement of users in water management. The belief is that greater participation will facilitate the solution of water-related conflicts in a country where water availability is increasingly scarce. This paper reports the findings of a study conducted to review the transformation in the Steelpoort River Basin, a catchment of the Olifants River , in the North-East of the country. At present, water management in the Steelpoort River Basin is characterised by local tensions and conflicts between a number of different water users, including mines, large-scale farmers, municipalities and rural communities living in areas that were classified as 'homelands' under the former apartheid regime. The study concluded that meaningful participation of users in the management of water in the basin, is constrained by lack of information on the state of the rivers and water use, as well as the absence of any history of dialogue about issues relating to the management of natural resources."
The Transformation of Irrigation Boards into Water User Associations in South Africa: Case Studies of the Lower Olifants, Great Letaba and Vaalharts Water User Associations Volume 1
(2004) Seshoka, J.; de Lange, Willem; Faysse, Nicolas
"The main objective of the research was to understand the constraints and opportunities of the transformation of Irrigation Boards into Water User Associations, with regard to the goal of meeting the water-related needs of historically disadvantaged individuals. A secondary objective was to assess the role of these new WUAs with regard to integrated local water resource management. This working paper covers three case studies of IBs that have already been transformed into WUAs, and will constitute the background information for a forthcoming research report."
The Transformation of Irrigation Boards into Water User Associations in South Africa: Case Studies of the Umlaas, Komati, Lomati and Hereford Irrigation Boards Volume 2
(2004) Faysse, Nicolas; Gumbo, Jabulani
"This working paper is mainly based on interviews, and the active collaboration of many persons was a key factor in enabling these case studies. Discussions before, during and after the field work were held with staff of the provincial DWAF (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry) offices. Officials of the Irrigation Boards enthusiastically supported the study and provided significant assistance."