Institutional Landscapes in Common Pool Resource Management: A Case Study of Irrigation Tanks in South India

Found at: https://hdl.handle.net/10535/1742
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Type:	Conference Paper
Author:	Balasubramanian, R.
Conference:	Survival of the Commons: Mounting Challenges and New Realities, the Eleventh Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property
Location:	Bali, Indonesia
Conf. Date:	June 19-23, 2006
Date:	2006
URI:	https://hdl.handle.net/10535/1742
Sector:	Water Resource & Irrigation Agriculture
Region:	Middle East & South Asia
Subject(s):	IASC common pool resources--case studies collective action irrigation--case studies environmental policy--best practices
Abstract:	"Irrigation tanks, which are one of the oldest common pool water resources in the coastal plains of South India, have been declining rapidly in recent years due to several factors. In response, people adopt various coping strategies such as migration, nonagricultural employment, and private tube-wells. This paper analyses the causes of tank degradation and the interrelationships among poverty, private coping mechanisms and collective action towards tank management. This paper shows that the increase in private wells has a strong negative effect on collective efforts for tank management. Poor people, who are more dependent on tanks, contribute more towards tank management compared to non-poor households. The study proposes several policy measures to revive and sustain the tanks."

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