Water User Associations and Collective Action in Irrigation and Drainage

Abstract

"This article discusses what water user associations can do, factors that affect various forms of local collective action in irrigation and drainage, and how water user associations (WUAs) might help respond to local and global challenges and opportunities. Major themes include co-management of irrigation by communities and states, the diversity of water governance institutions, and the resilience of local cooperation in managing water to grow food. The article begins by looking at the long history of cooperation in irrigation, presents institutional design patterns in long-enduring local irrigation communities, points to the prevalence of co-production and co-management by states and communities, examines lessons from efforts to develop WUAs in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, and highlights current challenges and opportunities for WUAs. The end of the article provides references and recommended readings."