Transformation or Degradation: Transition from Karez to Tubewell Irrigation and its Implications for Power Relations and Social Structure in Balochistan, Pakistan

Abstract

"The underground water level in the south-western province of Balochistan, Pakistan, has been declining at an accelerated rate, seriously affecting the karez irrigation, a traditional system of tapping underground water. One of the reasons for the declining underground water level is a rapid increase in the number of tubewells that are subsidized by the provincial government through the support of international donors to promote extensive agriculture on marginal lands. This ‘transition’ from karez to tubewell system has seriously disrupted the traditional institutions for managing the common-pool resource (CPR) of underground water and affected the livelihoods of subsistence farmers and pastoralists relying on karez irrigation. On the other hand, a small number of powerful people at the local level have benefited from the tubewells through growing water-intensive crops such as apples in line with the export-oriented policy of the provincial government. Although little work has been done on this issue, Mustafa and Qazi (2008) suggest that this transition was neither necessary nor beneficial and was simply the result of a policy choice. However, their results need further explanation. We propose an explanation that combines the political ecology approach with the theory of CPRs to explore how the ideology of development (promoting a technical and economic transformation of the society) and changing power relations at different scales have contributed towards the development of this policy and towards changes in institutional arrangements, social relations and distribution of resources. At this stage this preliminary paper presents the case and our main hypothesis."