Do Equal Land and Water Rights Benefit the Poor? Targeted Irrigation Development: The Case of the Andhi Khola Irrigation Scheme in Nepal

Abstract

"The research aims to fill this latter gap by analyzing the experiences in the Andhi Khola Irrigation Scheme in the hills of west central Nepal. The United Mission to Nepal (UMN), in collaboration with the Department of Irrigation of His Majesty's Government of Nepal, initiated this project in 1982. An area of 282 hectares of which only small portions received water from seasonal streams came under year-round irrigation. A distributive land reform policy was implemented in this area according to which larger farmers had to sell part of their land for resale to the landless. Moreover, the project designed and implemented a water allocation system in which everyone could earn tradable water rights (shares) through participation in construction work. In 1997, the scheme was finalized and handed over to the Andhi Khola Water Users Association (AKWUA)."