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Conference Paper The Influence of Privatisation on Irrigation Water Rights in NSW(2001) Taylor, Paul; McGlynn, Tony; Martin, Warren"Two important drivers for the redefinition of water rights in Australia since 1980 have been, firstly, the development of public policy for both environment/ sustainability and for water rights security, and secondly, the commercialisation, corporatisation and privatisation of institutions in the water sector. The reasons for embarking on privatisation are discussed, and the relationship of water rights to the operation and management of irrigation schemes explained. "Water rights for irrigators in publicly-owned and managed irrigation schemes in NSW before and after privatisation are compared. The altered relationships between water user, manager of the scheme and the government are explained. The paper details the process by which changes were negotiated and introduced, and identifies policy decisions and factors considered in the redefinition of water rights at two levels: the bulk water supply to irrigation schemes and the distribution of water within schemes to the irrigator?s land. "Changes to water rights required consultation and the agreement of the rights holders. However, holders perceived themselves to hold rights in a form which differed from the legal definition. Both administrative decisions and the operation of water supply played an important role in defining the water received by rights holders. These arrangements, largely undefined to the water user, were considered adequate during a period when government policy favoured the development of water resources and water management policy change was relatively slow. However, with the changes in policy direction of the 1990s, water users began to seek actively new guarantees of continuing water supply. "Privatisation forced the government and water users to consider in a new light the separate but intimately linked aspects of water supply services, the right to take or receive water and the use of the water. The post-privatisation regime clarified these elements as well as altering the relationship of water rights holders to the government and irrigation scheme operators. The ultimate shift in location of power and decision-making is evaluated and discussed in the context of broader water management changes being made in Australia. "The paper concludes that privatisation resulted in a closer specification of some elements of water rights, and a greater distinction between water supply and water rights management functions of the government. The process of privatisation may also have affected the attitudes of irrigators towards general water rights reform, by increasing their awareness of legal issues and focussing their thinking on uncertainties which could result from policy change."Conference Paper The Use of Irrigation Water During Transition in Bulgaria's Plovdiv Region(2002) Penov, Ivan"The amount of water used for irrigation has sharply declined during transition in Bulgaria. Large sections of existing irrigation systems were abandoned, and the ones still in use are barely maintained. Crops such as wheat and barley have replaced more water-intensive crops, including vegetables, rice and maize. This problem has an impact on the future development of agriculture and the allocation of the country's water resources. The central argument is that land fragmentation in the wake of decollectivization and restitution contributes to the irrigation systems' abandonment. This paper concentrates on the institutional factors, but also considers additional factors, that may have influenced the process; further, it examines the causes driving these changes and analyses their effect on irrigation. It is based upon a review of relevant legislation, as well as field work in 17 villages located in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria. The paper concludes that, in addition to changes in large-scale market forces and weakening of the state enforcement mechanism, institutional settings have contributed to the decline of irrigation in Bulgaria."Conference Paper Legal Institutional Change in Irrigation Systems of Soviet Central Asia(1991) Buck, Susan J.; Gleason, Gregory W."This paper discusses recent changes in the irrigation water management regimes of the republics of Soviet Central Asia. As centralized Soviet control over the water management regimes weakens, existing legal institutions must adjust to different channels of communication and decision-making. The theoretical framework to explain these changes is provided by two complementary approaches: current scholarship on the development of property rights in water (Rose, 1990); and the institutional choice model (Ostrom, 1990). Data collected in the Amu-Dar'ia and Syr-Dar'ia river basins of Soviet Central Asia forms the empirical basis for the research project. First, we conclude that Rose's model provides a useful theoretical explanation of the development of collective property rights in CPR institutions. Second, we find the level of decentralization of resource control achieved in the Asian republics is determined as much by local resistance to privatization as by the external political regime."Conference Paper Participatory Irrigation Management in Andhra Pradesh, India: Policy Implementation and Transformation in the Tungabhadra Right Bank Low Level Canal(2000) Mollinga, Peter P.; Doraiswamy, R.; Engbersen, Kim"This paper discusses the implementation of irrigation reform policy in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India. It reports on the impact of the introduction of participatory irrigation management (PIM) in two secondary canals (distributaries) in the Tungabhadra Right Bank Low Level Canal irrigation system. The findings are that the rural elite has captured most of the seats in the water users associations' managing committees, that committee membership is strongly linked to party politics, that a significant amount of physical rehabilitation works have been undertaken resulting in a technically improved canal system, that the reform has had no significant impact on water distribution so far and has not lead to increase in irrigated area (unlike in some other parts of the State), and that the relationship between Irrigation Department and water users is 'in flux' but is yet to qualitatively change. Despite this capturing of the policy by the rural elite, a framework has been created that in principle allows far- reaching reforms. However, special efforts are required to achieve the stated objectives of equitable and democratic irrigation management. It is unlikely that existing government agencies will be able to address these issues effectively."Conference Paper Types of Irrigation Management Transfer in India(1996) Brewer, Jeffrey D.; Raju, K. Vengamma"The Government of India and many of the state governments have decided that irrigation management transfer is one means to help solve some major problems in the performance of irrigation systems in all types of irrigation systems. However, the policies and programs adopted by the states, although influenced by national policies, differ considerably. Each state has adopted or is considering adoption of irrigation management transfer policies that are adapted to a) cultural traditions and prior policies in the state, b) physical and ecological conditions in the state, and c) the goals of the irrigation agencies. "This paper, using data from six states in India, identifies the major types of policies and arrangements being carried out and identifies the factors underlying the choices of management models made in each state. Some data on the level of operational, maintenance, financial, and agricultural performance is provided. Based on key elements, particularly the right and functions that are proposed for transfer from the government to the farmers, the paper proposes a typology of irrigation management transfer models in India and discusses the applicability of this typology in other parts of the world."Conference Paper Scarcity, Equity, and Transparency: General Principles for Success in Local Water Management(2006) Trawick, Paul"This paper presents the results of a comparative cross- cultural study of successful farmer-operated irrigation systems in two different parts of the world--the Andes of South America and the Mediterranean coast of Spain-arguing that the same basic set of rules and operating principles is responsible for a sustainable positive outcome in local water management in each case. It addresses the general problem of accounting for the well-documented success of several irrigation systems that are notorious in the irrigation literature-Valencia, Alicante and Murcia--and demonstrates that this success can only be explained by unrecognized basic similarities that underlie the more obvious but superficial differences that have been noted previously by other researchers. Arguing for the existence of an optimal system for sharing scarce water that has emerged independently in many irrigation communities in several parts of the world, the author explores the implications of such a system for water management policy, for collective action theory, and for the challenge of achieving sustainable consumption in a limited world."Conference Paper The Resistant of Central Government towards Participatory Resources Management: Case of Irrigation and Forestry Resources in Decentralized Indonesia(2008) Yonariza"Where global trend on common resources management has been toward participatory resources approach through decentralization, i.e. stakeholders at local level play a more equal role in resources management; this concept found it's still hard to be implemented in Indonesia. Although the macro political condition has been conducive, i.e.; regime has already changed from authoritarian one to a more democratic one, administration has been changed from centralization into a democratic decentralization, civil society has been active in promoting participatory management, but the bureaucracy at central government hardly changes. Through a strategy of 'transfer and grab back', central bureaucracy manage to constantly play dominant role in common resources management. To revitalize its role, central government keeps modifying policies on these resources management. It consistently inserts phrases in natural resources law/regulation that allow it to penetrate into district level, it also uses moment of administrative split up of the province which put more resources categorized as national resources, accepting request from local government to upgrade district and provincial natural resource becoming national resources. These have bee facilitated by the fact that the country still depend on foreign aid for development program. This paper discusses how and why central government bureaucracy re-play dominant role in natural resources management amid the decentralization policy."Conference Paper Study on Water Utilization in Chinese Rural Areas(2006) Rong, Tan; Zhiyong, Yu; Jie, Cui"In China, because rural population is great and agriculture is very important in national economy, rural areas have becomes a main sphere of water consume. There exist the problems of water shortage and water waste in the countryside. The conflicts of water resource supply and demand between industry and agriculture are very conspicuous. Various factors that include ideology, finance, technology, management and policy restrict the rational and effective use of water resource. The survey on the villages of Jia Ge Zhuang and Yao Bai Zhuang in Ji County, Tianjin reflects these problems. The government tries to solve the problems by making laws and policies, as well as affording financial and technology support to towns and villages. At the same time, it is necessary for the government to make officials and farmers realize the importance of rational water usage and saving by doing propaganda, coordinating the inter-governments relations, and defining the departments' duties. For realizing the objective of rational water usage, it is necessary to take measures to construct and perfect irrigation installations by both superior and local governments' investment and farmers' labor force."Conference Paper Role of Community in Irrigation Management: Sustainability of Traditional Water Harvesting Practices in South India(1996) Chidananda, B. L.; Gracy, C. P.; Suryaprakash, S."Many of the developing countries including India are endowed with a variety of natural resources which have helped In crop diversity and growth. In India a substantial share of budgetary resources apart from Private Investments have been made on irrigation development each year. Historically also many of the rulers, kings and local leaders have evinced keen interest in developing irrigation structures. Statistics show that the overall irrigated area in the world rose from an estimated 8 million hectares in the year 1800 to 260 million hectares in 1994. India and China have contributed to as much as 40 per cent of the increase from developing countries. But the productivity per unit of water is very low in India due to various management factors. "Since there is a natural limit on the water availability for irrigation, due to decrease in the annual rainfall and other factors, efforts must be made towards conserving water. In most of the areas the problem with minor irrigation is that of the receding water table. Of late the policy makers have realised the need for reviving traditional irrigation structures. In the recent past many tanks have become defunct and those which are functional have reduced capacity to irrigate owing to the bad management practices. In scanty rainfall areas the water from seasonal streams are harvested by constructing pickups at suitable locations and it is very popular in coconut belts of Karnataka. "This study examines the institutional factors responsible for the deterioration of tank irrigation, the community management practices for tanks and pickups and an assessment of the sustainability of the management practices towards rehabilitating the tanks for irrigation."Conference Paper Irrigation Systems as Multiple-Use Commons: Experience from Kirindi Oya, Sri Lanka(1998) Meinzen-Dick, Ruth; Bakker, Margaretha"Irrigation systems are often recognized as common pool resources supplying water for agricultural production, but their role in supplying water for other uses, notably fishing, homestead gardens, domestic water supply, and micro-enterprises is often overlooked. The importance of non-agricultural uses of irrigation water in livelihood strategies has implications for irrigation management and water rights, especially as increasing scarcity challenges existing water allocation mechanisms. This paper identifies the multiple uses of water in the Kirindi Oya irrigation system in Sri Lanka, examines who the users are likely to be, and explores implications for water rights and management policies. "There are important gender, class, and residential differences among the different water users. In addition to the cultivators of irrigated paddy fields, other households use the irrigation system water for fishing, harvesting lotus, livestock, and other enterprises. Even within irrigated farming households, men have more control over paddy crops in the main fields, whereas homestead gardens are women's domain. Because the irrigation system provides water for a variety of birds and animals, even wildlife and non-resident environmental groups can be considered stakeholders. "Current policies for supply in Sri Lanka, as in many countries, emphasize increasing user involvement in both irrigation and domestic water. While government agencies have had primary responsibility, institutions such as Farmers' Organizations are being promoted. These have the potential to serve as user platforms for negotiating water allocation among irrigated farmers. However, the user organizations mirror the sectoral responsibility of the government agencies--either irrigation or domestic water supply. Their membership and structure do not take into account the multiple uses or users of water. Developing platforms that accommodate different user groups remains a major challenge for improving the overall productivity, as well as equity, of water use."