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Conference Paper Management of Drinking Water in Arid Region: Community Action in Rural Rajasthan(1995) Menaria, Rajendra"Community management of natural resources has been an essential part of life pattern in arid region of Rajasthan. Scattered population in small hamlets, dhanles and majras renders it difficult for the Government to provide drinking water in every locality. The village community has successfully managed to survive and cope with scanty, erratic rainfall and low ground water table. However, the recent trend of increasing population pressure and depleting common property resources necessitates active involvement and cooperation between local community and the Government. In isolation it will not be able to survive because of population pressure and resource depletion. In the desert region, drinking of water is available through rainfall (average annual rainfall being as low as 5 mm) or through ground water resources. The rain water is stored and conserved in common ponds and reservoirs. These are maintained by the villagers, each family contributes in pre-monsoon cleaning and repairing tasks of water channels, ponds and reservoirs. This water is sufficient for two, three months in post-monsoon season. For the remaining months, villagers depend on village wells for drinking water. Such wells are very few and far between. In recent years, management of water from such sources has been done by the village community. Water supply schemes have not been launched in such remote villages. The village community renovate, repair and maintain such wells by group participation. As water table has gone deeper, water cannot be manually drawn. Thus, the village elders have given a contract to Diesel Pump owner, who operates the pump daily for specified hours. Families take water from the pump side tank. Animals also drink from a separate point. Each family contributes water charges proportionally to pay the contractor. The initiative to manage own water supply by villagers and readiness to share the cost must be extended to Government operated water supply schemes so as to make the same viable and sustainable."Conference Paper Managing Common Groundwater Resources: The Case of the Netherlands(1995) Glasbergen, Pieter; Verbeeten, Tanja"This article explores the loss of biodiversity in terms of human interventions. We highlight how this process is related to human activities that affect the water table. At the same tune, we suggest ways to approach this problem and perhaps to solve it. "We perceive the problem as one of 'common pool resources' (CPR). This perspective seems appropriate, since groundwater can be classified as a renewable common natural resource. In view of its limited capacity for regeneration, groundwater is a natural resource for which the exploitation should be regulated. "The capacity for regeneration of this resource has been stretched to its limits for decades. The natural recharge of groundwater in the Netherlands is smaller than the amount used. This does not pose an immediate problem to the active interests such as the water supply companies, industry, and agriculture. For these users, the shortage is not acute. "We are dealing with a special CPR problem. It is special hi the sense that exploitation of this resource is considered detrimental to the passive interests. In other words, the problem lies in the negative impact on nature. "In order to preserve and restore biodiversity, a policy has been formulated with reference to the CPR groundwater. Groundwater is considered to be a scarce commodity because of its critical role in conservation. Recognition of this passive, immaterial interest prompts the active interests to adapt their behavior."Conference Paper Current Forest and Water Policies in India: Some Facts and Appraisal(1995) Sengupta, Nirmal"By now common property relations are considered not only viable, but also a desirable form of property for natural resource management. This has led to many development efforts. The emerging common property institutions are far different from the traditional local formations and have wider economic}, even global relevance's. Newer issues have come up, in the area of control and ownership, in mode of participation, in fairness criteria in distribution etc. On the one hand there is the question of perpetuating the traditional rights. On the other, there is the possibility of more widespread distribution of the benefits of common property resources and of improving the quality of rural life over a wider area. The choice is not merely ethical but also of management ; the suitable alternative forms must be viable and sustainable, probably also productively efficient."Conference Paper Coastal Resource Management: Institutions and Conflict Avoidance(1995) Fingleton, Paul; MacCann, Sarah; Whelan, Brendan"This study is investigating the potential for sustainable development of the coastal zone through sectoral integration. A fundamental part of this investigation involves the examination of policies and attitudes which govern the exploitation of the resource, from local to international levels. One case study examines these factors as they relate to one specific coastal area. The second looks at one specific species of fish, the Atlantic Salmon. "This fish has previously been exploited at every opportunity from its feeding grounds to the spawning rivers. Mounting pressures have in recent years caused many fisheries to cease to intercept these migratory fish. In Ireland the practice continues and it is now the Irish home drift net fishery which presents the biggest obstacle to returning fish. This fishery receives significant indirect funding from sources including the EC. Other less obvious factors which adversely affect the species such as water pollution and sedimentation arise as a result of land based developments in industry, agriculture and urban development -- often financially assisted by the EU. It is this kind of conflict which this study is identifying with the aim of finding means by which they may be resolved."Conference Paper Transfer of Irrigation Management: An Experiment and an Assessment(1995) Khouzam, Raouf F."Availability of adequate irrigation water at the right time is a main constraint on both vertical and horizontal agriculture expansion in Egypt. To rlax that constraint, the Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources (MPWWR) have adopted four main approaches to: structural works, enforced rationing, cost recovery, and management transfer. The first is the most expensive. Considerable funds are being allocated by both the Egyptian government and foreign donors to rehabilitate and improve the system and its management. The Irrigation Management System (IMS) is a notable example of such efforts. "In addition to the rehabilitation huge funds, the operation cost is in increase year after another; in 1974-76, it ranged from LE 45 to 54 million (Cuddihy, 1980). In 1990/91-1993/94, it increased from LE 254 to 807 million (MOF, n.d.). That burden has risen with the liberalization of the Egyptian economy. Irrigation water was used to be charged for implicitly through price and quantity controls of the agriculture sector. Currently, with the liberalization process controls have been lifted. Since then, water is truly provided free. Subsequently, the government financial burden has increased tremendously. "Management transfer (MT; the main theme of this paper) and cost-recovery (CR) are two approaches to followed to reduce MPWWR financial burden. MT merits qualify it as a powerful solution to many of the irrigation-related issues. Nonetheless, those merits should not delude decision makers. Inadequate planning or deficient design could turn out destructive to the whole agriculture region. It is, thus, imperative, in the light of the absence of a well documented body of knowledge on the subject matter, that specialists exchange experiences. "This paper analyses MT model that has been applied in an Egyptian region. Farmers attitudes towards the model are investigated and analyzed. Lessons are derived. Qualifications that minimize MT failure are proposed. The following two sections describe the study area and the applied model with farmers attitudes summarized in a text box. Based on farmers'attitudes and other literature. Section III introduces aspects to be considered in MT design."Conference Paper Community-based Watershed Planning and Management on the Island of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia(1995) Dahl, Christopher"Pohnpei is a volcanic island located in the Western tropical Pacific (land area 129 sq. mi.). The island is surrounded by an extensive barrier reef and coastal areas are bordered by mangrove forest. The mountainous interior is heavily forested with the main overstorey trees being Campnosperma brevipetiolata and Eleocarpus carolinensis. Large almost pure stands of the endemic palm Clinostigma ponapensis are also found at higher elevations. In 1987 the Pohnpei state government designated a watershed reserve covering 5,100 ha. of upland forest and 5,525 ha. of mangrove. Early on there was considerable resistance by communities and resources users to state 'enclosure' of upland areas as reserve where access and use of resources would be regulated. This led to the formation in 1990 of an inter-agency Watershed Steering Committee which began developing a community based approach. With some external assistance the Committee initiated a community based education program that visited all villages on the island and worked with traditional leaders to develop consensus for the need for forest resource conservation. Some community based organizations, watershed area management committees, were formed during this process and the formation of additional organizations to cover all communities on the island is being encouraged. Clearing of forest to plant kava (Piper methysticum), a traditionally important and increasingly commercial crop, emerged as a major issue in terms of forest loss. As of 1994, with substantial assistance from the Asian Development Bank and the U.S. based private non-profit organization The Nature Conservancy, a program of community-based watershed management planning is being initiated. A team from the State Division of Forestry will work with Watershed Area Management Committees to develop management plans for local watersheds using a participatory planning approach. It is expected that local Committees will also be substantially involved in management and enforcement once the planning phase is complete. This paper reports on the progress and results of this process to date."Conference Paper Problems of Creation of Common Property Resources in Semi-Arid and Saline Areas; A Case Study of Kachchh District in India(1995) Mehta, Madhusudan B."Saline and arid lands are considered to be unproductive or low productive area and coupled with inhospitable climate, the common property resources of land, water and wind are threatened for neglect by the human society. The development of such area is a necessity, particularly in developing countries, which also have the problems of excess population. Utilizing these resources for creating utilizable common property resources is a need which cannot be overlooked. "A case study of Kachchh district in the western part of India is presented with a view to show that efforts are done in this direction of land utilization, and utilization of ground-water, wind energy, etc. The efforts are only a beginning and much remains to be done. The paper in short, focuses on the problems of creation of resources for such a society."Conference Paper Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Commons: The Case of an Indonesian Subak(1995) Arifin, Bustanul"This paper analyzes how an indigenous Balinese water-user organization (Whisnu Kerta subak) deals with religious and democratic principles of water management. Particularly, the paper examines how these principles are translated into an interdependence perspective that would result in fair rights and duties of the organization members, a key element to achieve sustainable commons. The paper also explains why outsider intervention may have threatened the sustainability of the whole water management system and the natural environment in general. The heart of this water management system is a strong belief in the Hindu religious doctrine that water was not only common property resources but a God-owned property, a part of nature which human beings are encouraged to utilize properly. Empirical evidence shows that key elements of the success story of Whisnu Kerta subak include fair and clearly-stated rules and agreements, equitable rights and duties among organization members, strong enforcement of any violations and ethical, social and religious responsibilities attached to the feeling of interdependence among members. This subak has been able to overcome defiance by government officials and the vested interests of local and regional elites mostly due to the homogeneity in ethnic and social status of its group members."Conference Paper Institutional Innovation in Underground Water Management in Saurashtra Region of Western India(1995) Patel, Haribhai"In this paper, therefore, at attempt is made to analyse in details, the recent institutional innovations being experimented in underground water management of Saurashtra region of Gujarat State in Western India. The case of Saurashtra is prominently distinct in the sense that it has emerged, over a period of time, as one of the most water scarce regions of India."Conference Paper Transformation of the Coastal Commons Through Cooperative Fishing Arrangements(1995) Queirolo, Lewis E.; Johnston, Richard S.; Zhang, Zhengkun"For centuries the world's oceans have been regarded as the common heritage of all mankind, held in trust for the collective good. When demands upon the oceans were relatively few, such a perspective was probably not unreasonable. But the burgeoning of human populations and the accelerated growth of technology have conspired, in the latter decades of the twentieth century, to make the concept of a 'common property interest in the oceans' functionally obsolete. "In response, many coastal nations have unilaterally extended economic jurisdiction over adjacent waters, traditionally regarded as 'open ocean.' Although petroleum exploration, minerals mining, etc., have been a consideration in extended jurisdiction, living marine resources, and particularly fisheries, have been the principal focus. "While extended jurisdiction has characterised most of the world's marine fisheries for the past 15 years, nations continue to look for their comparative advantage positions in that sector. In so doing, they sample from a variety of production and trade arrangements. "In studying the resulting resource allocation, analysts should distinguish between the terms of agreements between partners operating in isolation and those that result when there are many potential partners. Competitive conditions on both sides of the market for access to resources may reduce the magnitude of potential asymmetric information problems. Indeed, as the number of potential partners rises, instability and conflict within co-operative fishing arrangements may decline, smoothing the transition of the commons to a regulated resource management state."