Digital Library of the Commons

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Commons Identity Crisis, Can it be Resolved? Empirical Analysis of the Success Factors of Water User Associations Establishment in Jordan Valley
(2024) Nusir Mai
"Jordan is classified to be one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, The main challenges facing the agricultural sector in Jordan are water availability and water quality. The social, economic and geopolitical context of the Jordanian community impacts the process of managing common-pool resources in general, and in managing irrigation water distribution in Jordan Valley (JV) in particular. JV is the primary agricultural hub and region of the country; this position has encountered challenges over time due to increased water resource constraints and degradation which hugely affected the agricultural sector in the region. Water User Associations (WUA) were created in the early 2000s as a response to encountered risks and challenges by natural and socio-economic factors in the region, The roles of distributing irrigation water to agricultural units, maintenance of water networks and representation of farmers in JV were given to WUAs’ by Jordan Valley Authority. The agreed-upon tasks to be assigned to the WUAs' are deemed insufficient according to members of the WUAs’. With the rising risks of climate change and social factors, a temporal institutional analysis of the WUAs' role in JV irrigation water distribution is done by developing a future-oriented modified version of the IAD framework, which highlights the role of informal institutions in institutional change."
Climate Change and Incentives to Cooperate in Local Commons
(2024) Halonen-Akatwijuka, Maija
"This paper analyzes incentives to cooperate in maintenance and improvement of local commons, such as irrigation systems. I show that climate change modelled as a reduction in agricultural productivity reduces the value of the relationship but also reduces the temptation to freeride in maintenance. The overall incentives to cooperate are improved because lower temptation to freeride is the dominant effect. Therefore, the negative effect of climate change is mitigated by higher degree of cooperation -- but only if agricultural productivity was initially so high that full cooperation was not possible. While climate change results in full reduction of surplus if agricultural productivity was initially relatively low and cooperation at the first best level was already sustainable."
Collaborative Action and Social Organization in Remote Rural Regions: Autonomous Irrigation Arrangements in the Pamirs of Tajikistan
(2020) Dörre, Andrei
"This paper proposes a bottom–up 'nexus medium' perspective to examine and understand social organization and how socio-ecological challenges in remote rural regions are dealt with in communities that receive only limited external support. While 'nexus mediums' constitute substances, matter, or objects that combine manifold vital meanings and can be seen as socially constructed and materialized arenas of social interaction, autonomous resource management is seen as a means of local social organization. Taking water as the nexus medium of choice allows us to generate locally informed insights about the role of this scarce resource for the everyday life and social organization of communities inhabiting arid rural areas. This reasoning will be exemplified by three local case studies conducted during empirical research in the Pamirs of Tajikistan utilizing a mix of qualitative methods. The findings reveal how many fundamental everyday-life-related aspects and activities of the studied communities are related to water, and how these communities are organized around common water use and management arrangements that are based on joint decision-making, shared benefits and responsibilities, and collaborative action. The 'nexus medium' concept appears to be an appropriate approach for research that seeks to understand from a local perspective how communal living is organized and how socio-ecological challenges are addressed."
Water User Associations and Collective Action in Irrigation and Drainage
(2023) Bruns, Bryan
"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."
Sustained governance of community-based water management in the context of socioeconomic changes: Lessons from Costa Rica
(2024) Murtinho, Felipe; Hayes, Tanya; Madrigal-Ballesteros, Roger; Viguera, Barbara
This paper aims to understand the conditions that facilitate inclusive and sustained governance of local common-pool resource management systems in the context of social and economic change. In Costa Rica, many community-based water associations have a rich history of governing their water systems. Changing environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic conditions, however, raise concerns about their abilities to foster participation, recruit new leaders, and address management concerns. Our exploratory analysis examines individual participation (n=530) in community-based water management decisions in six rural communities in Costa Rica that face increasing pressure to modernize their service and distribute clean water. As part of this modernization process, some water associations have hired professional administrators to manage their water systems with the hope of improving the water service. We use the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to structure regression models to identify the individual attributes and community governance conditions that make it more likely that an individual participates in community meetings and if they are willing to participate in leadership positions. Preliminary analysis indicates that although “modern” water associations provide better water service, households in these communities are more likely to perceive that the water association is less transparent, are less likely to agree to hiring professional administrators, they are less likely to participate in meetings (especially women) and have less desire to assume leadership positions in the water association. These findings highlight new challenges for community-based management, where many communities are overburden with social and environmental problems, including the uncertainty of climate change and increasing economic needs to improve their aqueducts and water service. Future research is needed to explore different management models that can improve water provision while considering new ways to create participation spaces for decision-making that are inclusive and respect households limited time and resources.
Unraveling Reciprocal Dynamics: Examining Reciprocal Relationships in Governing Common Pool Resources through Collective Action
(2024) Wang, Yiran; Hasan, Hasibul
Collective action in the governance of Common Pool Resources (CPRs) is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. Elinor Ostrom's design principles have advocated the role of social relationships, trust, and reciprocity among local level stakeholders as the foundation for voluntary governance. However, practical realities sometimes necessitate the involvement of higher-level authorities, primarily governments, in CPR governance to address social dilemmas. The coexistence of governance across multiple levels underscores the need for effective collective actions that bridge these entities. Yet, scholarly examination of the reciprocal relationship between governments and local-level stakeholders remains limited. This study aims to contribute to this research gap by conducting a structured review of empirical institutional research in water management cases. By exploring how collective action is facilitated in practice, this review paper seeks to answer two fundamental research questions: Is there a reciprocal relationship between government authorities and core resource users, and if so, what characterizes the nature of this reciprocity? This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the intricacies surrounding collective action within the realm of common pool resource governance. It sheds light on the nuanced interplay between resource users and higher-level governing bodies, offering valuable insights for sustainable resource management and governance practices.
Modeling interdependent critical infrastructures: The water–energy–food nexus in a macroeconomic framework
(2024) Kimmich, Christian
The interdependencies of energy generation, storage, and water provision across industries have been studied intensively in the last decade. Increasing severity of droughts has revealed the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure systems to climate change. The cooling of nuclear power plants, the shipping of coal, and the storage of water for hydropower all depend on water availability in rivers and reservoirs, for example, whereas irrigation under drought conditions increases water and energy demand. Recently, agent-based models covering interdependent critical infrastructures have been proposed that help to inform infrastructure adaptation and expansion under climate change. This network of operational decision-making situations can be extended on the governance side to reveal the institutional decisions that are being made concerning system resilience and distributional outcomes across sectors. This extended network of action situations is illustrated by the case of electricity and water provision and the decision-making situations across connected sectors. The extension of an engineering-oriented agent-based model demonstrates how a network of action situations can be derived and extended from an agent-based model ́s decision algorithms. The network reveals that the ability to cope with climate shocks requires a political renegotiation of natural resource use, societal resilience, and the development of capacity and storage rules for groundwater and reservoirs. Implications for modeling infrastructure production and provision functions within a macroeconomic agent-based model are drawn. This helps to simulate the macroeconomic repercussions of droughts.
Geopolítica del agua y heartland blue. Patagonia y acuífero guaraní (1990-2012)
(Ariadna Ediciones, 2024) Manzano, Karen
In the 21st century, water has become more important in the world. The book “Water Geopolitics and Heartland Blue” seeks to answer some doubts that have arisen about how this vital element will be addressed by states that, in one way or another, share surface, underground and even frozen water basins. For this purpose, two specific cases were selected, the Guaraní Aquifer and Patagonia, which within the southern cone of America correspond to two of the largest reserves that currently exist and for this, the author seeks to analyze the actions of the countries involved. in them: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay in the Guaraní Aquifer; Chile and Argentina in Patagonia, between the years 1990 – 2012.
Relationship Between Lineaments and Groundwater Potential: A Case Study of Kunya Sheet 58SW, Northwestern Nigeria
(2020) Dandago, Kamal Abba
"Water pollution is a major challenge amongst all other types of pollution. A number of factors like geology, soil, effluents, sewage disposal and other environmental conditions in which the water happens to stay or move and interact are responsible for this. The research was undertaken in the basement complex area of Kano State to determine the hydrochemistry of Jakara reservoir and the groundwater of surrounding areas. Geological and hydrogeological mappings were carried out on scale of 1:50,000. Measurements of the depth to groundwater table in hand dug wells were carried out during hydrogeological mapping using calibrated tape and the data was used to produce the hydrogeological maps of the study area. Surface and groundwater samples were collected during peak of dry season hydrogeological mapping and sent to various laboratories for chemical analysis. Parameters of physical quality of the water sample were measured in – situ. Aquachem 2014, version 2 software was used to analyze the chemical analytical data of the samples. The geological map of the area was updated where two rock types namely: coarse – porphyritic hornblende granite, sands and clays were mapped and studied. Samples of these rocks were collected and analyzed in thin section laboratory. Intrusive bodies such as quartz veins and aplitic dykes as well as geologic structures like faults and joints were mapped. The regional strike direction of the lineaments is dominantly N – S. Others are observed to be trending in the NNW - SSE with few trending NE - SW directions. 54% of the total groundwater samples analyzed belongs to Ca+2 (Mg+2) Cl- (SO4- 2). Surface water samples analyses shows 100% of the samples belong to Na+ (K+) Cl- (SO4-2) water type with prevailing sulphate and chloride. Results for chemical analyses of the reservoir water and groundwater samples of surrounding areas indicates the presence of some toxic elements such as cadmium (Cd++), lead (Pb++), manganese (Mn++), total iron (Fe), bromine (Br-), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg++), and calcium (Ca++) at concentrations above Nigerian Industrial Standard (2007) and World Health Organizations (2011) maximum permitted levels. This is a dangerous trend because these pollutants are very dangerous to both human and aquatic life. The primary sources of these elements are domestic and industrial wastes that are being discharged without proper treatment into open water bodies like the Jakara river in addition to geological factors such as weathering of rock materials. Jakara river is perennial because it receives most of its recharge from domestic effluents, municipal waste, Getsi stream, Tokarawa stream and other minor streams whose main recharge come from the Bompai and Tokarawa industrial areas respectively. These are the main sources of the pollutants. The Jakara stream ultimately drains its water into the Jakara reservoir, as a result of which making the reservoir heavily polluted. Consequently, this might have affected the chemical composition of groundwater resource of surrounding areas. Effective waste management and disposal policy need to be employed by the concerned authorities to curtail these unregulated methods of domestic and industrial waste disposal in Kano State, Northwest Nigeria."
Unveiling the “efficiency paradox” in the irrigation sector: a multi-methods exploration of behavioral aspects
(2024) Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio; Hoffman, Patrick
Governments and local irrigation associations across the globe have invested billions of euros in technology reform programs to increase irrigation efficiency. Empirical evidence suggests that increases in water efficiency do not always lead to water conservation due to so-called rebound effects. This study addresses the question of the extent to which social construction of technology and collective action dynamics within irrigation associations mediate those effects. Methodologically, the study combines survey analysis with an experiment, and tests the hypothesis that different collective constructions around technology and its use, as well as mental accounts of water savings can affect the way water stemming from efficiency increases is ultimately used. As shown, some of the results confirm the hypothesis but with nuances.

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