Can water users’ associations improve water governance in China? A tale of two villages in the Shiyang River basin

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 966-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyan Yu
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Shiyang River Basin ◽  
Water Users Associations

scholarly journals Water Users Associations in Tanzania: Local Governance for Whom?

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Richards
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Water Users Associations

In order to implement Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) according to good practice, governments and development agencies have promoted the setting-up of Water Users Associations (WUAs) as a broadly applicable model for water management at the local level. WUAs are promoted as key to the rolling out of IWRM principles through a participative process. Using intensive qualitative data, this paper discusses Tanzanian WUAs in light of the Regulatory Framework within which they operate. I argue that although the government’s objectives are to achieve an equitable and sustainable allocation of water resources, the formalisation of water allocation has led to the exclusion of specific water users. This paper focuses on the Great Ruaha River Catchment (GRRC), where water scarcity has led to competition between investors and small-scale water users. The GRRC is an environment in which formal and informal practices overlap, due to legal pluralism and the incremental implementation of water governance frameworks. This study calls for a reassessment of the role of WUAs in Tanzania. There is a clear gap between the theoretical clarity of tasks handed to WUAs (particularly their role in formalising access to water), and the messiness of everyday practice.

scholarly journals The User and the Association: Neglecting Household Irrigation as Neglecting Household Well-Being in the Creation of Water Users’ Associations in the Republic of Tajikistan

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Water Governance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Governance Reform ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Development Institutions ◽  
Neoliberal Development ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
Water Users Associations

Development initiatives often cite Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) as fundamental to water governance reform or the broad process of decentralizing responsibilities for management, supply and delivery. But the label of “WUA” indicates little about those who take on these duties as association members, suggesting all who use water in pursuit of life or livelihood are eligible to participate and benefit through collective action. Grounded in the belief that participatory projects can equitably empower and distribute resources, the enthusiastic introduction of WUAs continues despite critique that anticipated outcomes are overstated. Since borders opened to neoliberal development institutions in the 1990s, WUAs have been created throughout post-Soviet Central Asia. Yet, there has been limited reflection on how associations’ design and operation interact with physical or social structures to effect resource access across diverse groups. Drawing on fieldwork in Tajikistan, I demonstrate how WUAs reproduce exclusionary outcomes by requiring members to possess farmland in turn threatening rural food security. Held by a minority, farmland dedicated to commercial production stands in contrast to ubiquitous kitchen gardens, where crops sown for self-consumption form a buffer against hunger in the wake of labor migration and income inconsistency. Households’ inability to become members undermines their claim to water and voice in decision-making, ultimately constraining access to irrigation and a robust harvest.

scholarly journals Constraints in Water Access in Laikipia County, Case of Ewaso Ng’iro River Basin in Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simeon Lesrima ◽  
Gideon Nyamasyo ◽  
Kiemo Karatu
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Water Access ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Water Users ◽  
State Of Water ◽  
Management Institutions ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Impact

Challenges to water access are characterized by ineffective water institutions in Upper Ewaso Ng’iro North River basin. The inability of policies to create trust and equity for sustainable water access is critical despite institutional reforms undertaken over the years. The impact of scarcity and limitations noted are more pronounced in upstream downstream landscape breeding a sense of dissatisfaction and perception of inequality among water users and stakeholders. Study adopted a mixed methods with data collection tools used were; desktop analysis, field visits and discussions, structured questionnaires, Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions. Interviews with 384 randomly selected households were conducted and data analyzed using descriptive statistics. Theory of Access informed the study. The findings showed that rivers and boreholes are the main water sources in the sub-basin. Consequences of the unsatisfactory state of water access attributed to weak water governance policies and water management institutions. Lack of trust among water users remains latent easily triggered by scarcity and political-economic and social disruptions during severe droughts. The study’s recommendations are the development of effective communication mechanisms to share information, adherence to regulations, and government to implement current and past reforms to mitigate constraints to water access.  

scholarly journals Optimal Allocation of Surface Water Resources at the Provincial Level in the Uzbekistan Region of the Amudarya River Basin

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1446
Author(s):  
Min Wang ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Ayetiguli Sidike ◽  
Liangzhong Cao ◽  
Philippe DeMaeyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Water Allocation ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Incoming Flow ◽  
Provincial Level ◽  
Water Users

Water users in the Amudarya River Basin in Uzbekistan are suffering severe water use competition and uneven water allocation, which seriously threatens ecosystems, as shown, for example, in the well-known Aral Sea catastrophe. This study explores the optimized water allocation schemes in the study area at the provincial level under different incoming flow levels, based on the current water distribution quotas among riparian nations, which are usually ignored in related research. The optimization model of the inexact two-stage stochastic programming method is used, which is characterized by probability distributions and interval values. Results show that (1) water allocation is redistributed among five different sectors. Livestock, industrial, and municipality have the highest water allocation priority, and water competition mainly exists in the other two sectors of irrigation and ecology; (2) water allocation is redistributed among six different provinces, and allocated water only in Bukhara and Khorezm can satisfy the upper bound of water demand; (3) the ecological sector can receive a guaranteed water allocation of 8.237–12.354 km3; (4) under high incoming flow level, compared with the actual water distribution, the total allocated water of four sectors (except for ecology) is reduced by 3.706 km3 and total economic benefits are increased by USD 3.885B.

Integrated Hydroecological Monitoring of Watercourses in Zuya River Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 73-79
Author(s):  
N.M. Ivanyutin ◽  
N.E. Volkova ◽  
S.V. Podovalova
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Small Water ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Visual Survey ◽  
Water Disposal ◽  
Environmental Measures ◽  
Qualitative Characteristics

The results of a comprehensive agroecological assessment of the main watercourses of the Zuya river basin are presented. Studies were conducted in 2017–2020 and included: conducting a visual survey, measuring water consumption, assessing the qualitative characteristics of runoff, including phytotesting and determining its suitability for irrigation purposes. It was determined that the main pollutants of the watercourses were sulphates, phosphates, heavy metals. The assessment of salt composition of water resources has shown that they are mostly suitable for irrigation without restriction. However, according to the results of phytotesting, an inhibitory effect was recorded, which indicates a possible decrease in the yield of crops sensitive to water-contained pollutants. The water balance calculations showed the presence of a shortage of water resources in the Zuya river basin. The environmental situation on the surveyed water bodies was identified as unfavorable. The set of priority environmental measures includes: the creation of a permanent monitoring network, the arrangement of settlements with water disposal systems, the inventory of small water storage facilities and the implementation of the required repair and operational work on them, and the optimization of the number of water users.

scholarly journals Optimal Water Allocation Based on Water Rights Transaction Models with Administered and Market-Based Systems: A Case Study of Shiyang River Basin, China

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizhen Wang ◽  
Yong Zhao ◽  
Yuefei Huang ◽  
Jianhua Wang ◽  
Haihong Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Water Allocation ◽  
Water Rights ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Allocation Model ◽  
Transaction Model ◽  
Shiyang River Basin ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Optimal Water Allocation

Water-rights trade has proved to be an effective method for coping with water shortages through the transfer of water resources between users. The water allocation system is classified into two categories based on information transparency and water rights transaction goals: administered system (AS) and market-based system (MS). A multi-agent and multi-objective optimal allocation model, built on a complex adaptive system, was introduced to direct the distribution of water resources under an AS in the Shiyang River Basin; it was compared with a market-based water rights transaction model using the bulletin-board approach. Ideal economic agent equations played a dominant role in both models. The government and different water users were conceptualized as agents with different behaviors and goals in water allocation. The impact of water-saving cost on optimal water allocation was also considered. The results showed that an agent’s water-saving behavior was incentivized by high transaction prices in the water market. Under the MS, the highest bid in the quotation set had a dominant influence on how trade was conducted. A higher transaction price will, thus, result in a better benefit ratio, and a lower one will result in inactivity in terms of water rights trade. This will significantly impact the economic benefit to the basin.

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