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| Title |  |
State Administration, Devolution, and Water
Markets in Irrigation Management. Published in pp. 5-24 of the DVWK Bulleting 20: Deregulation, Decentralization, and Privatization in Irrigation, by the German Association for Water Resources and Land Improvement--DVWK (23 pages) |
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| Author | Ruth Meinzen-Dick | |||
| Organisation | International Food Policy Research Institute | |||
| Year | 1997 | |||
| Summary/ Introduction |
Many countries are moving from emphasis on expansion of irrigation and water control projects to management of increasing scarcity and competition between water users. Accompanying this is a re-assessment of the state dominance in water management, as seen in policies of devolution or irrigation management transfer and a move to treat water as an economic commodity, rather than a public good. Rather than pursuing an ideological commitment to any of these approaches, it is essential to identify the appropriate role for the state, user groups, and markets. This paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each management entity, with particular emphasis on the incentives they create for efficient water use. It then identifies the technical and institutional infrastructure needed for each. Because no single approach or management entity alone will achieve optimal water management, the paper concludes with an examination of ways to develop effective partnerships between state administration, user groups, and market mechanisms. | |||
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