Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-24hb2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-26T18:25:59.077Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Rules and collective action: an institutional analysis of the performance of irrigation systems in Nepal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2011

RAM C. BASTAKOTI*
Affiliation:
School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, PO Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
GANESH P. SHIVAKOTI
Affiliation:
School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, PO Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand

Abstract:

This paper focuses on understanding rule systems by documenting existing rules and their development in irrigation management in Nepal. We analyze the rule formation of a sample of irrigation systems based on the ADICO syntax (Crawford & Ostrom, 1995; Ostrom, 2005). Farmer-managed irrigation systems generally are autonomous in devising their own rules based on local context considering the ideas, norms and beliefs shared within the community. Rule formation in agency-managed irrigation systems, however, is mostly done by external officials. Strong rule enforcement mechanisms were found in farmer-managed systems compared with agency-managed systems. Better rule enforcement created favorable conditions for collective action among the users and ensured better performance of the irrigation systems. Results imply that the formation of new rules should fully consider biophysical attributes as well as community beliefs and ideas.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The JOIE Foundation 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baral, R. R. (2001), Nepal ko Itihans, Kathmandu, Nepal: Ratna Pustak Bhandar [in Nepali language].Google Scholar
Bardhan, P. (2000), ‘Irrigation and Cooperation: An Empirical Analysis of 48 Irrigation Communities in South India’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 48 (4): 847865.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhatta, K. P., Ishida, A., Taniguchi, K., and Sharma, R. (2005), ‘Performance of Agency-Managed and Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems: A Comparative Case Study at Chitwan, Nepal’, Irrigation and Drainage Systems, 20 (2–3): 177191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crawford, S. and Ostrom, E. (1995), ‘A Grammar of Institutions’, The American Political Science Review, 89 (3): 582600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dietz, T., Ostrom, E., and Stern, P. (2003), ‘The Struggle to Govern the Commons’, Science, 302 (5652): 19071912.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Florensa, M. C. (2004), Institutional Stability and Change. A Logic Sequence for Studying Institutional Dynamics. The Tenth Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP), Oaxaca, Mexico 9–13 August 2004, http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/1823/CostejaFlorensa_Institutional_040525_Paper220.pdf?sequence=1 (accessed October 2011).Google Scholar
Greif, A. (2005), Institutions, Theory and History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hardin, G. (1968), ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’, Science, 162 (3859): 12431248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
His Majesty's Government of Nepal (1992), Water Resources Act 1992, Kathmandu, Nepal: Legal Document Management Committee of His Majesty's Government of Nepal [in Nepali language].Google Scholar
His Majesty's Government of Nepal (1993), Water Resources Regulation 1993, Kathmandu, Nepal: Legal Document Management Committee of His Majesty's Government of Nepal [in Nepali language].Google Scholar
His Majesty's Government of Nepal (2000), Irrigation Regulation 2000, Kathmandu, Nepal: Legal Document Management Committee of His Majesty's Government of Nepal [in Nepali language].Google Scholar
His Majesty's Government of Nepal (2003), Irrigation Policy 2003, Kathmandu, Nepal: Legal Document Management Committee of His Majesty's Government of Nepal.Google Scholar
Khanal, R. R. (1982), Muluki Ain Kehi Bibechana, Lalitpur, Nepal: Sajha Prakashan Press [in Nepali language].Google Scholar
Lam, W. F. (1996), ‘Improving the Performance of Small-Scale Irrigation Systems: The Effects of Technological Investments and Governance Structure on Irrigation Performance in Nepal’, World Development, 24 (8): 13011315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lam, W. F. (1998), Governing Irrigation Systems in Nepal: Institutions, Infrastructures, and Collective Action, Oakland, CA: ICS Press.Google Scholar
Leathes, W., Knox, J. W., Kay, M. G., Trawick, P., and Rodriguez-Diaz, J. A. (2008), ‘“Developing UK Farmers” Institutional Capacity to Defend their Water Rights and Effectively Manage Limited Water Resources’, Irrigation and Drainage, 57 (3): 322331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Livingston, M. L. (2005), ‘Evaluating Changes in Water Institutions: Methodological Issues at the Micro and Meso Levels’, Water Policy, 7: 2134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meinzen-Dick, R., Raju, K. V., and Gulati, A. (2002), ‘What Affects Organization and Collective Action for Managing Resources? Evidence from Canal Irrigation Systems in India’, World Development, 30 (4): 649666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meinzen-Dick, R. (2007), ‘Beyond Panaceas in Water Institutions’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 104 (39): 1520015205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mittenzwei, K. and Bullock, D. S. (2001), Towards a Framework for Institutional Analysis, 16th Annual Congress of the European Economic Association, Lausanne, Switzerland.Google Scholar
National Planning Commission (2002), The Tenth Plan 2002–2007, Kathmandu, Nepal: National Planning Commission.Google Scholar
North, D. C. (1990), Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostrom, E. (1990), Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostrom, E. (1999), ‘Institutional Rational Choice: An Assessment of the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework’, in Sabatier, P. A. (ed.), Theories of the Policy Process, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Ostrom, E. (2005), Understanding Institutional Diversity, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Ostrom, E. (2007), ‘Challenges and Growth: the Development of the Interdisciplinary Field of Institutional Analysis’, Journal of Institutional Economics, 3 (3): 239264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostrom, E. and Basurto, X. (2011), ‘Crafting Analytical Tools to Study Institutional Change’, Journal of Institutional Economics, 7 (3): 317343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostrom, E., Burger, J., Field, C., Norgaard, R. B., and Policansky, D. (1999), ‘Revisiting the Commons: Local Lessons, Global Challenges’, Science, 284 (5412): 278282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ostrom, E., Gardner, R., and Walker, J. (1994), Rules, Games and Common-Pool Resources, Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pradhan, P., Sijapati, S., Riddell, N., and Prasad, K. C. (1998), Irrigation Service Fee in Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal: Department of Irrigation/Nepal and International Water Management Institute.Google Scholar
Regmi, A. R. (2008), ‘Self-Governance in Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems in Nepal’, Journal of Developments in Sustainable Agriculture, 3 (1): 2027.Google Scholar
Saleth, R. M. and Dinar, A. (2000), ‘Institutional Changes in Global Water Sector: Trends, Patterns, and Implications’, Water Policy, 2: 175199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shah, S. G. and Singh, G. N. (2000), Irrigation Development in Nepal: Investment, Efficiency and Institution, Winrock International Research Report Series No. 47, Kathmandu, Nepal: Winrock International.Google Scholar
Shivakoti, G. P. and Bastakoti, R. C. (2006), ‘The Robustness of Montane Irrigation Systems of Thailand in a Dynamic Human–Water Resources Interface’, Journal of Institutional Economics, 2 (2): 227247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shivakoti, G. P. and Ostrom, E. (eds.) (2002), Improving Irrigation Governance and Management in Nepal, Oakland, CA: ICS Press.Google Scholar
Shukla, A. K. (2002), Policies, Processes, and Performance of Management Turnover in Agencies Initiated Intervention, in Shivakoti, G. P. and Ostrom, E. (eds.), Improving Irrigation Governance and Management in Nepal, Oakland, CA: ICS Press.Google Scholar
Shukla, A. K. and Sharma, K. R. (1997), Participatory Irrigation Management in Nepal: A Monograph on Evolution, Processes and Performance, Kathmandu, Nepal: RTDB/IMD/Department of Irrigation.Google Scholar
Smajgl, A. (2007), ‘Modelling Evolving Rules for the Use of Common Pool Resources in an Agent-Based Model’, Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, 5 (2): 5680.Google Scholar
Tang, S. Y. (1992), Institutions and Collective Action: Self-Governance in Irrigation, San Francisco, CA: ICS Press.Google Scholar
WaterAid Nepal (2005), Water Laws in Nepal: Laws Relating to Drinking Water, Sanitation, Irrigation, Hydropower and Water Pollution, Kathmandu: WaterAid Nepal.Google Scholar