Water users’ associations: an effective approach for conflicts resolution among water users in Punjab, Pakistan

This study aimed at assessing the role of water users’ associations (WUAs) in conflicts resolution among water users. A sample of 100 executive members of WUAs was selected purposefully from twenty randomly selected registered and improved watercourses. The data was collected through a detailed, validated and pre-tested interview schedule and analysed through SPSS. Findings showed that social conflicts (x̄=2.00), repair and maintenances of watercourse (x̄=1.91) and disputes on watercourse design, route and section to be lined (x̄=1.81) were the top most causes of conflicts among the water users. Uprooting of trees (86.0%), payment of farmers’ share (79.0%), quality of materials used (73.0%), section of watercourses to be lined (71.0%), working of farmers’ labor (70.0%) and provision of labour (69.0%) were the important reasons for differences among water users. Satisfaction level of water users regarding contribution of WUAs in conflict resolution (x̄=3.98) was lying between medium to high tending towards high while, effectiveness of WUAs in conflict resolution (x̄=4.17) was lying between high and very high tending towards very high. There exist a stronger association between the role of WUAs as dependent and strategy to resolve the conflicts as independent variables while, the role of WUAs was strongly dependent on their response to the complaints and it was also dependent on determining the causes of these conflicts. Thus, WUAs must be promoted at every level for enhancing their role for conflicts resolution through regular trainings to improve their conflicts resolution abilities on modern lines and must be made more powerful in terms of authority to decide common conflicts at the spot.

Water users associations and irrigation water use efficiency in costal oases areas of Gabes, South-eastern Tunisia

The objective of this study was to measure the efficiency level of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in the coastal oases of Gabès (South-Est of Tunisia) and assessing its main determinants. First, an input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to measure the relative efficiency scores of WUAs and to evaluate the management and maintenance costs sub-vectors efficiencies separately through a mathematical modification in the initial DEA specification. In a second stage, critical determinants of sub-vector efficiency are determined by applying a Tobit model. A key finding of the study is that WUAs are clearly inefficient. Results show that on average, 38% of the used inputs could be saved if the WUAs operated on the frontier. The inefficiency found can be mainly attributed to the number of water pumping stations managed, the ratio of water losses and WUAs' age. The results also show a discrepancy between the technical efficiency values calculated under the CRS and VRS assumptions, resulting in a 20% scale inefficiency. The study also revealed that the sub-vector inefficiency of WUAs is more linked with engineering inefficiencies than to their management inefficiencies.

Water Users Associations in Tanzania: Local Governance for Whom?

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.

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

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.