Analysis of water management structures of an Integrated Water User Group in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand

Teamsuwan, Vipob; Satoh, Masayoshi; Onimaru, Tatsuji; Boonkird, Va-Son

doi:10.1007/s10333-009-0173-y

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The reasons for the low collection rates were numerous and included a lack of awareness among farmers to pay fees, a lack of capacity of farmers to pay, no sanctions against farmers who do not pay for water use, and a lack of capacity to collect, and transparency of the account conditions in the WUA, whose roles include planning water allocation, delivering water, collecting fees, managing the account, and repairing irrigation facilities 6,8,10 . Other unfair factors among participating farmers were reported to be: (1) farmers in upstream areas dominate use of water (e.g., Chao Phraya Delta) 23 ; (2) large-scale farmers govern WUA (e.g., India and South Africa) 4,7 ; and (3) female farmers can not participate in WUA (e.g., Kenya) 27 . It is also important that the activities of WUA, such as decisions on water allocation, water supply, and maintenance of facilities, are clear, and farmers understand them and fulfill their obligations.…”

Section: Current Problems Of Pim/imtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, in large-scale irrigation systems where it is not possible for all users in the system to know each other, it is difficult not only to reach agreements among members on water allocation and cost sharing but also to operate and maintain irrigation facilities technically 15 . Most reported cases of large-scale irrigation systems have experienced problems such as unequal water allocation and cost shar-ing 6,10,23,28 . With regard to small-scale irrigation, Ounvichit et al (2006) reported the cost sharing and sustainability of the Pongsak Muang Fai irrigation system.…”

Section: Scale Of Irrigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Basic Principles for Sustainable Participatory Irrigation Management

Hamada

Samad²

2011

JARQ

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IntroductionIn the 1950s and 1960s, there was significant global concern over the capacity of agricultural production systems to produce enough food for rapidly growing populations, especially in developing countries. Episodes of severe food scarcity were frequent, especially in the populous countries of southern Asia. The world community responded to the perceived threat in various ways. A major strategy was the rapid creation of new irrigation schemes. These efforts reached a peak in the mid-1970s, when the world's stock of irrigated land was increasing by about 2.5 percent per annum 2 . Many irrigation facilities were planned, constructed, and managed by the government. Invariably, farmers were not consulted in the design or the management of the irrigation facilities. There is clear evidence to show that the spread of irrigation has been a major contributor to the success of the green revolution in Asia and the remarkable increases in agricultural output. By the early 1980s, however, there was widespread dissatisfaction with the performance of irrigation projects, particularly in the large government-managed canal systems, casting doubts on the efficacy of bureaucratic management in the irrigation sector. The 1980s saw the beginning of a search for a new type of relationship between the managers of the irrigated agriculture sector and farmers. With regard to irrigation, this trend led to efforts to promote a participa- REVIEW AbstractParticipatory irrigation management (PIM) is an approach in which farmers participate in all stages of irrigation development through to operation and maintenance, and is implemented in many developing countries. Irrigation management transfer (IMT), a program of transferring the management of irrigation system from government to local user groups, has also been promoted. However, in most cases these approaches have not been successful, because, for example, of the unfair cost sharing and financial weakness in farmers' organizations. This paper summarizes the current problems of PIM/IMT, proposes basic principles for sustainable PIM, which can be applied to IMT, through a review of the previous studies, and discusses future areas for the sustainable use and management of irrigation systems. The key issues that have contributed to the failure of PIM/IMT are a lack of awareness among farmers of the role and necessity of water users' associations (WUA) and the inherent weakness of WUA. We propose the following principles for functional sustainable irrigation management: (1) The roles of WUA and governance are clear and adequate; (2) Through participation in WUA, farmers are guaranteed that their demand for water is supplied in a timely manner; (3) Farmers receive financial benefits through the use of water, which then allows them to cover the costs of water and associated services; (4) All members are treated equally with respect to water allocation, cost sharing, and decision-making; and (5) Information on the financial status and transactions are disclosed to members of WUA in a...

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Section: Current Problems Of Pim/imtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scale Of Irrigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basic Principles for Sustainable Participatory Irrigation Management

Hamada

Samad²

2011

JARQ

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“…The IWUG 18R canal consists of 24 WUGs, of which 14 WUGs are formal and the other 10 are tentative (Teamsuwan et al 2007). The formal WUGs were established after an on-farm development project was performed in each area; the others were tentatively established on the occasion of the IWUG formation although on-farm ditch development has not been performed.…”

Section: Organizational Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative analysis of management of three water users’ organizations: successful cases in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand

Teamsuwan

Satoh

2009

Paddy Water Environ

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A good water users' organization (WUO) is a significant factor in the practical success of an irrigation project. The major duties of WUOs are to operate and maintain their irrigation facilities and to perform the financial and organizational management. This paper analyzes the history and present situation of three WUOs in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand which have been awarded for their successful activities: namely, two pilot integrated water user groups (IWUGs) and one pilot water users' association. The results of a field survey and questionnaire revealed the users' past experience, methods of irrigation management, and social mobilization efforts. The main results of our analysis are as follows: (1) among the three WUOs, only the IWUG Sao Hi Unity Agriculture Irrigation (IWUG SHUAI) can be regarded as a successful case in terms of long-term management, (2) as a pumping irrigation project, the IWUG SHUAI entails an upfront electricity cost, which gives farmers added impetus to organize a management system and budget, and to learn from past failures, and (3) in contrast, the member farmers in the gravity irrigation projects lack the impetus to realize the necessity of a common management budget, a situation which can be improved only by the education of the leaders and clear explanation to the member farmers.

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“…The first group of papers (Onimaru et al 2003, Shioda & Onimaru 2007, Teamsuwan et al 2010 aimed to analyze the present support situation to establish water users' organizations using a Japanese-type PIM assistance project that exploits the knowledge of the stratified water users' organizations in Japan (Iwata & Okamoto 2000), already known as a successful PIM. This is due to the need for organizations equipped with continuously functioning mechanisms to be established as implementing bodies to encourage and increase willingness.…”

Section: Objectives Of the Papersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of water management structures of an Integrated Water User Group in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

Basic Principles for Sustainable Participatory Irrigation Management

Basic Principles for Sustainable Participatory Irrigation Management

Comparative analysis of management of three water users’ organizations: successful cases in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand

Farmers’ Willingness to Perform Maintenance Activities in Participatory Irrigation Management in Thailand

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