Self-Governing Irrigation Systems in Nepal

Performance of Self-Governing Irrigation Systems in Nepal

• Development theories assume that managing common-pool resources is too difficult for anyone besides the government.
• Temptation exists to exploit collective resources without contributing.
• Sustaining collective action is difficult due to costs and difficulty in measuring long-term benefits.
• States use this difficulty to justify state intervention and dependency.
• Farmer-managed irrigation in Nepal performs better on average than state-operated systems.
• Low-tech farmer systems outperform high-tech systems.

Irrigation Systems and Common Pool Resources (CPRs)

• CPRs are natural resources or constructed facilities where exclusion is difficult and benefits are subtractable.
• Farmers can easily create openings to access canal water, even without contributing to CPRs.
• Overusage problems lead local elites to seek government help for CPR maintenance.
• Individual water use from a CPR limits availability for others.
• Cheating the system to take more water than authorized is tempting, even with rules.
• Rice farmers prefer constantly flooded fields due to the crop's intolerance of drying.
• David Freeman says individual utility-seeking logic may conflict with community needs.
  • Farmers may not invest in channel repairs if their channels are misaligned or leaky.
    • One farmer's channel fix won't improve the entire system.
    • Collective action is needed for effective water flow and returns.
    • One farmer may free ride on others' improvements. -- A rational individual may choose to do nothing.
• Collective action in CPRs is challenging due to differing experiences between farmers at the head and the tail end of a canal.
  • High-end farmers may not understand the scarcity their actions cause for low-end farmers.
  • High-end farmers lack incentive to improve channels if they can easily take water. -A Sparling study showed that a 1% increase in efficiency yields 16 times the benefit for all.
• State intervention is seen as necessary for large CPR systems due to logistics, distribution, and benefit quantification.
  • Large-scale projects and technical knowledge often prompt the involvement of a central government.
• Collective action by those with assets ensures returns, but may not be efficient in capturing all benefits.
  • Elites are often seen to obtain the most benefits.
• Central governments can disrupt the cycle of the wealthy controlling a disproportionate share.
• The need for central governments is a theoretical presumption linked to the colonial experience in Asia.
  • Previous unirrigated areas like India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka resulted in colonized centralized control over systems.
• Supplying irrigation is viewed as largely a technical problem.
  • "Scarce expertize" is best located in bureaucracy.
• Systems lacking farmer participation perform poorly, despite government provision.
  • Farmers are often excluded in desigh due to belifes around education
  • Engineering always trumps "primitive" systems
• Physical improvements can disrupt established farmer practices.
  • Farmers ultimately operate and manage irrigation daily, even after government intervention.
  • New systems can undermine built-up trust and cooperation in older systems.
• Nepal's farmer-managed systems show better agricultural yields and crop intensities versus agency-managed systems.
  • Farmer-organized systems provide water to head and tail ends more effectively than agency-organized systems.
    • In the summer monsoon, 90% vs half.
• Differences in system technologies lead to assumptions that advanced systems would be more efficient, however, farmer-based ones exceed
• System success varies based on context
• Lack of appropriate incentives exists in government systems.
  • Engineers/irrigators are incentivized by professional/cultural values, pay, and work policies.
  • Officials are hired/promoted by exam performance and qualifications alone.
    • Measures of their ability to work with farmers or understand irrigation problems are absent.
  • Farmers are excluded from hiring processes.
  • Promotion is based on seniority.
    • Discourages creativity and innovation because effort is not appropriately compensated.
  • Corruption is common in the usage of public funds, due to a strong incentive to cooperate in corruption to receive higher salaries
  • Engineers went to strenuous lengths, undermining their status as a engineers.
  • Civil servants tend to want to move closer to urban areas

Farmer Systems and Sewar Systems

• Farmer system representatives are farmers themselves.
  • Their continued employment depends on fair water distribution.
  • Officials are rewarded with more grain for well-operating systems.
  • Incentives are tied to productivity and efficiency.
• Sewar System: farmers join specific canal water user groups
  • They provide an adult for meetings and pay fines
  • Each group has a leader, ususally inherited.
    • However, farmers have ousted leaders that are disorganized with their work
  • Leaders and members of each farmer system are incentivized to maximize productivity

Extinction Rebellion Lecture by Dr Benno Netelenbos

• Ecological crises can no longer be ignored.
• Corrupt institutions threaten prosperity and democracy, favoring short-term profit, ignoring common interest.
• Social bonds are declared null as government fails to uphold their end of the contract.
• New institutions and a new social contract are necessary.
• Resource usage contains three types of problems.
• Excludability, extractibility, asymmetry.
• Social Dilemma: Situations where individuals make independent choices that affect interdependently.
• Externalities (Tragedy of the Common) are a problem:
  • Values extracted from resource are not taken into account.
  • Externalities become a problem when resources are overexploited/cannot recover.
• Asymmetry: Differing perception of issues cause disagreement.
• CO2 reduction is an issue with asymmetry:
  • Richer, industrialized nations cause the climate issue, and developing countries must endure
• Core issue of enviro crisis is the over exploitation of natural resources (CPR)
• Social dilemas overcome by addressing 3 barriers:
  • Freeriding (excludability)
  • Externalities (extractability)
  • Political conflicts (asymmetry)

Social Contract

• Thomas Hobbes created a philosophical Method to review the foundations of state/government power.
  • States possess the power to use violence or inspire obedience.
  • SCT is the foundation that legitimizes the state power and violence.
• Key conditions revolved around each SCT:
  • People exist in a anarchist society, with no control or laws in nature
  • State is needed to solve problems
  • States enforce obedience in contract, giving up certain rights
• Security as a social dilemma exists:
  • Security is relative
  • Increased security of ONE decreases others' security
  • Security/peace is a CPR
    • Social contract with sovereign state a solution
    • rational to give freedom for state power
• Foundations of model liberal state are:
  • Order is a legit foundation with security being based on citizens
  • Liberty allows happiness, in society
  • Public Goods: goods the state provide

Market/State Solutions to CPR Depletion

• Market solutions: resource privatizations, however no guarantee farmers will maintain, can go corrupt. Issue with difficulty
• State solutions to depletion:
  • Collectivization of resources, exclusion with high fines.

Climate Change, Key Aspects and Figures

• Climate change is said to be most significant challenge of this century
• CO2 exceeds 410 PPM in atmosphere, the highest in 800,000 yeras
• Global Temperature is 1.2 C, the limit is 2 C before dangerous change
• We have 20 years
• Extreme weather is rising, 16/17 warmest in record 2001, Artic reaching 25 C
• Saltwater is causing lower sea levels
• The costs of transfer projects and damage from natural diasters will cause economical unstability
• Kiribati has purchased land a precation, and caused water fights.
• Climate events destablize fragile states
• Melting artic will cause fighting over ship routes of 40 % of emissioons

International Relations and Efforts

• The US and China account for 40percent of emissions combined
• Global support continues DESPITE Trump
• Local and regional include UN security council
• Agreements include Paris, and efforts such as Montreal for deforestation etc.

Overfishing "They Are Well on Their Way to Plunder the Sea"

• Overfishing is a issue with illegl fishing at its core
• Dutch have a heavy hand, including Carnelis in illegal finshes practices
• Dumping of dead fish in seen

IUU and Scaling Factors

• IUU is about 30% in the world
• Fish Stocks are shrinking
• Industrial ships now sit for months
• Observers can only do much, and at risk from intimation, bribery, and fear of retailing

Loopholes and The Catch

• AIS devices often off but needed
• Illegal Catch is being traded
• Misreporting.

Impact and Consequences of Industrialized Fishing

• Inefficient over time
• bycatch is issue
• stocks are shrinking.
• West AFrica declined 25 percent, with lots of human and enviro costs.
• Pualy saids could be a 2048 finish

Failed and Regulation Challenges

• Discard still happening
• quota manipulation
• trawling will occur
• Case studies of fraud show lots, Dutch shipping too
• EU warned Netherlands of no enforcement