The Role Of The Individual Agency In Participatory Irrigation Management: Lessons From India

The devolution of authority for resource management is an important approach to overcome challenges of centralized state bureaucracies. The literature on common-pool resources identifies important design principles to enhance efficiency, equity and sustainability of local user groups. In spite of intensive research, knowledge gaps remain regarding the question as to why some groups are able to overcome governance challenges, while others are not. The paper addresses this gap by conducting case studies in India. It was found that two villages were able to minimize governance challenges, which enabled water distribution to become a community activity. The other two villages have, despite similar guidelines, failed to live up to the participatory approach and are dealing with challenges such as lack of accountability and social exclusion. The Grounded Theory approach identified individual agency and local leadership as a major factor that plays a significant role in the success of participatory irrigation management.