Integrated water resources management and water users' associations in the arid region of northwest China: A case study of farmers' perceptions. Hu, X., Xiong, Y., Li, Y., Wang, J., Li, F., Wang, H., & Li, L. Journal of Environmental Management, 145:162--169, December, 2014. ![Integrated water resources management and water users' associations in the arid region of northwest China: A case study of farmers' perceptions [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex Water scarcity is a critical policy issue in the arid regions of northwest China. The local government has widely adopted integrated water resources management (IWRM), but lacks support from farmers and farm communities. We undertook a case study in the Minqin oasis of northwest China to examine farmers' responses to IWRM and understand why farmer water users' associations (WUAs) are not functioning effectively at the community level. Results of quantitative and qualitative surveys of 392 farmers in 27 administrative villages showed that over 70% of farmers disapprove of the IWRM market-based reforms. In particular, the failure of farmer WUAs can be attributed to overlapping organizational structures between the WUAs and the villagers' committees; mismatches between the organizational scale of the WUAs and practical irrigation management by the farmers themselves; marginalization of rural women in water decision-making processes; and the inflexibility of IWRM implementation. An important policy implication from this study is that rebuilding farmer WUAs is key to overcoming the difficulties of IWRM. The current water governance structure, which is dominated by administrative systems, must be thoroughly reviewed to break the vicious cycle of tension and distrust between farmers and the government.
@article{hu_integrated_2014,
title = {Integrated water resources management and water users' associations in the arid region of northwest {China}: {A} case study of farmers' perceptions},
volume = {145},
issn = {0301-4797},
shorttitle = {Integrated water resources management and water users' associations in the arid region of northwest {China}},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479714003193},
doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.06.018},
abstract = {Water scarcity is a critical policy issue in the arid regions of northwest China. The local government has widely adopted integrated water resources management (IWRM), but lacks support from farmers and farm communities. We undertook a case study in the Minqin oasis of northwest China to examine farmers' responses to IWRM and understand why farmer water users' associations (WUAs) are not functioning effectively at the community level. Results of quantitative and qualitative surveys of 392 farmers in 27 administrative villages showed that over 70\% of farmers disapprove of the IWRM market-based reforms. In particular, the failure of farmer WUAs can be attributed to overlapping organizational structures between the WUAs and the villagers' committees; mismatches between the organizational scale of the WUAs and practical irrigation management by the farmers themselves; marginalization of rural women in water decision-making processes; and the inflexibility of IWRM implementation. An important policy implication from this study is that rebuilding farmer WUAs is key to overcoming the difficulties of IWRM. The current water governance structure, which is dominated by administrative systems, must be thoroughly reviewed to break the vicious cycle of tension and distrust between farmers and the government.},
urldate = {2014-07-25},
journal = {Journal of Environmental Management},
author = {Hu, Xiao-Jun and Xiong, You-Cai and Li, Yong-Jin and Wang, Jian-Xin and Li, Feng-Min and Wang, Hai-Yang and Li, Lan-Lan},
month = dec,
year = {2014},
keywords = {Arid region of northwest China, Farmer water users' associations, Integrated water resources management, Perception},
pages = {162--169},
file = {ScienceDirect Full Text PDF:files/49532/Hu et al. - 2014 - Integrated water resources management and water us.pdf:application/pdf;ScienceDirect Snapshot:files/49522/Hu et al. - 2014 - Integrated water resources management and water us.html:text/html}
}
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The local government has widely adopted integrated water resources management (IWRM), but lacks support from farmers and farm communities. We undertook a case study in the Minqin oasis of northwest China to examine farmers' responses to IWRM and understand why farmer water users' associations (WUAs) are not functioning effectively at the community level. Results of quantitative and qualitative surveys of 392 farmers in 27 administrative villages showed that over 70% of farmers disapprove of the IWRM market-based reforms. In particular, the failure of farmer WUAs can be attributed to overlapping organizational structures between the WUAs and the villagers' committees; mismatches between the organizational scale of the WUAs and practical irrigation management by the farmers themselves; marginalization of rural women in water decision-making processes; and the inflexibility of IWRM implementation. 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The current water governance structure, which is dominated by administrative systems, must be thoroughly reviewed to break the vicious cycle of tension and distrust between farmers and the government.","urldate":"2014-07-25","journal":"Journal of Environmental Management","author":[{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Hu"],"firstnames":["Xiao-Jun"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Xiong"],"firstnames":["You-Cai"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Li"],"firstnames":["Yong-Jin"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Wang"],"firstnames":["Jian-Xin"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Li"],"firstnames":["Feng-Min"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Wang"],"firstnames":["Hai-Yang"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Li"],"firstnames":["Lan-Lan"],"suffixes":[]}],"month":"December","year":"2014","keywords":"Arid region of northwest China, Farmer water users' associations, Integrated water resources management, Perception","pages":"162--169","file":"ScienceDirect Full Text PDF:files/49532/Hu et al. - 2014 - Integrated water resources management and water us.pdf:application/pdf;ScienceDirect Snapshot:files/49522/Hu et al. - 2014 - Integrated water resources management and water us.html:text/html","bibtex":"@article{hu_integrated_2014,\n\ttitle = {Integrated water resources management and water users' associations in the arid region of northwest {China}: {A} case study of farmers' perceptions},\n\tvolume = {145},\n\tissn = {0301-4797},\n\tshorttitle = {Integrated water resources management and water users' associations in the arid region of northwest {China}},\n\turl = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479714003193},\n\tdoi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.06.018},\n\tabstract = {Water scarcity is a critical policy issue in the arid regions of northwest China. The local government has widely adopted integrated water resources management (IWRM), but lacks support from farmers and farm communities. We undertook a case study in the Minqin oasis of northwest China to examine farmers' responses to IWRM and understand why farmer water users' associations (WUAs) are not functioning effectively at the community level. Results of quantitative and qualitative surveys of 392 farmers in 27 administrative villages showed that over 70\\% of farmers disapprove of the IWRM market-based reforms. In particular, the failure of farmer WUAs can be attributed to overlapping organizational structures between the WUAs and the villagers' committees; mismatches between the organizational scale of the WUAs and practical irrigation management by the farmers themselves; marginalization of rural women in water decision-making processes; and the inflexibility of IWRM implementation. 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