BARRIERS TO FARMERS’ PARTICIPATION IN ESTABLISHING WATER USER ASSOCIATIONS: THE CASE OF IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE NETWORK OF NORTHEAST AHWAZ, IRAN

Abstract

Concern about water resources in semi-arid areas of the world has led to the
introduction of a participatory management system of water, which potentially
challenges farmers’ willingness to involvement. Establishing water user
associations has altered the water management system in irrigation and drainage
networks. Undoubtedly, promoting these changes in rural areas, where the new
social changes are slowly accepted, is encountered with various obstacles. As such,
this study was conducted to recognize the impediments of establishing water user
associations through the eyes of those working in an irrigation and drainage
network. Data were collected through a questionnaire which consisted of questions
regarding social, financial, cultural, organizational, management and attitude
barriers. Analysis of data revealed that management barriers were ranked at the
first place followed by the cultural, attitude and social ones. However, lack of
motives to stimulate users into participatory system of water management, farmers’
inabilities to combat with those who illegally extract water, inability to equal and
justice-based allocation of water to different users, farmers’ preferences to instant
individual advantages instead of future common advantages, negative attitude of
farmers toward efficacy of local associations, lack of informative opportunities for
making farmers aware of the WUAs’ benefits were recognized as the strongest
barriers, respectively. The results also showed that there was significantly positive
correlation among four categories of barriers including social, cultural,
management and attitude. This means that they were interrelated and any
intervention to change one could affect the others. Hence, to initiate involvement of
the local people into decentralized systems of water resources management, salient
attempts are needed to empower farmers for removing the barriers, mainly
management and social.