GRIPP Case Profile Series

Participatory Management and Sustainable Use of Groundwater: A Review of the Andhra Pradesh Farmer-Managed Groundwater Systems Project in India

2022-01-03T11:08:58+01:00

In arid and semiarid environments, livelihoods based on irrigated agriculture are typically dependent on groundwater. Despite being a common-pool resource, groundwater development is primarily in the hands of private individuals, because groundwater rights are often linked to land rights, as in the case of India. As a result of this and the capital investment needed, groundwater development is undertaken by wealthier farming households with the adverse impacts of groundwater overexploitation often borne by small and marginal farmers, because they cannot afford to drill deeper, if they have wells, as groundwater levels drop, especially in areas occupied by hard rock aquifers.

Until recently, no concrete efforts were made in India to bring groundwater under an appropriate system of management. With rapidly increasing groundwater use and mounting signs of widespread depletion, state policy interventions have attempted to better manage the resource. The policy advances vary across different states depending on their status of groundwater development and the socioeconomic and policy context. Despite the formal approaches and methods used to restore groundwater levels, the progress has been limited primarily due to the lack of enforcement. Where successful, the scalability of these efforts depends highly on the socioeconomic conditions and political environment.

The failure of formal regulatory approaches has led India to experiment with informal, participatory groundwater management (PGM) initiatives over recent decades. Various participatory and community-based groundwater management interventions have been tried in different parts of India. Although most of these are small-scale initiatives, some state governments in India are taking a keen interest in supporting and scaling up these initiatives.

The fifth issue in the Case Profile Series, produced by the Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice (GRIPP), assesses whether the proactive involvement of rural communities in the management of groundwater positively contributes towards sustainable resource use. The assessment uses the long term (2003-2013) Andhra Pradesh Farmer-Managed Groundwater Systems (APFAMGS) project in India as a case study. Implemented across seven districts, the assessment is based on a critical review and synthesis of existing literature and complementary field visits conducted five years after project closure. APFAMGS worked towards creating awareness and bringing about behavioral change to achieve sustainable groundwater use, primarily for irrigation. The approach focused on knowledge transfer and capacity building to set up participatory processes conducive to informal management measures, and technologies supporting participatory hydrological monitoring and crop water budgeting. In addition, awareness creation in relation to demand as well as supply side management options was a key intervention.

The analysis suggests that APFAMGS has helped in filling the knowledge and information gaps on groundwater resources among local farming communities. Some degree of long-term reduction in groundwater pumping was observed, but the attribution to the project is not clear, and effects on reducing groundwater level declines may be limited and localized. The APFAMGS approach of PGM fell short in terms of equity considerations, with implications for the institutional sustainability of the approach. The study provides policy guidance for adopting more inclusive PGM-based institutions on a wider scale.

Recharging floodwaters to depleted aquifers for irrigation: Findings from a multi-scale assessment in the Ganges basin, India

2021-03-08T15:47:44+01:00

Pragmatic, cost-effective, socially inclusive and scalable solutions that reduce risks from recurring cycles of floods and droughts would greatly benefit many emerging economies. One promising solution known as Underground Transfer of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI) involves refilling depleted aquifers with seasonal high-flows to provide additional groundwater for irrigated agriculture while also mitigating floods. The potential for this solution has been broadly assessed to be present across large parts of South Asia. The first pilot scale implementation of UTFI was carried out in a rural community of the Upper Gangetic Plain in India and its performance assessed over three years from technical, environmental, socioeconomic and institutional perspectives. The piloting results are promising and show that UTFI has the potential to enhance groundwater storage and control flooding if replicated across the Ramganga basin. The challenges, gaps and options for more wide-scale implementation are identified and discussed. In areas of high potential, policy makers in India and elsewhere should consider UTFI as an option when making decisions that address climate vulnerability and other water-related development challenges.

The North West dolomite aquifers, South Africa. A stalled opportunity for water security and development

2020-06-08T15:53:54+02:00

The karst dolomite aquifers of the North West Province in South Africa are among the most important in the nation. They serve as key water sources for municipal water supply and irrigation, and are also ecologically important in supplying springs that feed important rivers. Over-abstraction and consequent falling groundwater levels jeopardize water supply security, with increasing costs and risks to sustainable development. Better aquifer and conjunctive water management would improve water supply security and lower costs, with wider benefits to many sectors. This GRIPP Case Profile discusses these challenges and management experiences through the examples of two representative North West dolomite aquifers – the Grootfontein and Steenkoppies aquifers. These aquifers are relatively well understood hydrogeologically, and modern South African water law mandates sustainable use. Yet, underperforming collaboration between stakeholders using and managing the aquifers at various levels, and poor support from the national authority have led to an entrenched suboptimal equilibrium where stakeholders are reluctant to change behavior, despite awareness of the negative outcomes. Neither prescriptive local nor top-down organization has been effective. The synthesis argues for prioritized input from a legally mandated and capacitated convening authority (the national Department of Water and Sanitation) to catalyze and support effective local stakeholder groups and other governance initiatives. It calls for a renewed effort by this convening authority and other stakeholders, emphasizing mutually beneficial or “win-win” outcomes.

Controlling groundwater through smart card machines. The case of water quotas and pricing mechanisms in Gansu Province, China

2020-06-08T15:49:37+02:00

Since the 1970s, intensive groundwater abstraction by smallholder farmers has led to falling groundwater levels and related problems in many parts of North China. The 2002 revised Water Law urges local authorities to regulate groundwater use in regions of overdraft. This GRIPP Case Profile documents two cases of local groundwater abstraction regulation in Gansu Province, Northwest China, based on primary data collection. In both cases, smart card machines were installed on farmers’ wells to control groundwater abstraction. However, in the case of Minqin County, the local authorities opted for quotas, while in the case of Guazhou County, they opted for tiered water pricing as a regulation instrument. The quotas in Minqin have been implemented in a way that directly affected farmers’ groundwater use practices. Consequently, farmers are no longer free to decide when and how much groundwater to use. The tiered water pricing in Guazhou has had little implications for farmers’ individual groundwater use practices. The pricing threshold is flattened out at farm group level and the price is not raised to a level which instills behavioral change. Hence, it can be concluded that the potential of smart card machines to control groundwater abstraction is highly dependent on the design and implementation of the regulatory mechanism behind the machines. Although the present study cannot draw hard conclusions on the effectiveness of quotas and pricing mechanisms per se, it does provide an indication that, in the given societal context, the practicability of quotas to reduce farmers’ groundwater abstraction is higher than that of tiered pricing. Notably, the case of Minqin exemplifies that quotas lend themselves well to ensure equitable water access to all farmers and maintain the buffer function of conjunctive surface water and groundwater use. These are important principles to design effective groundwater regulation policies, both in and outside China.

Aquifer Contracts. A Means to Solving Groundwater Over-exploitation in Morocco?

2020-06-08T15:41:17+02:00

The Moroccan government has used aquifer contracts as a management tool to control groundwater depletion. The first aquifer contract was signed in 2006 for the Souss region as a technical and financial non-binding contract between stakeholders and the government. The contract contemplated specific measures to be implemented across the Souss Massa-Draa Basin, including water fees and restriction of cultivated areas. This GRIPP Case Profile reviews the evolution of aquifer contracts in Morocco and the case of the Souss, examining the various social, political and institutional challenges surrounding its endorsement and implementation. Despite its innovative approach as a multi-user platform aiming to consolidate specific groundwater management activities on the ground, the voluntary nature of the aquifer contract limited the number of participating stakeholders. Also, the lack of institutional capacity and clarity of roles under the decentralization process prohibited its oversight and enforcement. The Case Profile illustrates the complexity of groundwater management within a context of increased resource dependence, and the necessity to enhance and sustain inclusive participatory arrangements. In order to improve the effectiveness of aquifer contracts, Morocco needs to solidify its decentralization of groundwater management, and clear up environmental, agricultural and irrigation policy inconsistencies. Better data to understand and manage groundwater resources in an integrated manner are also needed, as well as proper oversight and binding measures that encourage transparency and adherence to the water law.