Improving equity of water distribution: the challenge for farmer organizations in Sindh, Pakistan
Date
2004-10
Authors
Lashari, Bakhshal, author
Memon, Yameen, author
Murray-Rust, Hammond, author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
A major objective of the Pilot Project for Farmer-Managed Irrigation in Sindh has been to help Farmer Organizations (FOs) achieve greater equity of water distribution. By giving full responsibility to water users for both operations and maintenance it is hoped that they will be able to develop water sharing mechanisms that reflect their views of equity rather than have a standardized view of equity imposed upon them by outside authorities. Two elements of equity are considered on the basis of the results collected in the pre-transfer period. External equity issues look at water allocation and delivery between different distributaries. The three sample canals show wide variations in water deliveries, ranging from just under 100% of design to almost 200%. Internal equity issues look at how water is shared between watercourses along a canal. In the two canals with favorable water deliveries at the head there is no noticeable head-tail difference, and all farmers get at least design discharge during the peak of the summer season. The third canal which gets close to design discharge shows a marked disparity between head and tail, with tail enders more or less deprived of reliable water. To help farmers improve internal equity canals have been divided into three reaches more or less equivalent to head, middle and tail sections. Gauges established at each boundary provide farmers with a simple tool to determine whether each reach is taking more or less of its fair share of water. An accompanying table provides water level targets that the Farmer Organization can use as operational guidelines to allocate water between the different sections of the canal. The farmer organizations in the three canals have become constrained because they still do not have legal powers to allocate and distribute water between watercourses, nor to determine the size of outlet structures to watercourses. If the enabling legislation is further delayed then it is likely the organizations will wither and become ineffective.
Description
Presented during the USCID water management conference held on October 13-16, 2004 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The theme of the conference was "Water rights and related water supply issues."