Governing Water Resource Allocation: Water User Association Characteristics and the Role of the State
Water, as a common pool resource, is threatened by the possibility of overextraction generating a negative economic impact, conflicts among users, and greater income inequality. Scholars have discussed different governance approaches to deal with this threat, including centralized governance and sel...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/17/2436 |
| _version_ | 1797520788166803456 |
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| author | Alejandra Engler Oscar Melo Francisca Rodríguez Bárbara Peñafiel Roberto Jara-Rojas |
| author_facet | Alejandra Engler Oscar Melo Francisca Rodríguez Bárbara Peñafiel Roberto Jara-Rojas |
| author_sort | Alejandra Engler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water, as a common pool resource, is threatened by the possibility of overextraction generating a negative economic impact, conflicts among users, and greater income inequality. Scholars have discussed different governance approaches to deal with this threat, including centralized governance and self-governance, and lately, special attention has been paid to the interactions between formal institutions (the state) and local water user associations and how this promotes self-governance. The aim of this paper was to examine the adoption of Ostrom’s design principles present in the legal norms dictated in the Chilean Water Code by water user associations and to analyze the roles of their size, community homogeneity, and perceived water stress on adopting legal norms. The results showed that water communities generally follow the rules established in the Water Code, but the voting system, distribution of water, and fee payment are adjusted in small and homogenous water user associations. We can also conclude that a cornerstone in the system is implementing graduated sanctions, as water users see the tools provided by the Water Code as ineffective. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:01:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd7861cce0cd453297adbebf7e255bd0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:01:36Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd7861cce0cd453297adbebf7e255bd02023-11-22T11:25:48ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-09-011317243610.3390/w13172436Governing Water Resource Allocation: Water User Association Characteristics and the Role of the StateAlejandra Engler0Oscar Melo1Francisca Rodríguez2Bárbara Peñafiel3Roberto Jara-Rojas4Department of Agricultural Economics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8320000, ChileDepartment of Agricultural Economics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8320000, ChileCenter for the Socioeconomic Impact of Environmental Policies (CESIEP—Núcleo Milenio), Santiago 8320000, ChileCenter for the Socioeconomic Impact of Environmental Policies (CESIEP—Núcleo Milenio), Santiago 8320000, ChileCenter for the Socioeconomic Impact of Environmental Policies (CESIEP—Núcleo Milenio), Santiago 8320000, ChileWater, as a common pool resource, is threatened by the possibility of overextraction generating a negative economic impact, conflicts among users, and greater income inequality. Scholars have discussed different governance approaches to deal with this threat, including centralized governance and self-governance, and lately, special attention has been paid to the interactions between formal institutions (the state) and local water user associations and how this promotes self-governance. The aim of this paper was to examine the adoption of Ostrom’s design principles present in the legal norms dictated in the Chilean Water Code by water user associations and to analyze the roles of their size, community homogeneity, and perceived water stress on adopting legal norms. The results showed that water communities generally follow the rules established in the Water Code, but the voting system, distribution of water, and fee payment are adjusted in small and homogenous water user associations. We can also conclude that a cornerstone in the system is implementing graduated sanctions, as water users see the tools provided by the Water Code as ineffective.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/17/2436water resourcesgovernance systemwater user communities |
| spellingShingle | Alejandra Engler Oscar Melo Francisca Rodríguez Bárbara Peñafiel Roberto Jara-Rojas Governing Water Resource Allocation: Water User Association Characteristics and the Role of the State Water water resources governance system water user communities |
| title | Governing Water Resource Allocation: Water User Association Characteristics and the Role of the State |
| title_full | Governing Water Resource Allocation: Water User Association Characteristics and the Role of the State |
| title_fullStr | Governing Water Resource Allocation: Water User Association Characteristics and the Role of the State |
| title_full_unstemmed | Governing Water Resource Allocation: Water User Association Characteristics and the Role of the State |
| title_short | Governing Water Resource Allocation: Water User Association Characteristics and the Role of the State |
| title_sort | governing water resource allocation water user association characteristics and the role of the state |
| topic | water resources governance system water user communities |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/17/2436 |
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