The Reform Complexities of the Irrigation Water System in Egypt PDF Download

Author: Marie Edward
Publisher:
ISBN:
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Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The irrigation water sector in Egypt relies on a well-defined central management framework, the integrated role of the different concerned stakeholders, including the local-level informal actors, and on how the water users perceive the value of their water resources and collectively contribute to the management mechanism. With the rising complexities, namely, poor quality, water shortage, unfair distribution and poor cost recovery, the collective approach has been progressively replaced by more individualistic actions that lead to conflicts of interest and calls for reforms. Adaptive solutions are a form of change among the water users who seek to cope with the challenges they face. Another form is a government-driven reform that supports the participatory approach through the establishment of Water Users Organizations (WUOs). The rationale behind this formalization of the informal actors is that when collective efforts of a particular group who holds common interests and is functioning under mutually accepted and compelled set of norms and rules, it is believed that it becomes more feasible to raise their level of participation in the management process. They would hence contribute to realizing more equitable water allocation and distribution and better operation and maintenance of the irrigation systems. Although the WUOs can be viewed as suitable settings for restoring collective action and improving the management at the local level, a number of institutional, financial and structural challenges hinder their functions and their capacity in meeting the interests of the concerned stakeholders and hence render their sustainability uncertain.