IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v239y2020ics0378377420308234.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From State to user-based water allocations: An empirical analysis of institutions developed by agricultural user associations in France

Author

Listed:
  • Rouillard, Josselin
  • Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel

Abstract

Regulating water use in agriculture in water stressed basins is a challenging task. Recent scholarship emphasises the need to combine strong State oversight for achieving the collective extraction caps with considerable leeway to users to allocate water according to local priorities. This form of “co-management” between the State and users aims to improve the implementation of sustainable extraction limits. This model was adopted in France where agricultural user groups share water resources within a capped allocation pool enforced by the State. This paper evaluates whether the allocation rules developed by user groups improve environmental, economic and social performance. A detailed survey was carried out amongst the 54 agricultural user groups created across France. Results suggest that the reform has led to greater awareness amongst irrigators of their water resources and the slow emergence of collective action. Allocation rules have been developed, reflecting local economic and social priorities, as well as the temporal and spatial dynamics of local surface and groundwater resources. Although challenges remain, the research presented in this paper supports co-management to manage agricultural water extraction, and discusses institutional design features that can facilitate its implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Rouillard, Josselin & Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel, 2020. "From State to user-based water allocations: An empirical analysis of institutions developed by agricultural user associations in France," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:239:y:2020:i:c:s0378377420308234
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377420308234
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106269?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Skurray, James H., 2015. "The scope for collective action in a large groundwater basin: An institutional analysis of aquifer governance in Western Australia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 128-140.
    2. Marielle Montginoul & Jean-Daniel Rinaudo & Charlotte Alcouffe, 2020. "Compliance and enforcement: the Achilles heel of French water policy," Post-Print hal-02532168, HAL.
    3. J. S. Famiglietti, 2014. "The global groundwater crisis," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(11), pages 945-948, November.
    4. Jean-Daniel Rinaudo & Guillermo Donoso, 2019. "State, market or community failure? Untangling the determinants of groundwater depletion in Copiapó (Chile)," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 283-304, March.
    5. Guillaume Gruère & Colette Ashley & Jean-Joseph Cadilhon, 2018. "Reforming water policies in agriculture: Lessons from past reforms," OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers 113, OECD Publishing.
    6. Jean-Daniel Rinaudo, 2020. "Groundwater policy in France: from private to collective management," Post-Print hal-02531779, HAL.
    7. Young, Michael D., 2014. "Designing water abstraction regimes for an ever-changing and ever-varying future," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 32-38.
    8. Closas, Alvar & Molle, François & Hernández-Mora, Nuria, 2017. "Sticks and carrots to manage groundwater over-abstraction in La Mancha, Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 113-124.
    9. A.-G Figureau & M Montginoul & Jean-Daniel Rinaudo, 2015. "Policy instruments for decentralized management of agricultural groundwater abstraction: A participatory evaluation," Post-Print hal-01290202, HAL.
    10. Figureau, A.-G. & Montginoul, M. & Rinaudo, J.-D., 2015. "Policy instruments for decentralized management of agricultural groundwater abstraction: A participatory evaluation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 147-157.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rishma Chengot & Jerry W. Knox & Ian P. Holman, 2021. "Evaluating the Feasibility of Water Sharing as a Drought Risk Management Tool for Irrigated Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Vafaei, Elahe & Shahabi Ahangarkolaee, Saeed & Lucas-Borja, Manuel Esteban & Shabanali Fami, Hossein & Zema, Demetrio Antonio, 2021. "A framework to evaluate the factors influencing groundwater management in Water User Associations: The case study of Tafresh County (Iran)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    3. Ahmad Radmehr & Omid Bozorg-Haddad & Hugo A. Loáiciga, 2022. "Developing Strategies for Agricultural Water Management of Large Irrigation and Drainage Networks with Fuzzy MCDM," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(13), pages 4885-4912, October.
    4. Zhang, Cheng-Yao & Oki, Taikan, 2023. "Water pricing reform for sustainable water resources management in China’s agricultural sector," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cécile Hérivaux & Jean-Daniel Rinaudo & Marielle Montginoul, 2019. "Exploring the Potential of Groundwater Markets in Agriculture: Results of a Participatory Evaluation in Five French Case Studies," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(01), pages 1-28, September.
    2. Jean-Daniel Rinaudo & Guillermo Donoso, 2019. "State, market or community failure? Untangling the determinants of groundwater depletion in Copiapó (Chile)," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 283-304, March.
    3. Jaime Martínez-Valderrama & Jorge Olcina & Gonzalo Delacámara & Emilio Guirado & Fernando T. Maestre, 2023. "Complex Policy Mixes are Needed to Cope with Agricultural Water Demands Under Climate Change," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(6), pages 2805-2834, May.
    4. Nicholas Janusch & Stephan Kroll & Christopher Goemans & Todd L. Cherry & Steffen Kallbekken, 2021. "Learning to accept welfare-enhancing policies: an experimental investigation of congestion pricing," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 24(1), pages 59-86, March.
    5. Jonathan O. Hernandez, 2022. "Ecophysiological Effects of Groundwater Drawdown on Phreatophytes: Research Trends during the Last Three Decades," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, November.
    6. Audrey Richard-Ferroudji & Nicolas Faysse & Zhour Bouzidi & Menon Ragunath & Jean-Daniel Rinaudo, 2016. "Proposal COSUST Special Issue « Co-designing Research on Social Transformations to Sustainability » Title: The DIALAQ project on sustainable groundwater management: a transdisciplinary and transcultur," Post-Print hal-01378517, HAL.
    7. Xiukang Wang, 2022. "Managing Land Carrying Capacity: Key to Achieving Sustainable Production Systems for Food Security," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-21, March.
    8. Madhumita Sahoo & Aman Kasot & Anirban Dhar & Amlanjyoti Kar, 2018. "On Predictability of Groundwater Level in Shallow Wells Using Satellite Observations," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(4), pages 1225-1244, March.
    9. Palomo-Hierro, Sara & Loch, Adam & Pérez-Blanco, C. Dionisio, 2022. "Improving water markets in Spain: Lesson-drawing from the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    10. Anna Boser & Kelly Caylor & Ashley Larsen & Madeleine Pascolini-Campbell & John T. Reager & Tamma Carleton, 2024. "Field-scale crop water consumption estimates reveal potential water savings in California agriculture," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Bjornlund, H. & Xu, W. & Wheeler, S., 2014. "An overview of water sharing and participation issues for irrigators and their communities in Alberta: Implications for water policy," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 171-180.
    12. Xin Deng & Lingzhi Zhang & Rong Xu & Miao Zeng & Qiang He & Dingde Xu & Yanbin Qi, 2022. "Do Cooperatives Affect Groundwater Protection? Evidence from Rural China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, July.
    13. Ellen M. Bruno & Richard J. Sexton, 2020. "The Gains from Agricultural Groundwater Trade and the Potential for Market Power: Theory and Application," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(3), pages 884-910, May.
    14. Peng Qi & Guangxin Zhang & Yi Jun Xu & Zhikun Xia & Ming Wang, 2019. "Response of Water Resources to Future Climate Change in a High-Latitude River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-21, October.
    15. Bagstad, Kenneth J. & Ancona, Zachary H. & Hass, Julie & Glynn, Pierre D. & Wentland, Scott & Vardon, Michael & Fay, John, 2020. "Integrating physical and economic data into experimental water accounts for the United States: Lessons and opportunities," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    16. Wegmann, Johannes & Mußhoff, Oliver, 2019. "Groundwater management institutions in the face of rapid urbanization – Results of a framed field experiment in Bengaluru, India," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 1-1.
    17. Mehrabi, Zia & Delzeit, Ruth & Ignaciuk, Adriana & Levers, Christian & Braich, Ginni & Bajaj, Kushank & Amo-Aidoo, Araba & Anderson, Weston & Balgah, Roland A. & Benton, Tim G. & Chari, Martin M. & El, 2022. "Research priorities for global food security under extreme events," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5(7), pages 756-766.
    18. Billy A. Ferguson & Paul Milgrom, 2024. "Market Design for Surface Water," NBER Chapters, in: New Directions in Market Design, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Christoph Görg & Ulrich Brand & Helmut Haberl & Diana Hummel & Thomas Jahn & Stefan Liehr, 2017. "Challenges for Social-Ecological Transformations: Contributions from Social and Political Ecology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-21, June.
    20. Encarna Esteban & Elena Calvo & Jose Albiac, 2021. "Ecosystem Shifts: Implications for Groundwater Management," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(3), pages 483-510, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:239:y:2020:i:c:s0378377420308234. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.