IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v255y2021ics037837742100278x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A framework to evaluate the factors influencing groundwater management in Water User Associations: The case study of Tafresh County (Iran)

Author

Listed:
  • Vafaei, Elahe
  • Shahabi Ahangarkolaee, Saeed
  • Lucas-Borja, Manuel Esteban
  • Shabanali Fami, Hossein
  • Zema, Demetrio Antonio

Abstract

In recent decades, due to the water shortage around the world and the importance of groundwater in agriculture, the role of Water User Associations (WUAs) – well-known farmer associations that manage collective irrigation in agricultural districts – in groundwater management has received much attention. To ensure sustainable groundwater management in these organizations, it is imperative to analyze the effects of the driving mechanisms, such as the “legal and institutional”, “socio-cultural”, “social capital”, “economic”, “infrastructure” and “farmers’ participation” factors, on the collective management of agricultural water. This study proposes a theoretical framework to analyze how and to what extent these factors influence agricultural water management in a case study of WUAs of Tafresh County (Iran), where irrigated agriculture strongly relies on groundwater. To validate this framework, questionnaires with 53 questions/indicators related to these factors have been supplied to 264 associated farmers and then statistically processed using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) methods. The measurement model has confirmed the validity of the questionnaire. The structural model has demonstrated that all the identified factors are significantly effective in driving the WUAs performance. This effectiveness was shown by the high indexes of reliability (over 0.821 against an acceptance limit of 0.7) and convergent validity (over 0.511 against a limit of 0.5). Socio-cultural and social capital factors had a higher impact (confirmed by path coefficients of about 0.80), while the economic factors played a lower effect on groundwater management (path coefficient of 0.534). Moreover, the Pearson matrix showed statistically significant (p < 0.01) and positive (R2 = from 0.238 to 0.804) correlations among all the evaluated factors. Based on this framework, some actions for improving the groundwater management at the collective level are suggested, such as: (i) the implementation of new water management technologies to increase the efficiency in extraction, distribution, and consumption of irrigation water; ii) strengthening the importance of social and cultural participation in the management of WUAs, in order to create formal and informal contexts for enhancing individual participation in the short and long-term; iii) designing appropriate financing factors and diversification of the sources of revenue to execute projects on shared water resources.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:255:y:2021:i:c:s037837742100278x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837742100278X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107013?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. Sezin Gürsoy & Peter Jacques, 2014. "Water security in the Middle East and North African region," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 4(4), pages 310-314, December.
    2. Wichelns, Dennis, 2002. "An economic perspective on the potential gains from improvements in irrigation water management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 233-248, January.
    3. Pretty, Jules & Ward, Hugh, 2001. "Social Capital and the Environment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 209-227, February.
    4. Elinor Ostrom, 2010. "Analyzing collective action," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(s1), pages 155-166, November.
    5. Gorton, Matthew & Sauer, Johannes & Peshevski, Mile & Bosev, Dane & Shekerinov, Darko & Quarrie, Steve, 2009. "Water Communities in the Republic of Macedonia: An Empirical Analysis of Membership Satisfaction and Payment Behavior," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 1951-1963, December.
    6. Qiao, Guanghua & Zhao, Lijuan & Klein, K.K., 2009. "Water user associations in Inner Mongolia: Factors that influence farmers to join," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 822-830, May.
    7. Uysal, Özlem Karahan & AtIs, Ela, 2010. "Assessing the performance of participatory irrigation management over time: A case study from Turkey," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(7), pages 1017-1025, July.
    8. Steven N. Durlauf, 2002. "On the Empirics of Social Capital," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(483), pages 459-479, November.
    9. Burton, Michael & Marsh, Sally & Patterson, Josie, 2007. "Community attitudes towards water management in the Moore Catchment, Western Australia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 92(1-3), pages 157-178, January.
    10. Yujiro Hayami, 2009. "Social Capital, Human Capital and the Community Mechanism: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Economists," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 96-123.
    11. Azizi Khalkheili, Taher & Zamani, Gholam Hosein, 2009. "Farmer participation in irrigation management: The case of Doroodzan Dam Irrigation Network, Iran," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 859-865, May.
    12. Luc Anselin & Daniel A. Griffith, 1988. "Do Spatial Effecfs Really Matter In Regression Analysis?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(1), pages 11-34, January.
    13. Elvira Cicognani & Claudia Pirini & Corey Keyes & Mohsen Joshanloo & Reza Rostami & Masoud Nosratabadi, 2008. "Social Participation, Sense of Community and Social Well Being: A Study on American, Italian and Iranian University Students," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(1), pages 97-112, October.
    14. Emmanuel Atiisipae Akolgo & Desmond Tutu Ayentimi, 2020. "Community-level mechanisms and strategies for managing sustainable water supply systems: lessons from Bongo district of northern Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3739-3756, April.
    15. Speelman, Stijn & Farolfi, Stefano & Frija, Aymen & D'Haese, Marijke & D'Haese, Luc, 2010. "The impact of the water rights system on smallholder irrigators' willingness to pay for water in Limpopo province, South Africa," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 465-483, August.
    16. Zema, Demetrio Antonio & Nicotra, Angelo & Mateos, Luciano & Zimbone, Santo Marcello, 2018. "Improvement of the irrigation performance in Water Users Associations integrating data envelopment analysis and multi-regression models," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 38-49.
    17. Hulin Pan & Qian Xu, 2018. "Quantitative Analysis on the Influence Factors of the Sustainable Water Resource Management Performance in Irrigation Areas: An Empirical Research from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, January.
    18. 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).
    19. Takayama, Taisuke & Matsuda, Hirotaka & Nakatani, Tomoaki, 2018. "The determinants of collective action in irrigation management systems: Evidence from rural communities in Japan," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 113-123.
    20. Nakano, Yuko & Tsusaka, Takuji W. & Aida, Takeshi & Pede, Valerien O., 2015. "The Impact of Training on Technology Adoption and Productivity of Rice Farming in Tanzania: Is Farmer-to-Farmer Extension Effective?," Working Papers 90, JICA Research Institute.
    21. Jerker Nilsson & Gunnar L.H. Svendsen & Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, 2012. "Are Large and Complex Agricultural Cooperatives Losing Their Social Capital?," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(2), pages 187-204, March.
    22. Demetrio Antonio Zema & Pasquale Filianoti & Daniela D’Agostino & Antonino Labate & Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja & Angelo Nicotra & Santo Marcello Zimbone, 2020. "Analyzing the Performances of Water User Associations to Increase the Irrigation Sustainability: An Application of Multivariate Statistics to a Case Study in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-18, August.
    23. Unesco Unesco, 2015. "Water for a Sustainable World," Working Papers id:6657, eSocialSciences.
    24. Nazari, Bijan & Liaghat, Abdolmajid & Akbari, Mohammad Reza & Keshavarz, Marzieh, 2018. "Irrigation water management in Iran: Implications for water use efficiency improvement," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 7-18.
    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. Mohsin Riaz & Muhammad Ashfaq & Ismet Boz & Pomi Shahbaz, 2023. "The Dynamics of the Relationship Between Water Availability, Water Equity, Economic Benefits and Water User Associations’ Performance: A PLS-SEM Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(11), pages 4537-4552, September.
    2. Jayasiri, M.M.J.G.C.N. & Dayawansa, N.D.K. & Yadav, Sudhir, 2023. "Assessing the roles of farmer organizations for effective agricultural water management in Sri Lanka," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 205(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. Leroy, David, 2023. "An empirical assessment of the institutional performance of community-based water management in a large-scale irrigation system in southern Mexico," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    2. Wang, Yahua & Chen, Chunliang & Araral, Eduardo, 2016. "The Effects of Migration on Collective Action in the Commons: Evidence from Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 79-93.
    3. 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).
    4. Richter, Andries & Grasman, Johan, 2013. "The transmission of sustainable harvesting norms when agents are conditionally cooperative," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 202-209.
    5. Tsusaka, Takuji W. & Kajisa, Kei & Pede, Valerien O. & Aoyagi, Keitaro, 2015. "Neighborhood effects and social behavior: The case of irrigated and rainfed farmers in Bohol, the Philippines," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 227-246.
    6. Beata Łopaciuk-Gonczaryk, 2019. "Does Participation in Social Networks Foster Trust and Respect for Other People—Evidence from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-25, March.
    7. Vollan, Björn, 2012. "Pitfalls of Externally Initiated Collective Action: A Case Study from South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 758-770.
    8. Engjell Skreli & Orjon Xhoxhi & Drini Imami & Klodjan Rama, 2024. "What explains collective action: The impact of social capital, incentive structures and economic benefits," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(3), pages 1622-1646, April.
    9. Barnes-Mauthe, Michele & Oleson, Kirsten L.L. & Brander, Luke M. & Zafindrasilivonona, Bienvenue & Oliver, Thomas A. & van Beukering, Pieter, 2015. "Social capital as an ecosystem service: Evidence from a locally managed marine area," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 283-293.
    10. Bernard, Tanguy & Frölich, Markus & Landmann, Andreas & Unte, Pia Naima & Viceisza, Angelino & Wouterse, Fleur, 2015. "Building Trust in Rural Producer Organizations in Senegal: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial," IZA Discussion Papers 9207, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Rocío Poveda-Bautista & Bernat Roig-Merino & Herminia Puerto & Juan Buitrago-Vera, 2021. "Assessment of Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in Citrus Orchards Using AHP," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-14, May.
    12. Shoji, Masahiro & Aoyagi, Keitaro & Kasahara, Ryuji & Sawada, Yasuyuki & Ueyama, Mika, 2012. "Social Capital Formation and Credit Access: Evidence from Sri Lanka," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(12), pages 2522-2536.
    13. Liang, Qiao & Huang, Zuhui & Lu, Haiyang & Wang, Xinxin, 2015. "Social Capital, Member Participation, and Cooperative Performance: Evidence from China’s Zhejiang," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(1), pages 1-30, February.
    14. Ashleigh Keene & Steven C. Deller, 2015. "Evidence of the Environmental Kuznets’ Curve among US Counties and the Impact of Social Capital," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 38(4), pages 358-387, October.
    15. Demetrio Antonio Zema & Pasquale Filianoti & Daniela D’Agostino & Antonino Labate & Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja & Angelo Nicotra & Santo Marcello Zimbone, 2020. "Analyzing the Performances of Water User Associations to Increase the Irrigation Sustainability: An Application of Multivariate Statistics to a Case Study in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-18, August.
    16. Nurullah Gür, 2020. "Does social trust promote behaviour aimed at mitigating climate change?," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 36-49, February.
    17. Liangzhen Zang & Yahua Wang & Yiqing Su, 2021. "Does Farmland Scale Management Promote Rural Collective Action? An Empirical Study of Canal Irrigation Systems in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, November.
    18. Takahashi, Daisuke & Fujie, Takeshi & Senda, Tetsuji, 2021. "Conditions for Collective Land Use By Community Farming: Case Study of Six Prefectures in the Hokuriku and Kinki Regions of Japan," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315140, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Speelman, Stijn & Veettil, Prakashan Chellattan, 2013. "Heterogeneous preferences for water rights reforms among smallholder irrigators in South Africa," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 2(2), pages 1-19, August.
    20. Takayama, Taisuke & Matsuda, Hirotaka & Nakatani, Tomoaki, 2018. "The determinants of collective action in irrigation management systems: Evidence from rural communities in Japan," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 113-123.

    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:255:y:2021:i:c:s037837742100278x. 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.