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Self-Governance and Sustainable Common Pool Resource Management in Kyrgyzstan

Author

Listed:
  • Tanja Baerlein

    (HTW Berlin—University of Applied Sciences, Treskowallee 8, Berlin 10318, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Ulan Kasymov

    (Division of Resource Economics, Humboldt University Berlin, Hannoversche Str. 27, Berlin D-10115, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Dimitrios Zikos

    (Division of Resource Economics, Humboldt University Berlin, Hannoversche Str. 27, Berlin D-10115, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

How to best govern natural resources in order to enable a sustainable way of handling them is what both research and practice aim to achieve. Empirical findings from several studies indicate that resource users are able to successfully cooperate in the management of common pool resources and solve social dilemmas through self-governance arrangements. The authors explore the potential success of self-governance in irrigation systems, focusing primarily on the factors influencing compliance of irrigation water users under self-crafted and self-enforced rules in two Kyrgyz communities. A field experiment is employed to provide insights and some quantitative empirical data, further complemented by qualitative methods (questionnaires, group discussions and interviews) to enhance the analysis of the findings about working rules in irrigation at the community level. The results show that Kyrgyz irrigation users of the selected communities generally respond better in a self-governance setting in terms of rules compliance, distribution efficiency and equity. Compliance and cooperative behavior depend on group as well as individual variables including communication, social norms and the legitimacy of rules.

Suggested Citation

  • Tanja Baerlein & Ulan Kasymov & Dimitrios Zikos, 2015. "Self-Governance and Sustainable Common Pool Resource Management in Kyrgyzstan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:1:p:496-521:d:44211
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Robert Roßner & Dimitrios Zikos, 2018. "The Role of Homogeneity and Heterogeneity Among Resource Users on Water Governance: Lessons Learnt from an Economic Field Experiment on Irrigation in Uzbekistan," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(03), pages 1-30, July.
    3. Yubing Fan & Zeng Tang & Seong C. Park, 2019. "Effects of Community Perceptions and Institutional Capacity on Smallholder Farmers’ Responses to Water Scarcity: Evidence from Arid Northwestern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, January.
    4. Ana Alicia Dipierri & Dimitrios Zikos, 2020. "The Role of Common-Pool Resources’ Institutional Robustness in a Collective Action Dilemma under Environmental Variations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Rezhen Harun & Iulia C. Muresan & Felix H. Arion & Diana E. Dumitras & Ramona Lile, 2015. "Analysis of Factors that Influence the Willingness to Pay for Irrigation Water in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-13, July.
    6. Dimitrios Zikos, 2020. "Revisiting the Role of Institutions in Transformative Contexts: Institutional Change and Conflicts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    7. Ranjan, Ram, 2022. "Optimal restoration of common property resources under uncertainty," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. Marco Setti & Matteo Garuti, 2018. "Identity, Commons and Sustainability: An Economic Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-12, February.
    9. Margaret Atosina Akuriba & Rein Haagsma & Nico Heerink, 2022. "Do Governance Perceptions Affect Cooperativeness? Evidence from Small-Scale Irrigation Schemes in Northern Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    10. Jens Rommel & Sergio Villamayor-Tomas & Malte Müller & Christine Werthmann, 2015. "Game Participation and Preservation of the Commons: An Experimental Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-15, July.
    11. Akuriba, M. & Haagsma, R. & Heerink, N. & Dittoh, S., 2018. "Sustaining small scale irrigation systems: the role of users," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277280, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
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