Asian Irrigation in Transition. Responding to Challenges.

There is today a crucial need to revamp the management and governance of water systems in Asia in order to cater to the increasing demands of a growing group of users with diverse needs―urban settlements, industry, food producers and environmental needs. Written by a mix of international observers and practitioners, these essays cover a wide range of issues that are involved in this endeavor.

Based on actual fieldwork in various Asian countries, the contributors collectively address three major themes:
- The response to the competition for resources including groundwater and aquifers, multiple water use, water reclamation, and watershed and basin management.
- The emergence of new partnerships and institutional reforms, such as the changing role of governments, participatory approaches, new accountability mechanisms and improving the infrastructure.
- The economic productivity of irrigated agriculture through water users` associations, demand-oriented and pro-poor irrigation services, and agribusiness.

Drawing vital lessons from the Asian experience, this important volume will greatly assist in the design of efficient and equitable water management systems as well as serve to outline an agenda for future research for practitioners and policymakers.

Ganesh P. Shivakoti is Adjunct Professor of Agricultural and Natural Resources Economics, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, and Visiting Professor, Arizona State University, US. He has co-authored Improving Irrigation in Asia: Sustainable Performance of an Innovative Intervention in Nepal with Nobel Laureate Elionr Ostrom.

Douglas L. Vermillion is a development sociologist and independent consultant for water policy and institutions in the USA. Formerly a re-searcher for the International Water Management Institute, he has over two decades of experience in research, policy analysis, and managerial and  socioeconomic  aspects  of  water  management  in  less  developed countries. He has worked in Asia, North and Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Recently, he has assisted Indonesia, Cambodia, Gujarat, in India, and Nigeria to develop policy and legal frameworks for irrigation sector reform. Email: dlvermillion@att.net

Wai-Fung Lam is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong and holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Indiana University, USA. He has a book to his credit, Governing Irrigation Systems in Nepal: Institutions, Infra-structure,  and  Collective  Action  (1998,  ICS  Press,  California).  His research focuses on institutional policy analysis, resource management, public organizations, and public sector reform.

Elinor Ostrom is the Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University, Bloomington. She was  elected  to  the  National Academy of Sciences in 2001; is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and a recipient of the Frank E. Seidman Prize in Political Economy and the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. Her books include Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action;  Rules, Games, and Common-Pool Resources (with Roy  Gardner  and  James  Walker);  and  Local Commons  and  Global Interdependence: Heterogeneity and Cooperation in Two Domains (with Robert Keohane).

Ujjwal Pradhan is a Program Officer in Environment and Development with the Ford Foundation based in Jakarta. He is also a member of the International Steering Committee of Rewarding Upland  Poor  for Environmental Services (RUPES) for Southeast Asia. He earlier served as  Social  Scientist  and  Head  of  the  Nepal  Country  Program  of  the International  Irrigation  Management  Institute.  He holds a Ph.D.  in Development Sociology from Cornell University, USA. His doctoral dissertation dealt with property rights and relations and state intervention in water resources in Nepal.