Understanding Interactions in Local Governance of Community Based Natural Resources: Implications for Policy Intervention

Abstract

Collective action and institutions govern the management of Community Based Water Storage structures (CBWS) and thereby, policy intervention in resolving the issues of management. Institutional factors not only have a direct bearing on the functioning of CBWS but also often interact with physical and technical factors to influence their sustainability. The present study has examined these issues with a framework where CBWS sustainability is taken as a function of two components, financial condition and functionality of resource to draw policy implications in Indian context. The study brought out factors such as Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) functionality, perception about change in water collection time and number of households served by the water resource significantly affecting financial viability of CBWS. The resource functionality was found to be significantly affected by factors like accessibility and use restriction with respect to the CBWS. PRI functionality was observed to be poor for want of proper representation of weaker section of rural poor in general and women in particular. These primarily are most affected by water resource management. PRI functionality in respect of community resource management, therefore, needs to be genuinely addressed. Technical factors such as catchment land use and storage to catchment ratio, which affected operational status of the source, are critical while designing location and size of the water resource such as pond.