Speelman Stijn,Aymen Frija,Prakashan Chellattan Veettil,Jeroen Buysse,Guido Van Huylenbroeck, Ghent University, Agricultural Economics, stijn.speelman@ugent.be
Abstract:
With increasing water scarcity, research on institutional policy options for improved water allocation and governance becomes an urgent priority for many developing and developed countries. This is certainly the case for the irrigation sector as large water user. Evaluating institutional alternatives, such as water rights systems, is however a challenging task. This article takes a comparative approach and compares case study data from Tunisia, South Africa and India demonstrating the importance of the water rights system for irrigators. Using contingent valuation methods, hypothetical changes in water rights systems are evaluated. In the three countries, willingness to pay estimates reveal that from the farmers' perspective significant improvements can be made to the existing water rights systems. Case studies like these can yield valuable information for policy makers to guide institutional reforms.
Keywords: Property rights, India, Tunisia, South Africa