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Access to Irrigation Water and Distribution of Water Rights in the Abanico Punata, Bolivia

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 26; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/08941920.2012.729651

1521-0723

Cecilia Saldías, Stijn Speelman, Guido Van Huylenbroeck,

Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management

Peasant communities in the Inter-Andean valleys in Bolivia increasingly face water shortages. Because they depend largely on agriculture, this puts their livelihood security at risk. While the debate over water access mostly focuses on the conflicts between industries or cities and traditional users, there has been little attention for inequality in access caused by traditional common property management. In the light of the trend toward legal recognition of traditional rights, this is remarkable. This case study therefore investigates the access under traditional common property management for 65 communities in the Abanico Punata, Bolivia. We show that there are large differences in access to water both between and within the studied communities. Access to capital and labor and community membership were shown to shape access patterns within the communities, while between communities historical claims and biophysical factors seem to matter.