Management turnover in the West Gandak irrigation system, Nepal

Paper of the collection « Short report series on locally managed irrigation », N°14.

Presents a lucid description and brief assessment of management turnover in a medium-scale irrigation system in Nepal. The report describes the motivations for turnover, the enabling role of infrastructural improvement and development of share-based water rights, and management performance after turnover. Data are provided on agricultural production costs and output, irrigation performance, and costs of irrigation. One of the strengths of this paper is that it demonstrates how irrigation management reform must be conceived and carried out with the objective of achieving a new balance and consistency between the physical environment infrastructure, institutions and management practices. Since the irrigation system was both rehabilitated and reformed at the same time, it is impossible to tell to what extent the observed improvements in performance were the results of management reform versus rehabilitation of infrastructure. However, it may be more important that the Report presents a compelling example of why both « software » and « hardware » improvements, often, should be done together.

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