Description

Water user groups take over water distribution at the local level and are also responsible for managing the water infrastructure via their members’ compulsory contributions. The groups can be made up of anything from a few individuals to several hundred members, and can take the form of voluntary cooperatives or joint ventures with compulsory membership of all water users.

Requirements

• A properly functioning country-wide administration and monitoring system with access to the relevant information and sufficient technical and human capacities for its design, implementation and monitoring
• Legal frameworks that support water user groups and do not discriminate against other entrepreneurial joint ventures (level playing field)
• Ownership and initiative on behalf of the local population
• Participation of all stakeholders involved, e. g. science / research, agricultural advisory services, civil society, public and private sector (incl. farmers and their interest groups)
• Skilled / specialised personnel to man the respective institutions / provide the respective services

Possible Negative Effects

• Audit structures perform poorly and members lose trust in their organisation
• Overuse of the available water by individual members