The Dark Side of Governance
An introduction to the Special Issue

Kai Wegerich^a, Jeroen Warner^b and Cecilia Tortajada^{c, *}

From the introduction:

'This special issue on ‘the dark side of governance’ seeks to increase knowledge and reveal new understanding of governance in two meanings: its unknown, hidden side, as well as its darker, obscured side: apparent corruption, deviance, mismanagement, unac- countability and apparent anarchy, and what these do for whom: in the end, ‘who gets what, where, why and how’ (Lasswell, 1936).
What do we mean by the ‘dark side’? The first connotation is the dark side of the moon: the hemisphere of the Moon that is permanently turned away and not visible from the surface of the Earth—dark to the existing knowledge, as the hidden side of the moon is only dark from the earth perspective. Metaphorically, it refers to what we cannot see or know, but also the ‘darkness (or different ideas) that can destroy all of the positive emotions and ideas that are a part of humanity’ (http://music-and-art-45.hubpages.com/ hub/The-Meaning-of-Pink-Floyds-Dark-Side-of-the-Moon).The dark side can therefore also be a force for change. The final connotation of the ‘dark side’ is the downside of a grand scheme (e.g. http://tajikwater.net/docs/turkmenistan_lake.pdf). ...'

Integration of Villages into WUAs—The Rising Challenge for Local Water Management in Uzbekistan

Nozilakhon Mukhamedova^a,*and Kai Wegerich^b

Abstract:

Although originally conceived as farmer organizations, today water user associations (WUAs) are expected to incorporate different water users and uses. However, the inclusion of different client groups in WUAs’ governance and management structure and the expansion of their service provision appear to present certain challenges. Using a case study from Uzbekistan, this paper explores whether a recently established WUA is able to integrate small users in village settlements and to provide services to meet the rising water demands of the rural population in Ferghana province. The finding shows that traditional water control, including technical, organizational, political and socio-economic components, is ill equipped to integrate the rural community. This challenge will increase with increasing population pressure and finite resources.

Governing the Ungovernable: Practices and Circumstances of Governance in the Irrigation Sector

Jean-Philippe Venot^a,* and Diana Suhardiman^b

Abstract:

Since the early 2000s, governance has been at the core of the international water agenda. This has elicited calls for reforms in the irrigation sector, including efforts to address the problem of corruption. Nevertheless, the history of policy reform in the irrigation sector is one of repeated institutional refinements, which have hardly materialized into grounded policy measures and practices. Though international donors, policy makers, irrigation scholars and practitioners have long agreed to invest in the ‘soft issues’ of irrigation, most policy interventions have retained a focus on infrastructure-oriented development. This paper identifies decisive factors that preserve the status quo in irrigation development. We draw our analysis on empirical data from countries with a recent (Ghana, West Africa) and long (Indonesia) irrigation history. Beyond the idiosyncrasies of the two case studies that highlight that everyday practices are embedded in, and constrained by, existing institutional rules and mechanisms, but also contribute to shaping these, we make a broader theoretical point. We argue that the ‘business-as-usual’ trajectory that characterizes the irrigation sector is also rooted in the very concept of governance, which is fundamentally about “governing”, that is a practice aiming at steering people towards defined ends, and through different means such as infrastructure, management practices and policies.

Beyond the state order?
Second crop production in the Ferghana Valley, Uzbekistan

Alexander Platonov^a, Kai Wegerich^b,*, Jusipbek Kazbekov^a and Firdavs Kabilov^a

Abstract:

After independence in 1991, Uzbekistan introduced a policy on food security and consequently reduced the irrigated area allocated to cotton and increased the area of winter wheat. Shifting to winter wheat allowed farmers to grow a second crop outside the state-order system. The second crops are the most profitable and therefore farmers tried to maximize the area grown to this second crop. Although the second crops are the most profitable, only few studies have focused on this topic. Evidence is presented which shows that state control of crops has been extended from the main crops, cotton and wheat, to the second crops. Satellite images used for classification of main crops in two provinces of the Ferghana Valley for 2006–2011, highlight that the area utilized for second crops is dependent on the infrastructure that enables access to the water resource, not on the area’s position within the irrigation system.

Irrigation development in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta:
Towards polycentric water governance?

Chu Thai Hoanh^1,a, Diana Suhardiman^1b, Le Tuan Anh²

Abstract:

Vietnam’s irrigation development policy directions are divided between the objective to continue increasing rice production through agricultural intensification and to improve farmer’s livelihoods through crop diversification and integrated farming. While the first objective requires the construction of new large-scale irrigation system in deeply flooded area of the Vietnamese Mekong River Delta, the latter demands the modification in management of existing irrigation physical infrastructure for non-rice crops, in particular brackish aquaculture in the coastal zones. This article looks at Vietnam’s irrigation policy formulation processes in the last three and half decades in relation to the idea of polycentric governance. It discusses the current shortcomings and potential role of polycentric governance networks to capture stakeholders’ interests at multiple governance levels essential for future policy development. It partially sheds light on the dark side of water governance, bringing to light the fragmented polycentric decision-making processes in Vietnam’s irrigation development policies.

False Promises: The contours, contexts and contestation of good water governance in Lao PDR and Alberta, Canada

Nathanial Matthews^a and Jeremy J. Schmidt^b

Abstract:

‘Good water governance’ in Lao PDR and Alberta, Canada emerged in different political contexts of, respectively, communism and democracy. Yet both espouse similar principles of participation, transparency and accountability. Drawing on multiple methods, this paper examines how contests over governance affect the adoption of, and mechanisms for, ‘good water governance.’ It gives particular emphasis to how both scale and context influence, and at times curtail, the promises of good water governance. In both Lao PDR and Alberta, we examine how governance mechanisms have been wielded by what we call closed communities. These communities are part of the dark side of water governance. They espouse good governance principles yet retain political power apart from them. We suggest good water governance is far from guaranteed by particular political systems, new institutions or even legislation.

Forensic water governance?
Analyzing land and water use changes in North-Western Doñana (Spain)

Manuel Bea Martínez^a,*, Elena Lopez-Gunn^b and Laura Vay del Caño^c

Abstract:

The region of North-Western Doñana is a key recharge area for the Doñana marshlands, one of the most important wetlands in Europe. In this region, the balance between a traditional economy compatible with environmental conservation has been altered significantly as a result of a disruptive change: the development of intensive agriculture of red berries –locally known as the ‘red gold’-. The paper shows how a methodology based on remote sensing and GIS can provide a practical tool to identify and quantify intensive crops and especially, to determine their legal status. The paper describes this as an example of “geographic forensic science” for water governance, understood as a systematic method to gather and examine information on the territorial changes and events in the past with aim to use this information in law enforcement. The analysis shows how geospatial techniques can become an accessible and powerful tool for monitoring water abstractions and land use changes (public accountability), and to raise public participation and transparency, three key principles to advance towards a ‘lighter side’ of governance.

Book review

The Nile River Basin: Water, Agriculture, Governance and Livelihoods
Seleshi Bekele Awulachew, Vladimir Smakhtin, David Molden and Don Peden (editors): Routledge (ed.), 2012, 344 pages, available in Hardcover and kindle formats, ASIN: B00GDF76P8.

Introduction:

This book presents the results of a seven years research effort focusing on the Integrated Water Resource Management covering the whole Nile catchment. The Nile River Basin book is divided in fifteen chapters, written by forty five authors presenting an in depth analysis of strategical water resource issues in the Nile Basin. These contributions are mainly based upon several research projects supported by the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) and implemented by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with the major national (i.e. universities, research agencies and ministries), international (i.e. NBI, ENTRO...) institutions and NGO’S (i.e. UNESCO, FAO) looking at the Nile Basin’s water resources, uses, governance and management.....