‘Participation in Irrigation: what has changed since the Act of 2000 in Tamil Nadu?' (Olivia Aubriot), and ‘The scientific and rational management of Indian forest resources' by Emmanuel Bon, are instances of application of management models of space separation. We present these two cases of participatory management in India on forests and irrigation. In one case as in the other, this new form of management came after the failure of a system that had been in place so far.
Indeed, during the colonial period and the period which followed, the management of forests and irrigation had, among other things, intended to make money from them, and often to the detriment of local people who had been deprived of their customary practices or who had suffered the neglect of collective structures. This had significant consequences on the impoverishment of the latter. On the other hand, people were not the only ones to have suffered the repercussions of that manipulated management: policies have led to degradation of forest ecosystems and the depletion of groundwater levels.
It is clear that the state management of these two systems is mainly oriented towards the economic interest of the administration without regard for the people directly involved in or affected by its management. Through the study of two documents written by Olivia Aubriot, an agro ethnologist, and Emmanuel Bon, a doctor in economics, we will address the theme of decentralization and more specifically that of participatory management in India. These two texts depict the establishment and effective range of a participatory management system for the management of forest resources and irrigation systems.
Tags: Participative Management, Forest Resource Management, Irrigation System Management
[...] (Emmanuel Good) We present two cases of participatory management in India related to forests and irrigation. In one case, this new form of management came after a system failure that had been in place so far. During the colonial period and the period which followed, the management of forests and irrigation had, among other things, intended to make money from them, and often to the detriment of local people who had been deprived of their customary practices or who had suffered the neglect of collective structures. [...]
[...] The law of 2000 aimed to "promote a secure distribution of water among users, adequate maintenance of irrigation systems, an efficient and economical use of water by involving farmers and inculcating a sense of ownership of infrastructure "(Government of Tamil Nadu, 2000).The results from this legislation are more than mixed: in terms of water distribution, it has not been found a significant impact; several points in this aim have not even been addressed in discussion with irrigators, for acquiring a sense of ownership, it abounds more in favor of landowner rights than that of the villagers. A priori, the establishment of a participatory management system aims to involve local people in management structures in order to allow more effective management because it can generate more incentive at the population level. [...]
[...] However, both forms of participative managements studied here are controversial. In theory, the policy was aimed at the devolution of power and taking into account the interests of different actors. In fact, it is far from that speech, the effective participation of local populations is not limited only to maintenance and more is in the best interest of the authorities who did not least ensure that work. Even the establishment of associations or committees was certain, the fact remains that they remain quite objectionable. [...]
[...] Although two local players had been included, the fact remains that the strategy did not serve their interests. Three species were selected to establish new plantations: Eucalyptus, Acacia catechu and Casuarina. But local people do not use these trees for fire, air or even for livestock; for farmers, the substitution of these plants to commercial crop plants generated an increasing dependence of farmers vis-a-vis markets, unstable in the short term, since they no longer could enjoy the products of the forests, challenging especially a deficit in food safety. [...]
[...] Participatory irrigation management has emerged following the failure of the authorities concerning water management. The irrigation system canals and tanks were full, ownership of the colonial state, but maintenance costs quickly exceeded the means, so that the authorities wanted to force the villagers to participate in this work. This is followed by an abandonment of these structures in favor of more modern techniques. It was then that have developed systems of individual pumps. But the increasing demand for water has led to renewed interest in traditional structures, renewed all the more reason that these structures are more adapted to local people. [...]
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