Self-Governance and Sustainable Common Pool Resource Management in Kyrgyzstan

Tanja Baerlein, Ulan Kasymov and Dimitrios Zikos
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Tanja Baerlein: HTW Berlin—University of Applied Sciences, Treskowallee 8, Berlin 10318, Germany
Ulan Kasymov: Division of Resource Economics, Humboldt University Berlin, Hannoversche Str. 27, Berlin D-10115, Germany
Dimitrios Zikos: Division of Resource Economics, Humboldt University Berlin, Hannoversche Str. 27, Berlin D-10115, Germany

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: How to best govern natural resources in order to enable a sustainable way of handling them is what both research and practice aim to achieve. Empirical findings from several studies indicate that resource users are able to successfully cooperate in the management of common pool resources and solve social dilemmas through self-governance arrangements. The authors explore the potential success of self-governance in irrigation systems, focusing primarily on the factors influencing compliance of irrigation water users under self-crafted and self-enforced rules in two Kyrgyz communities. A field experiment is employed to provide insights and some quantitative empirical data, further complemented by qualitative methods (questionnaires, group discussions and interviews) to enhance the analysis of the findings about working rules in irrigation at the community level. The results show that Kyrgyz irrigation users of the selected communities generally respond better in a self-governance setting in terms of rules compliance, distribution efficiency and equity. Compliance and cooperative behavior depend on group as well as individual variables including communication, social norms and the legitimacy of rules.

Keywords: common-pool resources; sustainable water management; field experiment; Kyrgyzstan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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