Panel 9. Paper 9.3: Connecting social and physical boundaries of the commons : Study of kuhl irrigation systems of Kangra
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/v5ac-cp70
Biographical Information // Informations biographiques
Amit Tandon is trained as an architect and has a masters degree in Water Policy & Governance from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and works as an independent professional in the field of Water and Habitat. He brings transdisciplinary perspective in his work keeping Water as a core-discipline. His work looks into water resource management, water-data, policy research, policy advocacy and water heritage. He is also the recipient of Safe Water Crusade award (2019) and active member of Working Group for Water&Heritage in India.
Keywords
Cultural Landscapes, Rural Heritage, Water systems, irrigation, traditions, Local knowledge, communities
Abstract // Résumé
Water has been a lifeline of Indian agrarian society. The thriving agrarian economy requires water for irrigation and the need for resources to the evolution of indigenous technology through generations of communities. Kuhl irrigation system of Kangra is a community managed traditional irrigation systems found in western Himalayan. These are a centuries-old network of interconnected drainage channels that drain water from nearby khads (rivers) into the fields. The irrigation systems have codified customary laws, systems of collective action for maintenance and preservation and various traditional livelihoods.
Kuhls of Kangra is a unique case where the community is owned and managed kuhls exist. There are kuhls where communities practice public water management practices, conflict resolution and where are the kuhls where public department has taken over kuhls.
The paper explores kuhl irrigation systems in the current context of changing governance and physical structure of the kuhls. It can be seen as an example of a socio-ecological system and further comments on the resilience of the socio-ecological system. In the paper it looks at external challenges such as ecological, socio-political and economic, and provides a framework for the development of local interventions for water resource management.
Bibliographic References // Références Bibliographiques
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Baker, M. (1997). Common property resource theory and the kuhl irrigation systems of Himachal Pradesh, India. Human Organization, 199-208
Halliday, A., & Glaser, M. (2011). A Management Perspective on Social Ecological Systems: A generic system model and its application to a case study from Peru. Human Ecology Review, 1-17.
Kurian, M., & Dietz, T. (2004). Irrigation and collective action: A study in Shiwalik Hills, Haryana. Natural Resources Forum, 34-49.
Ostrom, E. (2010). Analyzing collective action. Agricultural Economics, 155-166. Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ostrom, E., & Gardner, R. (1993). Coping with Asymmetries in the Commons: Self-Governing Systems Can Work Irrigation. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 93-112
Sengupta, N. (1985). Irrigation: Traditional vs Modern. Economic and Political Weekly, 1919-1921 + 1923-1925 + 1927 + 1929-1931 + 1933 + 1935 + 1937-1938.
Sengupta, N. (1995). Salvage 'Traditional' Knowledges. Economic and Political Weekly, 3207-3211.
Panel 9. Paper 9.3: Connecting social and physical boundaries of the commons : Study of kuhl irrigation systems of Kangra
Water has been a lifeline of Indian agrarian society. The thriving agrarian economy requires water for irrigation and the need for resources to the evolution of indigenous technology through generations of communities. Kuhl irrigation system of Kangra is a community managed traditional irrigation systems found in western Himalayan. These are a centuries-old network of interconnected drainage channels that drain water from nearby khads (rivers) into the fields. The irrigation systems have codified customary laws, systems of collective action for maintenance and preservation and various traditional livelihoods.
Kuhls of Kangra is a unique case where the community is owned and managed kuhls exist. There are kuhls where communities practice public water management practices, conflict resolution and where are the kuhls where public department has taken over kuhls.
The paper explores kuhl irrigation systems in the current context of changing governance and physical structure of the kuhls. It can be seen as an example of a socio-ecological system and further comments on the resilience of the socio-ecological system. In the paper it looks at external challenges such as ecological, socio-political and economic, and provides a framework for the development of local interventions for water resource management.