table of contents
ACRONYMS i
GLOSSARY iii
CHAPTER I 1
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Importance of Good Governance 1
1.2 Principles of good Governance 2
1.3 Introduction to GZD 2
CHAPTER 2 5
2 METHODOLOGY 5
2.1 RIPORT in GZAP 5
2.2 Involvement of Govt. line departments 5
2.2.1 Government Involvement 6
2.2.2 Government (KP) Support 6
2.3 Organizing Communities into VCs 6
2.4 Provision of Services to Farmers in Accountable Manner 8
CHAPTER 3 9
3 REVIEW OF IRRIGATION WATER GOVERNANCE MODELS 9
3.1 Importance of Irrigation Water Governance 9
3.1.1 Some Suggestions to Deal with Water Scarcity 9
3.2 Concept of Irrigation Water Governance 11
3.3 Irrigation Water Governance Models 11
3.3.1 Andhra Pradesh, India 12
3.3.2 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries 14
3.3.3 Comparison of Water Policies in Developed & Developing Countries 15
3.3.4 Indonesia 15
3.3.5 China 15
3.3.6 Turkey 15
3.3.7 Mexico 16
3.3.8 The Netherlands 16
3.4 Pakistan’s Experience 17
3.4.1 Designing an Appropriate Water Governance System for Gomal Zam Project 18
3.4.1.1 Watercourse Association—1s Tier 19
3.4.1.2 Federation of WAs—2nd Tier 20
3.4.1.3 Farmers' Organization (FO)—3rd Tier 20
3.5 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Experience 21
3.5.1 Provincial Irrigation and Drainage Authority 21
3.5.2 Area Water Boards 22
3.5.3 Farmers’ Organizations (FOs) 23
3.5.3.1 Bye-Laws and Regulations for F.Os. 23
3.5.3.2 Functions and powers of F.Os. 23
3.5.4 Swat Canal System 24
3.5.5 Functioning of Swat Canal Area Water Board 24
3.5.6 Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) System 25
3.5.7 Functioning of Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) System 26
CHAPTER 4 27
4 GOVERNANCE MODEL FOR IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE IN COMMAND AREA OF GOMAL ZAM CANAL SYSTEM 27
4.1 Background 27
4.2 Proposed Governance Model for Irrigated Agriculture under Gomal Zam Canal System 28
4.2.1 Gomal Zam Dam Canal Water Board 28
4.2.2 Formation of Farmers’ Organizations 29
4.2.3 Water Users Associations 30
4.3 Modification in existing laws required for better delivery of services 30
4.4 Indicators proposed for sustainable development of command area 30
4.5 Canal System Operation and maintenance 31
4.6 Recent Changes in Gomal Zam Project Increase Project Risks 31
CHAPTER 5 33
5 RECOMMENDATIONS 33
ANNEXURE 35
NWFP Irrigation and Drainage Authority Act 1997 35
REFERENCES 54
ACRONYMS
ADB Asian Development Bank
ARI Agriculture Research Institute
AWB Area Water Board
AZRI Arid Zone Research Institute
CCA Cultivable Command Area
CDWP Central Development Working Party
CRBC Chashma Right Bank Canal
CTA Chief Technical Advisor
D.I.Khan Dera Ismail Khan
DC Deputy Commissioner
ECNEC Executive Committee of National Economic Council
FGDs Focus Group Discussions
FOs Farmers’ Organizations
GZD Gomal Zam Dam
GZDCADP Gomal Zam Dam Command Area Development Project
IMT Irrigation Management Transfer
JUC Joint Union Councils committee
KP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
LAC Latin American and Caribbean
LOS Letter of Support
M&E Monitoring & Evaluation
NGO Non Governmental Organization
O&M Operation & Maintenance
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OFWM On-Farm Water Management
P&D Planning & Development Department
PHLC Pehur High Level Canal
PIDA Provincial Irrigation and Drainage Authority
PRA Participatory Rural Approach
PWD Public Works Department
RIPORT Institute of Policy Research and Training
SCARP Salinity Control and Reclamation Project
SCAWB Swat Canal Area Water Board
SGAFP Small Grants Ambassador Fund Program
SGW Saline Ground Water
SRC Steering and Review Committee
UCs Union Councils
UNDP United Nations Development Program
USAID United States Agency for International Development
VCs Village Committees
WAPDA Water and Power Development Authority
WUAs Water Users Associations
WUOs Water Users Organizations
GLOSSARY
Abiana: / Water charges levied on use of irrigation water in accordance predetermined rate per acre per crop.Bund: / Earthen flow diversion structure.
Cultivable Command Area: / Cultivable area having water right under Gomal Zam Canal.
Farmers’ Organization (FO): / Representatives from a number of WUAs at a minor/distributary level for an association called Farmers’ Organization.
Gandi/Sad: / Any obstruction constructed across the bed of torrent or its branch for diverting flood flows towards the fields.
Haqooq: / The area on channel having water rights out of hill torrents.
Karezes: / Under ground watercourse usually practiced in Baluchistan.
Mogha: / Uncontrolled outlet from parent canal to watercourse.
Public goods and services: / A product or service that one individual can consume without reducing its availability to another individual and from which no one is excluded.
Rod Kohi: / Irrigation from hill torrent.
Warabandi: / Rotational method for equitable distribution of available water in an irrigation system by turns fixed according to a predetermined schedule specifying the day, time and duration of supply to each irrigator in proportion to the size of his landholding.
Water Intensity: / Volume of water passing per second.
Water Users Association: / Association of farmers having water right on a water course.
Zam / Local term for perennial flow in hill torrent irrigation system service area
iii
CHAPTER I
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Importance of Good Governance
Good governance and proper management of an irrigation system through stakeholders is the sine qua non of developing trust between the state and its citizens. It is based on justice and employs the rule of law for determining rights and quotas where patronage is not considered a good practice. Such an approach is recognized as one of the most important component of a successful CCA development model. It was in this background that the Secretary General of the United Nations stated that “Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development”[1].
Keeping in view the importance of good governance, a potential model is suggested for the socio-economic development and poverty eradication from the command area of Gomal Zam Canal Project.
The governance is about exercising authority within a framework defined and protected by law with the goal of providing common public goods and services. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) defines governance as the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development. Governance is the exercise of political, economic, and administrative authority in the management of a country’s affairs. It comprises the mechanisms, processes, and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations, and mediate their differences.[2]
Agricultural governance is concerned with increase of growth and development of a country’s agriculture sector and managing the consequences of this process through the effective functioning of its institutions, the application of technology and scientific innovations, and the implementation of policies, adherence to acts and regulations, and active participation of all stakeholders leading to long term sustainability of the irrigation system.
The involvement of other actors in the provision of public goods, individually or organized in groups, associations, cooperatives, societies or networks is what sets governance apart from government. These actors may vary depending on the level of governance being considered. At the local level, they may be farmers’ groups, associations and cooperatives, field units of extension and research organizations, NGOs, microfinance institutions, political parties, etc[3].
1.2 Principles of good Governance
The United Nations regards good governance as having eight major principles to formulate a realistic model based on such principals for natural resource management.[4]
1. Participation
2. Consensus-orientation
3. Accountability
4. Transparency
5. Responsiveness
6. Equity and inclusiveness
7. Effectiveness and efficiency
8. Consistency with the rule of law.
1.3 Introduction to GZD
Gomal Zam Dam (GZD) is a hydro-electric power and irrigation project in northwest Pakistan. It sits on the Gomal River in the South Waziristan Agency and impounds the river at Khajuri Kach. It is an arched, gravity-type roller-compacted concrete dam with a height of 437 feet, and has a gross storage capacity of 1,140,000 acre feet. It can irrigate about 191,000 acres of land, and produce 17.4 MW of electricity.
Initiated by WAPDA as the executing agency in July 2002 and with completion scheduled in February 2013; there are four major components of this 12 billion rupees worth scheme: Dam & Spillway, Diversion Tunnel, Hydro Power, & Irrigation System. Of the four it is the irrigation related component that is facing the most delays and posing the most challenges. To better understand the reasons for the same, it is important to first look at the backdrop.
In KP, Districts Tank and Dera Ismail Khan in their role as upper and lower riparian of Gomal River would be directly affected from this project. As the Gomal Zam project’s irrigation system would, with the construction of a 63km long canal and 369km long distributaries, irrigate the Cultivable Command Area (CCA) of over 191,000 acres spread over 10 UCs in the two districts.
Prior to Gomal Zam Canal irrigation project, the area was irrigated through a traditional spate irrigation system known as Rod-Kohi, which consisted of utilizing hill torrents for irrigation by the construction of temporary dykes. The controlling structure is made of soil that is formed as a barrier across the torrent usually constructed through use of oxen and tractors. This structure controls the heavy flow and at secondary level diverts water to sub streams. The core principle involved by the controlling structure is to (i) control flow of water intensity and (ii) distribute water into further small canals for use in the fields.
These small torrents (wah) are further controlled by other structures in order to divert water to tertiary level known as Gandi, Ghatta or wakra. Each structure controls and diverts water according to size of stream/Nullah. Water at tertiary level enters into fields. It is previously decided by the stakeholders and government staff what areas will be irrigated according to rights.
Saroba-Paina System is the most important rule of distribution of Rod-Kohi irrigation water. Saroba refers to head and Paina means down or tail in local language. It describes the division of water into different streams, villages, areas, individual fields according to time and amount. The local farmers have made rules that certain areas have irrigation rights only and these command areas are known as Raqba Mutalliqa – literary meaning ―area concerned. The procedures adopted states that the upstream farmers have first right of water for their fields and can use as much they can. In case of smaller flow water is then applied only there and Sad/Gandi is not broken and remains there till next flood. Upon occurrence of second flood/flow then depending on the requirement, season, climate, and wish of upstream users, water is applied to Saroba fields or allowed to flow down. On smaller hill torrent Saroba Sad/Gandi can remain till water is applied to all fields having rights of irrigation (Raqba Mutalliqa or Peech). The Sad can remain there for several years till intensity of flood forces a breach or is intentionally broken by Saroba farmers under the local laws already described.
The idea to provide support to the communities of GZD beneficiaries, for smooth transformation of their role from Rod-Kohi irrigation system to canal irrigation system, was first advocated by Regional Institute of Policy Research and Training (RIPORT) and was subsequently supported by USAID – SGAFP as well as the government of KP. Before designing the project interventions several reconnaissance visits were made by RIPORT to obtain maximum information. Meetings were held with communities, district administration, and agriculture experts in Gomal University, agriculture department, WAPDA, OFWM, CRBC and GZD engineers from both the districts of Tank and D.I Khan. The result of these meeting and needs identified during reconnaissance visit was shared with P&D department.
USAID – SGAFP subsequently approved the proposal of Gomal Zam Command Area Advocacy Program (GZAP) for implementation in Tank and D.I Khan Districts. The goal of GZAP is to “Strengthen the rural communities and to mitigate the danger of conflict expected to arise because of the shortage of availability of water and issues connected to the design of different intensities of irrigation in the CCA”.
The GZAP aims to mobilize the local community for the introduction of appropriate irrigation, agricultural and other related practices in the CCA of the project. RIPORT conducted field visits and united the communities through formation of Village Committees (VCs), this was to be the forum to represent communities at the Union Council level and would actively work for the development of their village. RIPORT created 33 VCs that were provided with training and exposure by making visits to Chashma Right Bank Canal Project (CRBC) for learning purposes. The government of Pakistan initiated the CRBC project in 1979 for supply of irrigation water over to 570,000 acres of land (350,000 acres in district D.I.Khan of KP and 220,000 acres in D.G.Khan district of Punjab). The CRBC area and farmer characteristics are similar to the profile of land and customs of farming and thus could be beneficially case studied for the GZ area.
To establish long term institutional sustainability of the project and its continuation after completion of the current phase, RIPORT also established a Joint Union Councils committee (JUC) composed of representatives from village committees and agriculture and irrigation departments for continuance of the consultation mechanism. The JUC was formally registered with the KP Department of Social Welfare as a civil society organization under the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies, (Registration and Control Ordinance 1961) Ordinance No. XLVI of 1961.
CHAPTER 2
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 RIPORT in GZAP
This creation of the current governance model is a joint effort of the RIPORT and the University of Agriculture, Peshawar. The university was engaged by RIPORT under an agreement to conduct a Research Study on Transition from Traditional Agriculture to Irrigated Agriculture in Gomal Zam Command Area, District D.I.Khan and Tank as well as support RIPORT in formulating a Governance Model. Dr. Muhammad Zulfiqar and Mr. Rizwan Ahmad contributed on behalf of the AUP, while from RIPORT the task was supervised by Khalid Aziz, team leader, Muhammad Yousaf Khattak (CTA) and the RIPORT Field Team operating in Tank and DI Khan supported by community mobilization experts. The methodology adopted was as under:-
RIPORT established a Project Management Unit (PMU) in district D.I.Khan and carried out GZAP activities in 10 UCs of D.I.Khan and Tank. This USAID – SGAFP – RIPORT Rs 19.8 million funded GZAP began in March 2013 was to last for 10 months in its current phase. The project will conclude by the end of December 2013.