Community Management of Groundwater Resources in Rural India

ISET collaborated in this project led by the British Geological Survey, 2001-2004.

The problem

Over the last 20 years there has been an enormous increase in the use of groundwater in India. As well as providing a critical source of domestic and irrigation water, groundwater also plays a vital role in supporting the livelihoods of the poor. This is because groundwater can be accessed relatively easily and cheaply, and provides a reliable source of (generally) high quality water. However, there is increasing evidence that the intensity of groundwater exploitation is not sustainable in many areas of India. Reduced access to groundwater, caused by a sustained decline in water levels or the failure of wells earlier in the dry season, disproportionately affects poorer households - the landless and asset poor farmers. Addressing the problem of groundwater over-abstraction in India is challenging. Conventional wisdom suggests a mix of regulatory and economic reforms are needed to control groundwater use. Implementing such reforms is politically difficult, however. Against this background, the development of user-group institutions for groundwater management, for the benefit of those most affected by failing groundwater supplies, is an attractive idea. The viability of this approach has not been tested for groundwater, though common property management of other resources – including grazing lands and forests – has been actively promoted in recent years, and community based solutions to other problems (e.g. pump financing and maintenance) are well rehearsed.

The project

The broad aims of this project are to: 

  1. Assess the feasibility of applying local, user-based approaches to groundwater management as a means of addressing, or avoiding, groundwater depletion problems; and
  2. Provide guidance (to a range of local, regional and national stakeholders) on how implementation might be approached, and on how obstacles might be overcome.

A preliminary hypothesis is that user-based groundwater management schemes will only be feasible if certain conditions are met. In particular, groundwater resource and user-group boundaries need to be clearly defined; users need to see clear benefits of participation; information on groundwater conditions and use needs to be available; and broad support for controlling access and use of water must exist. The Community Management Project aims to identify situations – geological, institutional and socio-economic – where these conditions might be met. The project will draw on experience of community-based schemes for supply augmentation and development, but will identify further needs for extending the user-group approach to groundwater management within small, micro-catchment areas. 

The approach

Phase 1 (2001-2002): establish steering group; develop network of interested organizations and individuals; develop consultation and dissemination strategy.

Phase 2 ((2002-2003): desk studies, fieldwork and workshops to assess feasibility of user-based approaches to groundwater management.  

Phase 3 (2003-2004): develop guidelines for initiating and sustaining user-based schemes, with proposal for pilot project to trial approach at local scale.

The players

Collaborating organizations include: