Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Struggle for Water Rights in a Contested Commons: Changing Institutional Landscape in Upper Mustang, Nepal

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Water for rural societies is not only a utilitarian reserve but also a symbolic resource and a medium through which social relations are constructed. The norms for irrigation management form the backbone of community systems in water- scarce regions. Irrigations systems, while reflecting the existing power structures of a society, also influence these structures by reproducing or transforming societal relationships. In addition to defining access, water rights in an irrigation system constitute societal relations. Consequently, water rights are constantly contested and negotiated. This dissertation research project by a cultural anthropology student from the University of Georgia explores how the struggle for water rights modifies the institutional landscape of agricultural resource management in a cold, arid region of upper Mustang, Nepal. Combining ethnographic, survey, comparative and historical approaches, the student will study the dynamics of struggle over water rights both within and between settlements. The study will explore how water rights are defined; how such definitions are contested; and how such contestations influence institutions, testing hypotheses relating rights to other economic and social resources. Broader impacts: in addition to furthering the education of a doctoral student, the research will produce knowledge to help resolve practical issues of water rights. This knowledge will be of interest for developing water policies, legislation, rural development initiatives, and conflict resolution.