Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant: Groundwater Governance in Central India

政策制定者、社会科学家、各国政府和国际筹资机构越来越多地致力于将自然资源作为一种谋生手段，在许多发展中世界进行分散治理。本研究研究印度社会资本与个人开采地下水决策之间的关系，以解释集体地下水管理行动的出现。印度是全球最大的地下水灌溉国和基于分水岭的开发的追求者。地下水灌溉约占全国灌溉总量的60%。本研究的基础是中央邦的流域开发与管理规划。历史上，国家支持的这里和该国其他地方的分水岭计划都是根据地表水集水来定义的，而忽视了地下水含水层的作用。该地区位于印度的旱地，其脆弱的生态条件加剧了该地区的发展挑战。这项研究的一项重要政策影响将是确定一些因素，这些因素可以通过在一个饱受缺水和历史上不发达问题困扰的地区通过全面的分水岭规划和民主分权来增加“造国”的努力而成功地加以利用。这项研究探索了社会资本对集体行动和当地生计的影响。

Policy makers, social scientists, governments and international funding agencies are increasingly committed to decentralized governance for natural resources as a means of livelihood generation in much of the developing world. This research studies the relationship in India between social capital and individual decision making on groundwater extraction in order to explain the emergence of collective action for groundwater management. India is the largest groundwater irrigator and pursuer of watershed based development globally. Groundwater irrigation accounts for approximately 60 percent of all irrigation in the country. The base for this research is the watershed development and management program of the state of Madhya Pradesh. State sponsored watershed plans here and elsewhere in the country have historically been defined in terms of surface water catchments while ignoring the role of groundwater aquifers. Set in the drylands of India, the development challenges of this region are exacerbated by its fragile ecological conditions. An important policy implication of this study will be identification of factors that can be harnessed successfully by the attempt at increased "state making" through total watershed planning and democratic decentralization in a region plagued by water scarcity and historic underdevelopment. The research explores the influence of social capital on collective action and local livelihoods.