Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Impacts of Two Irrigation Management Strategies on Water Distribution and Access in the Bolivian Andes

佛罗里达大学博士生Timothy Podkul将在Christopher McCarty博士的指导下开展研究，总体目标是了解社会组织与缺水社区获得灌溉水之间的关系。这项研究是以人类学理论为基础的，这些理论来自广泛的国际文献，涉及社区组织和治理之间的相互关系，以及水的获取和分配战略。这项研究将集中在玻利维亚安第斯山脉的两个农牧社区，该地区遭受着严重的干旱和洪水交替的困扰。在这两个社区，用于牲畜的紫花苜蓿和草的生产对经济安全至关重要。管理稀缺灌溉用水的分配有两种策略：(1)独立组织的系统和(2)国家支持的用水者协会(WUA)。在一种情况下，分配是由用户在当地组织和执行的，而在另一种情况下，灌溉用水由WUA控制。将收集来自每个社区的社会网络数据，以检查网络中参与者的结构属性如何影响水分配。其他变量之间的关联，如水管理战略、社区内的地理位置和社区对水管理规范的共识，也将被衡量为获得水的潜在预测因素。随着世界水联任命的领导人接管水资源管理职责，将特别关注水务负责人和社区社会结构不断变化的文化和政治角色。这项研究探讨了在一个实施成功的自然资源管理最佳做法可以减少冲突和外迁的区域内对水和农业管理和政策的重要性问题。这项研究对于那些试图了解社区和政府当局之间在重要资源稀缺地区日益脆弱的关系的人具有理论意义和实际应用。资助这项研究还支持研究生的教育。

University of Florida doctoral candidate, Timothy Podkul, under the guidance of Dr. Christopher McCarty, will carry out research with the overall objective of understanding the relationship between social organization and access to irrigation water in water-scarce communities. This research is grounded in anthropological theories drawn from a broad base of international literature concerning the interrelationship between community organization and governance, and water access and distribution strategies.This study will focus on two agro-pastoral communities in the Bolivian Andes, a region plagued by severe alternating drought and flooding. In both communities, the production of alfalfa and grass for livestock is essential to economic security. Two strategies are used to manage the distribution of scarce irrigation water: (1) independently-organized systems and (2) state-supported Water User Associations (WUAs). In one, distribution is organized and enforced locally by the users, while in the other, the irrigation water is under control of a WUA. Social network data from each community will be collected to examine how structural properties of actors within the network affect water distribution. Associations between other variables such as water management strategies, geographical location within a community, and community consensus about water management norms will also be measured as potential predictors of water access. Particular attention will be paid to the changing cultural and political roles of the Water Chief and community social structure as WUA-appointed leaders take over water management duties.This research addresses issues of importance to water and agricultural management and policy in a region where implementation of best practices for successful natural resource management could decrease conflicts and out-migration. This study has both theoretical importance and practical applications for those seeking to understand the increasingly tenuous relationships between communities and government authorities in areas of scarce vital resources. Funding this research also supports the education of a graduate student.