Institutional change from shocks to an indigenous irrigation system in the

Philippines: the impact of participatory planning on Zanjera Danum

Ruth Yabes Arizona State University

Dynamics of Institutions in Water Resource Management Workshop School of Human Evolution & Social Change and The Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity

Arizona State UniversityJanuary 9-11, 2008

QuestionHow does participatory planning by the state impact participation and collective action in water management by farmers in indigenous irrigation systems?

ThesisGiven variation in physical, ecological, economic, social and political conditions in local contexts, participatory planning produces different results in water management.

Outline

• Thesis• Literature, premises• Case study:

• Zanjera Danum 1979-2006• Ilocos Norte Irrigation Project and System

1972-2006• Outcomes and impacts• Prospect: Future research

Literature

• Common property systems• Natural resource management

• Collective action – cooperation

• Participation – to take part in

• Vulnerability – capacity to cope with hazards

• Resilience – ability to absorb changes, adapt and persist

Premises

• Collective-action institutions have greater advantage:• Smaller scales, local levels, local users, greater local knowledge

(Subramanian et al. 1997 in Meinzen-Dick 2007)

• Programs to develop farmer organizations into larger, state-run systems:• Top-down, rigid structure, uniform rules of user groups• Difficult for farmers to be involved in larger systems• Farmers have less flexibility to adapt systems

(Meinzen-Dick 2007)

Zanjera Danum 1970s Common property system

• Zanjera: A large, indigenous, communal irrigation system

• In northern Luzon, Philippines • 3 crops/yr. schedule• Shared area of agricultural land• A common water source• Structures, brush dams control irrigation works

Brush dams

Zanjera Danum 1970s Common property system

• In 1975 Dr. Walt Coward identified 3 social organization principles of Zanjera Danum, an indigenous ditch organization:

1. Organization of water allocation2. Physical maintenance activities3. Conflict management

Zanjera Danum 1970s

• ZM had:• Fixed number of atars (564

member shares)• 1500 ha• 32 gunglos 15-70 ha =

15-70 atars• Water scarcity shared by all

farmers

1 atar share

Padila

Proportional canal and lateral widths tied to size of gunglo to be irrigated Indigenous structure, padila, also

used to divide and share water especially during dry season

Zanjera Danum 1970s

• Agbantay labor (gunglo)• Sarunkar work schedule

(zanjera level)• Dagup labor

(all zanjera members)

• Work groups join, split to fit O&M tasks with reserve capacity

• 3 types of labor:

•Rights/responsibilities proportional•Leadership at multiple levels

Elections 1986(third time is the charm)

Zanjera Danum 1970s

Conflict managementPolitics

In-kind contributions, collective laborEconomic downturns

FinesWater stealing

Rotation, schedulingClimatic factors

Brush dams, labor mobilizationNatural disasters

ResilienceVulnerability

Ilocos NorteIrrigation Project

INIPIlocos Norte

Irrigation Project

Ilocos Norte Irrigation Project (INIP) Early 1980s

• Standard, engineering approachto INIP initially

• Zanjera farmers not included in original planning activities

• Zanjera structures and many existing canals ignored

Ilocos Norte Irrigation Project (INIP) 1985-1995

• Participatory planning approachin response to zanjera protests

• Canals re-designed to match zanjera canals• Padila diversion structure adopted• NIA Irrigator Associations based upon zanjeras

Ilocos Norte Irrigation System (INIS) 1996

• INIP completed project in 1991, 1996 turnover • All 5 dams working, operational• 35-40 zanjeras did not join INIS• NIA manages dams, siphons;

zanjera manages canals

Ilocos Norte Irrigation System (INIS)

• First INIS service area: 17,000 ha• A lot of damage from typhoons July 2001

(Typhoon Feria), June-July 2004 (Typhoon Igme)

• After typhoons, lack of NIA funds to repair• Service area dropped to 13,000 ha

Not operating anymore, buried

Heavy damage and siltationNueva Era

Still operating even on left side, but not very efficiently

Left side seriously damagedPapa

Left side not operating;Partially operating to the right

Left side seriously damaged Right side-silted siphon #1

Madongan

Still operatingSeriously damagedSolsona

Still operatingPartially damagedLabugaon

Table 1 Status of INIS Dams as of 2006

Dam Damages Dam Work Status

Madongan Dam 2006

Madongan Dam1998

Madongan Dam 1998

Madongan Dam 2006

Zanjera Danum2006

Zanjera Danum 2006• ZD still has:

• Shared area of agricultural land• A common water source• Structures and brush dams to control irrigation works• Irrigation rotation scheduling still based on no. of atars• Same leadership structure, organizational set-up• Padilas and canals allocating water proportionately

Zanjera Danum 2006

Changes • Original size was 770 ha in the past• Now 700 ha only due to typhoon washouts• Others say 670 ha and 36 gunglos• Some panglakayens sold the leaders’ shares

Changes in Zanjera Danum 2006• 1996-2000: Most farmers received same amounts of water

with INIS• After typhoons post 2001 and 2004:

• Original size was 770 ha, now 700 ha• Most farmers receiving less water with INIS after typhoons• Some gunglos receive no water due to siltation, destruction• Some panglakayens sold leaders’ shares• Fines increased by 2.5 times (ex. water stealing fines)• Inheritance: Some families split atar, others share it• Zanjera is back to building its brush dams, helping with NIA dam

Prospect: Future Research

1. What role did a new form of participation play in state-imposed irrigation system?

2. What aspects of modern participatory planning reflected Zanjera Danum’s indigenous system? Was this state-led participatory planning imposed and not using zanjera knowledge?

3. How has partial failure of INIS due to typhoons changed collective action of ZanjeraDanum or made it more vulnerable?

Prospect: Future Research

4. Which participatory elements of collective action by Zanjera Danum to manage irrigation water have resulted in long-term resiliency?

5. How might NIA as a public infrastructure provider create infrastructure that links resource users and common pool resources to minimize natural disaster vulnerabilities?

The Impact of Participatory Planning on an Indigenous Irrigation System: Zanjera Danum Revisited: 1979-2006

Questions?• Ruth.Yabes@asu.edu• School of Planning, Arizona State University

Tempe, AZ 85287-2005• tel. 480-965-7188

References1. Coward, E. Walter, Jr. 1979. Principles of Social

Organization in an Indigenous Irrigation System. Human Organization 38 (1):28-36.

2. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth 2007. Beyond Panaceas in Water Institutions. Special Feature of Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences on “Going Beyond Panaceas.” 15200-15205.

3. Subramanian, A., Vijay Jagannathan, N. and Meinzen-Dick, R.S. eds. 1997. User Organizations for Sustainable Water Services Washington D.C.: World Bank.