An Economic Analysis of Traditional Water Management Institutions in Northern Thailand

Abstract

The problem of water management in Thailand has become an issue because water resources are predicted to be insufficient for future agricultural development. In exploring relevant water management methods, an investigation of people's irrigation systems is instructive. The objective of this article is to make an economic analysis of traditional water management institutions in Northern Thailand on the basis of a field survey. The results of the analysis are as follows. 1) The rules for maintenance of traditional irrigation systems are consistent with the individual farmer's self-motivation in a labor-surplus economy. 2) The relative scarcity of water resources in the process of agricultural development has induced a change in the traditional water management institution to alleviate the scarcity. 3) The new institution (so-called strict rotation system) has generally relieved the congestion of water utilization, but some farmers whose fields lie far from the main canal still suffer losses from the congestion.