Institutional change in local water resource management : cases from Balochistan

In this thesis an analytical framework has been developed to examine mechanisms of institutional change and stagnation in local water resource management in Balochistan, Pakistan. Following an investigation of the relationship between local - often tribal - social organization and water resource management institutions, it discusses in separate sections the management of three types of water resource used for irrigation: groundwater, perennial surface water and spate water (flood water).
The results of the research concentrate on the relationship between the four attributes of a resource management arrangement: the net benefits of resource exploitation; the first order transaction costs of management (arranging, monitoring and enforcing (social) contracts, coordination, operation and maintenance etc.); the second order costs of change (learning, external group definition and internal bargaining) ; and the distribution of interests. A number of policy interventions to strengthen local resource management in Balochistan are also reviewed.