Abstract
Keywords: irrigation modernisation, systems theory, design processes, operational management, water management, performance assessment, institutional reform, Pakistan, Indus-basin, Lower Swat Canal, Upper Swat Canal, Pehur High Level Canal, Chasma Right Bank Canal, National Drainage Project, protective irrigation, productive irrigation, design concepts, Mardan- and Swabi-SCARP.
"Trial & Re-Trial" reviews four irrigation modernisation projects in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, which had as aim to transform the traditional "protective" irrigation systems into "productive" 'crop-based' irrigation systems. The framework of systems analysis is used to analyse how concepts of modern irrigation are construed. Specific attention is given to how (operational) management issues are integrated in the designed concepts of modern "productive" irrigation, and how the different conceptions on management and 'modernity' by designers, operation agencies and water users shape the post-implementation outcomes. To gain understanding of how the practices, conceptions and strategies of water management of water users and operation agencies have been shaped by past experiences and developments, an historical analysis is made of the establishment of the Indus basin and its "protective" irrigation systems, and its development up to the modernisation programme. The modernisation projects reviewed cover the different phases of design and construction, performance evaluation, and impact assessment. It is argued that the imposition of technical design concepts through externalised interventions hampers the process of change management. Finally, the institutional reform process started with the National Drainage Project is briefly reviewed as a new approach for handling the water management issues governing the Indus basin.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 10 Sept 2002 |
Place of Publication | S.l. |
Print ISBNs | 9789058086846 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10 Sept 2002 |
Keywords
- irrigation
- modernization
- rural development
- water management
- north-west frontier (pakistan)
- pakistan