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Effective and sustainable water resource management requires flexibility and adaptation to local contexts. Our study analyzes the emergence and evolution of local water self-governing associations, reviewing how their struggles and conflicts, both with the public sector and among locals themselves, have been pivotal to achieving agreements and actions towards sustainable water management. Using an adapted version of the Combined Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) and social–ecological system (SES) framework, also known as CIS, we conducted a comparative analysis of two distinct Chilean cases. This research highlights the critical role of historical factors alongside institutional support, political landscapes, and financial realities in shaping current water management practices. The findings suggest that when the actors are aligned and actions are taken to support local water user management, more efficient, sustainable, and less conflict-ridden water resource management occurs. Furthermore, this study reveals how the experiences, struggles, and successes of these local user associations have shaped national policies, particularly regarding the development of monitoring mechanisms and the promotion of public–private cooperation in water governance. These efforts have not only fostered more resilient water management systems but have also demonstrated the power of grassroots organizations in shaping broader sustainable policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jordan's water scarcity prompted a national plan whereby treated wastewater is utilized to amend agricultural irrigation water so as to reallocate freshwater to urban/domestic uses. The policy, however, has engendered farmers' resistance in the Northern Jordan Valley (NJV), causing a stalemate in putting new infrastructure into operation. This research investigated the socio-economic causes of farmer resistance and contestation, and examined the government's institutional approach to overcome the challenges. We found that the perceived risks of wastewater reuse such as salinization and restrictions from international markets figure prominently in the farmers resistance. As yet, farmers have managed to avoid the shift to treated wastewater use by using the political agency of elite farmers who control the Water Users Associations. These same farmers have adopted informal water access practices to overcome freshwater shortages. At the same time, small producers who don't have possibilities to access extra water and with less political clout seem more willing to irrigate with treated wastewater. We conclude that understanding the heterogeneous context in which the envisioned wastewater users operate is key to predicting and solving conflicts that arise in treated wastewater reuse projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisions on irrigation water management are usually made at different levels, including farms, water user associations (WUAs), and regional water planning agencies. The latter generally have good access to information and decision tools regarding water resources management. However, these remain out of reach to the final water users, namely the farmers. The study, conducted in the irrigated district of Cherfech, north Tunisia, had the main objective of investigating farmer's perceptions of, and acceptance for, the use of an irrigation advisory service (IAS) to be implemented by their WUA. The suggested IAS provides the following information: (1) reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and rainfall; (2) crop water requirement (CWR) of the most cultivated crops; (3) irrigation water requirement (IWR) of the farmer's crop; and (4) crop monitoring and real-time estimation of IWR of crops settled, using soil moisture sensors. Such services and information would be available at the WUA level and provided in a timely manner to farmers for more effective decision making at the plot level. Prior to the acceptance study, we launched a technical study to determine the required tools and equipment required for the implementation of the IAS, followed by a farmer survey to assess their respective perceptions and acceptance towards this IAS. Results showed that only 54% of the farmers are satisfied by WUAs work, but that 77% of them accepted using the suggested IAS. Farmers are also willing to pay for most of the IAS packages suggested. The financial profitability of investing in the IAS at the WUA level shows the venture is financially viable, with a benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 1.018. The project will be even more profitable if we add the social benefits, which may result in water savings at the WUA level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work examines the transformations occurred with the shift from private company to water user association and natural park, looking at one collective irrigation system located in Alicante province (Spain): Riegos de Levante, Izquierda del Segura, one of the most extensive irrigation areas in Europe. Between 1918 and 2018, a process of change and transformation of both landscape and institutions occurred, considering: infrastructure expansion and its operation, the transfer of irrigation management responsibilities to water user association, after years of financial operations with water, thanks to state intervention, the coexistence of traditional agriculture with the modernisation of the irrigation systems, the history of an irrigation reservoir which was transformed into a natural site in 1988, or the evolution of the composition of water resources, taking into account the arrival of the Tajo-Segura transfer waters from the year 1979. The general objective is to understand key factors driving these changes, by means of a paradigmatic case study, as well as to identify policymaking and context-relevant dynamics that could enable it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]