The Financing of Hydropower,Irrigation and Water Supply Infrastructure in Developing Countries

A companion paper in the previous issue of this journal (Briscoe, 1999) describes the changing face of infrastructure financing in developing countries. This paper deals with the financing of major infrastructure in the water-related sectors-hydropower, water supply and sanitation, irrigation, and overall water resources management (including the environment). The overall level of investment in water-related infrastructure in developing countries is estimated to be of the order of $65 billion annually, with the respective shares about $15 billion for hydro, $25 billion for water and sanitation and $25 billion for irrigation and drainage. About 90% of this investment comes from domestic sources, primarily from the public sector. Water-related infrastructure accounts for a large chunk-about 15%-of all government spending. This heavy dependence on the public sector means that the global 'winds of change' in the respective roles of government and the private sector have major implications for the financing and structure of the water economy. The paper describes how each of the 'sub-sectors' is adapting to these winds of change. First, in recent years competition and private sector provision have emerged as the characteristicsof the new electricity industry. This change poses a fundamental challenge to hydro which, to a much greater degree than thermal, has risks (hydrological, geological, social and environmental) which are better assumed by the public than the private sector. The future of private hydro, and thus of hydro itself, depends heavily on the ability of the public sector to both share risks with the private sector, and to provide predictable social and environmental rules of the game. Second, the urban water supply sector is in the early stages of equally profound change. In recent years there has been a dramatic shift towards the private sector, in developed and developing countries alike. An outline of the future shape of a competitive urban water sector is emerging: it is one in which a growing number of private companies will compete with revitalized (and often corporatized) public utilities. Capital will, increasingly, come from the private capital markets, with the critical government role being that of light, transparent benchmarking and regulation. Third, the adaptation to the winds of change is least advanced in the public irrigation sector, which has long been characterized by public financing and 'rent seeking' by bureaucracies, politicians and private beneficiaries. It is only in recent years, and only in a few countries, that the irrigation sector has modernized. In these cases irrigation has become like any other utility, in which accountable, autonomous agencies provide users with the services the users want. In many instances, farmers have become responsible for the costs of operating and maintaining their systems; in some instances they are responsible for meeting the full costs of replacement, rehabilitation and new investments. Where these changes have taken place, there have not only been sharp swings in the relative proportion of private and public spending, but there have been dramatic improvements in the efficiency of investment and operation and, in most cases, major positive environmental impacts.     

公共灌溉管理体制现代化--将来可持续灌溉的重点

对于大型灌区来说,其最终目标是以最少的国家财政支出,通过改善服务水平来不断提高农业耕作的收益率.但是,大型灌区内部的官僚体制和配水系统的不灵活性使其很难按照市场的变化和利润优势进行快速反应.因此,必须通过综合系统的现代化,即通过将现有的体制结构和灌溉配水系统进行变革,使其按照需水要求提供可持续的、高效的配水服务来进一步提高收益率.这种按照需水要求提供配水服务的体制变革主要包括削弱政府在管理和财政上的作用、进行权利分散、提高部门责任感以及经济自立.通过提高用水效率来减少支出,扩大收入.用水户协会的成立已经证明其在现代化改造和用水户参与方面是行之有效的,因此,应将其包括在决策制定过程中的各个环节.同时鼓励扩大水委员会或用水户联合会.在时机成熟时转让灌溉管理权,且灌溉管理权的转让应提前做好规划,按照中长期进程加以实施.同时还可以鼓励和开展公私合作伙伴(PPP).建立PPP的主要目的就是成立"第三专业机构"来改善管理,加强合作.     

Optimization of Irrigation Scheduling Using Soil Water Balance and Genetic Algorithms

In arid and semi-arid countries, the use of irrigation is essential to ensure agricultural production. Irrigation water use is expected to increase in the near future due to several factors such as the growing demand of food and biofuel under a probable climate change scenario. For this reason, the improvement of irrigation water use efficiency has been one of the main drivers of the upgrading process of irrigation systems in countries like Spain, where irrigation water use is around 70 % of its total water use. Pressurized networks have replaced the obsolete open-channel distribution systems and on farm irrigation systems have been also upgraded incorporating more efficient water emitters like drippers or sprinklers. Although pressurized networks have significant energy requirements, increasing operational costs. In these circumstances farmers may be unable to afford such expense if their production is devoted to low-value crops. Thus, in this work, a new approach of sustainable management of pressurized irrigation networks has been developed using multiobjective genetic algorithms. The model establishes the optimal sectoring operation during the irrigation season that maximize farmer’s profit and minimize energy cost at the pumping station whilst satisfying water demand of crops at hydrant level taking into account the soil water balance at farm scale. This methodology has been applied to a real irrigation network in Southern Spain. The results show that it is possible to reduce energy cost and improve water use efficiency simultaneously by a comprehensive irrigation management leading, in the studied case, to energy cost savings close to 15 % without significant reduction of crop yield.     

Groundwater overdraft reduction through agricultural energy policy: insights from India and Mexico

Rapid expansion of groundwater irrigation has transformed the rural economy in regions around the world, leading to significant increases in agricultural productivity and rising incomes. Farmer investment in wells and pumps has driven this expansion on the demand side; however, the supply of cheap agricultural energy—usually electrical power—is a critical though often overlooked driver of the groundwater boom. One serious outcome in numerous regions around the world has been groundwater overdraft; where pumping exceeds aquifer recharge, water tables have declined and water quality has deteriorated. India and Mexico are two of the largest users of groundwater in the world and both face critical overdraft challenges. The two countries are compared, given that electrical energy supply and pricing are primary driving forces behind groundwater pumping for irrigation in India and Mexico alike. Both countries have attempted regulatory measures to reduce groundwater overdraft. However, with low energy costs and readily available connections, there are few financial disincentives for farmers to limit pumping. The linkages between energy and irrigation are reviewed, comparing and contrasting India and Mexico. Examples of legal, regulatory and participatory approaches to groundwater management are assessed. Finally, the implications of linking electrical power pricing and supply with ongoing groundwater regulation efforts in both countries are explored.     

Book & Software Reviews

ABSTRACT

From 1950 the percentage of O&;M costs paid by users declined from 95 per cent to 37 per cent in 1990. As a result of the shortage of funds the irrigation districts deferred maintenance, leading to a serious reduction in output and decline in the infrastructure. To solve this problem, in 1990 the government instituted a program of transferring management from the National Water Commission (CNA) to the water users. The transfer program in Mexico took off very quickly such that by the middle of 1996, more than 86 per cent of the 3.3 million ha of publicly irrigated land in the country had been transferred to joint management. Water user associations have proven capable of operating and maintaining the modules and water tar jffs collected by the users _in excess of US$170 million in 1994 and 1995 _have not only supported the module O&;M activities but have also supported the majority of the O&;M activities by CNA staff In order to sustain the transferred districts, the users need to establish an investment fund to cover emergencies and future development. In addition, it is necessary to clarify the water laws to protect agricultural rights.     

Outsourcing and Efficiency in the Management of Rural Water Services

Rural areas are finding it increasingly difficult to manage water services for household purposes. Local governments cannot afford the high investment and maintenance costs the service entails, leading many rural towns in Spain to outsource the service. Doing so enables local governments to balance their budgets and professionalise management in response to the more exacting requirements imposed by European water regulations. In Spain it is possible to outsource the management of the water service to a public, private or public-private company. This research applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to a sample of 80 rural water utilities in Southern Spain in order to compare the efficiency of these three forms of management. Despite initially finding that private companies and public-private partnerships are more efficient than public companies, no differences in efficiency can be observed between the three forms of management when environmental variables are taken into consideration. Results show that public-private partnerships are no less efficient than fully private or fully public companies.     

Irrigation management transfer in sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of policy implementation across scales

ABSTRACT

This article explores how irrigation management transfer policies were implemented in Mali, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. In Mali and Mozambique, where the irrigation bureaucracy controlled one large irrigation system, state agencies retained control over irrigation management despite reduced state funding. In Malawi and Zimbabwe, where the state irrigation systems and the irrigation bureaucracy were smaller, users have taken over irrigation management, but are having trouble sustaining irrigated agriculture. We show how irrigation management transfer policies were shaped by the interplay between international donors, macro-economic dynamics, national politics and the interactions with (and the nature of) irrigation infrastructure, bureaucracies and organized users.     

Assessment of Productive Efficiency in Irrigated Areas of Andalusia

Expansionist policies in irrigation in Andalusia have led to an intensive use of water, which has depleted rivers and aquifers and led to high added costs in terms of hidden subsidies for irrigation farming. Water scarcity has become an increasing social and economic worry for those responsible for regulating water policies and has created problems among users, especially when it is an important factor for production purposes. This empirical study analyses the differences that exist in terms of economic efficiency in the 156 irrigation areas of Andalusia. To achieve rational management of irrigation water it is essential to consider economic efficiency and carry out comparative studies to identify the causes that contribute to differences in terms of efficiency. This paper describes the conclusions of a study into economic rationality in the use of such a scarce resource as water.     

The economic unsustainability of the Spanish national hydrological plan

This paper analyses the economic aspects of the Ebro water transfer, which have been overlooked in the Spanish National Hydrological Plan. The questions exam ined are the cost of transferred water, and irrigated agriculture in the Levante and south-eastern regions, which are the main water transfer destinations. Results show that the water transfer is not economically sustainable, because the costs of the diverted water are higher than the current marginal value of water in agriculture, and crop profitability is insufficient to pay for the whole volume of transferred water. A compromise solution between increasing water supply and demand management measures will combine a reasonable water price increase with water desalination in coastal counties. This solution would reduce water demand with a moderate effect on farmers' revenue and net income. Spain could find alternative investment projects to the water transfer, able to improve social welfare.     

The water reclamation and reuse project of El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.

Water reclamation and reuse have become essential components of water resources management in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, by helping to develop additional water resources in the lower Llobregat River, one of its main sources of water supply. By generating a reliable flow of 300,000 m3/day of high quality reclaimed water, the options available for integrated water resources management have widely expanded to allow in-stream river water substitution, restoration of natural wetland areas, agricultural irrigation, and supply to a seawater intrusion barrier. Those management options have been possible thanks to the implementation of an extensive water distribution system that allows distribution of reclaimed water to a point 15 km upstream of the reclamation facility, and to a seawater intrusion barrier within a few kilometres of the plant. The cost of producing reclaimed water using a physico-chemical process (0.05 euro/m3) and the investment required for such a facility (0.21 euro/m3 annual capacity) are very close to those of similar large scale projects in Spain. However, higher degrees of treatment, such as demineralization for agricultural irrigation and for injection into a seawater intrusion barrier, result in considerable increases of both water reclamation cost and investment costs.     

Participatory irrigation management in Turkey

Turkey has developed 50% of its total irrigable land. Transfer of irrigation systems to users started at a slow pace in the early 1950s. By the end of 2001, an area of over 1 663 730 ha, which corresponds to nearly 87.2% of the DS? operated irrigation area, had been transferred to and was being managed fully by water user organizations. A comprehensive review of land and water resources, monitoring and evaluation of irrigation projects, transfer of irrigation systems and the effects of transfer on socio‐economic structure and environment is provided, considering the results for the year 2001.     

让农民积极参与水管理--埃及的实例

提高水管理效率的重要途径之一是让利益主体尽可能多地参与各种水管理活动。本文介绍埃及私有利益主体协会参与水管理的经验。这些私有协会都是1989年以后正式成立的，以支渠或斗渠为单位。由于没有合法的地位，这些以支渠为单位的协会面临着很大的挑战。管理任务转换的先决条件包括：将灌溉水管理实质性地转换到私有协会的决策，公共灌溉机构向私有协会提供技术和制度的支持。支渠协会地位、自治、效力、责任、实用、合法、使命是成功转换的重要保证。     

墨西哥小型灌区的改造经验

在墨西哥,有3.9万多个被称为灌溉单元的小型灌区,大体上,这些灌区都面临着用水户组织困难,灌区管理、运行落后,灌区保存、维持困难等问题.墨西哥政府通过国家水利委员会,采取了基于鼓励用水户组成有限责任公司的民间协会的措施.这些协会是基于联合投资基金资助的两个项目成立的,而在联合投资基金中,民间投资不能超过总投资的50%.这两个项目分别是水电高效利用和农业水利设施充分利用.基于组成用水协会及其与基础设施的恢复、续建和相关技术的联合应用的墨西哥灌区改造,是促进小型灌区可持续发展的可行途径.     

Price Analysis of Water Supply for South-to-North Water Transfer Project

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绥滨灌区信息化综合系统开发浅议

阐述了以地理信息GIS为主线,将水情自动监测系统、工情管理地理信息系统、用水计划管理系统、水费管理系统及政务公开WEB系统有机地结合起来,有一定的普遍应用意义。本项目的研究及应用,能减少水资源浪费,降低灌溉成本,会产生显著的社会效益及经济效益。     

南水北调东线工程水资源水质管理的道德风险

应用信息经济学中委托代理理论,指出由于存在人的有限理性、水资源的公共物品特性、市场竞争不充分、存在地方保护主义、信息不对称、违规成本过低等原因,在南水北调东线工程水资源水质管理中存在道德风险,主要表现在水用户减少污水处理投资。建立南水北调东线工程水资源水质管理道德风险基本模型,得出了在信息完全的情况下供水公司的水质检测水平、水价和水用户的污水治理水平解。建立在道德风险环境下的水用户的污水治理投资水平决策模型和供水公司的水质检测投资水平决策模型,得出了水用户的污水治理投资水平解和道德风险表示形式,以及供水公司的水质检测投资水平解。对两个模型进行分析,并提出了降低南水北调东线水资源水质管理道德风险的措施:加强水质检测投资,完善监督机制;完善水权市场;制定适当的惩罚条款;建立水用户的用水信用机制,降低信息不对称的程度;进行产业结构的调整,加强社会经济的发展;提高污水治理技术水平。     

灌区用水协会管理体制的探讨

用水管理体制是灌区管理工作的核心,农民用水协会是灌区用水管理体制改革的新兴措施。以石津灌区为例,分析了农民用水户协会的性质、地位和作用,研究了它的发展过程、运行机制和实施效果,讨论了用水协会存在的问题及其解决办法,总结了石津灌区用水协会的管理经验,对实现灌区末级管理的自我维持和自我发展均具有较大的实践意义。     

Economic Instruments in the Management of Australia's Water Resources: A Critical View

The era of environmental concern ushered in by the World Conservation Strategy and the Brundtland Commission in the 1980s was given renewed impetus following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 and the adoption of Agenda 21. Water was a key resource singled out for attention and governments around the world have made a commitment to ecologically sustainable management of the resource. Australia is no exception and a number of processes are under way aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the country's limited water endowment. In recent years the Australian water industry has increasingly come under criticism as the perceived source of widespread resource degradationand extensive impairment of riverine environments. At the same time, growing demands for alternative uses of water have arisen for a wide range of environmental purposes. Addressing these criticisms and satisfying these demands have prompted moves for far-reaching adjustment to water allocation systems and a new approach to water management, a key component of which is the use of economic instruments to bring about change. Among measures introduced to improve water management are the encouragement of water markets and tradable water entitlements, and the rationalization of water pricing. These measures have had a mixed reception from water users, particularly in the irrigation sector, and have come under scrutiny with regard to their rationale and effectiveness in promoting efficiency and equity in rural water use. The challenge remains to identify the most appropriatemix of incentive-based and regulatory mechanisms for the management of Australia's water resources.     

Multi- Objective Optimal Design of on- Demand Pressurized Irrigation Networks

In the context of water as an economic good, from the use of water, one can derive a value, which can be affected by the reliability of supply. On-demand irrigation systems provide valuable water to skilled farmers who have the capacity to maximize economic value of water. In this study, simultaneous optimization of on-demand irrigation network layout and pipe sizes is considered taking into account both investment and annual energy costs. The optimization problem is formulated as a problem of searching for the upstream head value, which minimizes the total cost (investment and energy costs) of the system. The investment and annual energy costs are obtained in two separate phases. Max–Min ant system (MMAS) algorithm is used to obtain the minimum cost design considering layout and pipe diameters of the network simultaneously. Clement methodology is used to determine flow rates of pipelines at the peak period of irrigation requirements. The applicability of the proposed method is showed by re-designing a real world example from literature.     

Institutional organizers and collective action: the case of water users' associations in Gujarat,India

Setting up water users' associations (WUAs) and involving them in the management of delivery systems is an important innovation in improving the performance of public irrigation systems. Most Indian states are in a great hurry to turn over management of “below-the outlet” systems to WUAs. Yet the crucial link between the work done by the institutional organizers who set up these WUAs, the efficacy of the WUAs and the eventual performance of the irrigation systems remains unexplored. This paper attempts to explore this link. It shows that overdrive in the formation of WUAs may reduce their institutional sustainability.