Analysis of Water Property Rights and Responsibilities of Rights Holders in Tigum-Aganan Watershed, Philippines
Joy C. Lizada1*, Rosalie Arcala Hall2, Teresita S. Espinosa3, and Agnes C. Rola4
1College of Management, University of the Philippines Visayas,
Miagao, Iloilo 5023 Philippines
2College of Arts and Science, Division of Social Sciences,
University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo 5023 Philippines
3Water Governance for Development Research,
University of the Philippines Visayas, Iloilo City 5000 Philippines
4Institute for Governance and Rural Development,
College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños,
College, Los Baños, Laguna 4031 Philippines
*Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ABSTRACT
The fragmentation of rights between water permit holders who exercise authority to access, exclude, and withdraw and other institutions with only shared responsibility over watershed management inhibits effective water-related decision making, resulting in conflicts that may lead to unsustainable water supply. This paper analyzes the nature and type of property rights that govern the surface water in the Philippines employing the property rights and responsibility nexus framework – using the Tigum-Aganan watershed (TAW) as a case. It explains the failure in addressing the sedimentation problem as a representation of the weak link among institutions which has adversely affected surface water supply. In addressing sustainability challenges, water property rights and the corresponding responsibilities should be clarified across the institutional hierarchy and coordinated among actors.
INTRODUCTION
Water decisions and actions are products of complex competition and collaboration among institutions and their stake holding constituencies in different hierarchies of governance (Malayang 2004). As demands for water rise for household use, agriculture, and industry, coordination of water use becomes more complex as well as more crucial (Bruns et al. 2005). Water property rights as a policy tool is a potentially powerful instrument in water resource management. The lack of effective water right systems can create major problems in the management of increasingly scarce water supply. The development of such systems can be made more effective through a better understanding of existing right-holders and claimants, and of practical problems involved in implementing an effective water right system (Bruns et al. 2005). . . . . read more
REFERENCES
Bruns BR, Ringler C, Meinzen-Dick R. 2005. Water rights reform: Lessons for institutional design. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. p. xvii–xxi.
BRUNS BR, MEINZEN-DICK R. 2005. Frameworks for water rights: An overview of institutional options. In: Water Rights Reform: Lessons for Institutional Design. Bruns BR, Ringler C, Meinzen-Dick R eds. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. p. 3–25.
[CSA] Castalia Strategic Advisors. 2009. Final report: Assistance to Metro Iloilo Water District in exploring options for the provision of water supply and sanitation services. Washington, DC: World Bank.
CHALLEN R. 2001. Analysis of alternative institutional structures for governance of water use. In: Brennan D ed. Water Policy Reform: lessons from Asia and Australia. Proceedings of an international workshop in Bangkok, Thailand, 08–09 Jun 2001. Canberra (Australia): Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). p. 13–30.
FERNANDEZ P, GREGORY R, LUZ B, SUBADE R. 2013. The importance of multilevel and multidimensional approaches to integrated resources management: A case study of a Philippine Watershed. Environment 55(1): 18–28.
FRANCISCO H, SALAS J. 2004. Realities of watershed management in the Philippines: The case of Iloilo-Maasin watershed [Discussion Paper Series No. 2004-22]. Quezon City (Philippines): Philippine Institute of Development Studies.
FURUBOTN EG, PEJOVICH S. 1972. Property rights and economic theory: A survey of recent literature. Journal of Economic Literature 10(4): 1137–1162.
GARRITY D, AMOROSO V, KOFFA S, CATACUTAN D. 2001. Innovations in participatory watershed resource management to conserve tropical diversity. In: Seeking sustainability: Challenges of agricultural development and environmental management in a Philippine watershed. Coxhead I, Buenavista G eds. Los Baños (Philippines): Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development.
GODILANO EC. 2012. Location of the three watershed sites. Quezon City (Philippines): University of the Philippines Emerging Interdisciplinary Research Program.
HALL R, LIZADA J, DAYO MH, ABANSI C, DAVID M, ROLA A. 2015. To the last drop: The political economy of Philippine water policy. Water Policy 17(5): 946–962.
HALL R, ABANSI C, LIZADA J. 2018. Laws, institutional arrangements, and policy instruments. In: Water Policy in the Philippines: Issues, Initiatives and Prospects. Rola AC, Pulhin J, Hall R eds. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. p. 41–64.
IBABAO R, SIASON I, ESPINOSA T. 2015. Framing water conflict at the Tigum-Aganan Watershed in central Philippines. Philippine Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 20(1): 28–46.
MALAYANG B. 2004. A model of water governance in the Philippines. In: Winning the water war: Watersheds, water policies and water institutions. Rola A, Francisco H, Liguton JPT eds. Makati City, Philippines: Philippine Institute of Development Studies and Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development. p. 59–83.
MERCADO S. 2012. A State of the Watershed Report for Tigum-Aganan. Toronto: Canadian Urban Institute.
[NIA] National Irrigation Administration. 2014. Aganan Sta. Barbara RIS profile. Manila (Philippines): NIA.
[NIA] National Irrigation Administration. 2016. NIA Region 6 profile. Manila (Philippines): NIA.
OSTROM V. 1976. John R. Common’s foundation for policy analysis. Journal of Economic Issues 10(4): 839–857.
[PSA] Philippines Statistics Authority. 2015. Retrieved from http//psa.gov ph on 20 Dec 2018.
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1067. A Decree instituting a Water Code. Retrieved from www.lawphil.net/statutes/prersdecs/pd_1067_1976.html on 10 Jan 2017.
[PPDO] Provincial Planning and Development Office. 2011. Province of Iloilo 2011 provincial profile. Iloilo City (Philippines): PPDO.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1992). Retrieved from www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1991/ra_7160_1991.html on 10 Jan 2017.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7586 (National Integrated Protected Area System Act of 1992). Retrieved from www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1992/ra_7586_1992.html on 21 Nov 2016.
REPUBLIC ACT 9275 (Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004). Retrieved from www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2004/ra_9275_2004.html on 21 Nov 2016.
ROLA AC, ABANSI C, HALL R, LIZADA J. 2016. Characterizing local water governance structure in the Philippines: Results of the water managers’ 2013 survey. Water International 41(2): 231–250. Doi: 10.1080/02508060.2015. 1113078.
SALAS JC. 2003. Mobilizing a multi-sector group for watershed management: The Iloilo watershed initiative. Proceedings of a Conference on Governance of Watersheds in the Philippines: Challenges and Constraints, 19–20 Jun 2003, Quezon City, Philippines. p. 36–45.
SALAS JC. 2004. Iloilo Watershed Management Council: A local initiative in watershed management. In: Winning the Water Wars: Watersheds, Water Policies and Water Institutions. Rola AC, Francisco HA, Liguton JP eds. Makati City (Philippines): Philippine Institute for Development Studies. p. 59–84.
SCHLAGER E. 2005. Getting the relationships right in water property rights. In: Water Rights Reform: Lessons for Institutional Design. Bruns BR, Ringler C, Meinzen-Dick R eds. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute, p. 27–54.
SCHLAGER E, OSTROM E. 1992. Property-rights regimes and natural resources: A conceptual analysis. Land Economics 68(3): 249–262.
[TAWMB] Tigum-Aganan Watershed Management Board, [CUI] Canadian Urban Institute. 2013. State of the Tigum-Aganan watershed report. Iloilo City, Philippines: TAWMB.
VOGEL J, SMITH J, BROWN P, TROELL J, RAY A. 2013. An assessment of water security development and climate change in Iloilo, Philippines and the Tigum-Aganan Watershed [Climate Change-Resilient Development Task Order no. AID-OAA-TO-11-00040, under the Integrated Water and Coastal Resources Management Indefinite Quantity Contract (WATER IQC II) Contract No. AID-EPP-I-00-04-00024]. Manila (Philippines): USAID Philippines.
