PIM IN THE ABSHAR IRRIGATION SYSTEM, IRAN

Despite worldwide attention for “farmer participation” in irrigation systems, the diverse irrigation management partnerships in place and discussed as participatory approaches, and their prospects for transformation, are less frequently discussed. Most emphasis is given to water user organizations and their potential performance, while new institutions at higher scales, and processes of change in these institutions, are less frequently discussed. This paper2 describes the institutional transformations in farmer and agency action in the the Zayandeh Rud river basin and the Abshar Irrigation System, at the basin, system and outlet level, based on field work executed in autumn 2004. It analyzes the context and social rules of participatory irrigation management of the Abshar Irrigation System and describes how participation is crafted at field level. This article analyses these practices and sets some question marks on whether and how PIM should be up-scaled within this specific context.