The use of irrigation water during transition in Bulgaria's Plovdiv region

The amount of water used for irrigation has sharply declined during transition in Bulgaria. Large sections of existing irrigation systems were abandoned, and the ones still in use are barely maintained. Crops such as wheat and barley have replaced more waterintensive crops, including vegetables, rice and maize. This problem has an impact on the future development of agriculture and the allocation of the country's water resources. The central argument is that land fragmentation in the wake of decollectivization and restitution contributes to the irrigation systems' abandonment. This paper concentrates on the institutional factors, but also considers additional factors, that may have influenced the process; further, it examines the causes driving these changes and analyses their effect on irrigation. It is based upon a review of relevant legislation, as well as field work in 17 villages located in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria. The paper concludes that, in addition to changes in large-scale market forces and weakening of the state enforcement mechanism, institutional settings have contributed to the decline of irrigation in Bulgaria

Institutional options for sustainable irrigation : an evidence from Bulgaria

This paper investigates a local problem of common pool resources (CPR), the solution of which needs a balance between the collective and private interests. In the political context we have a large group of actors with a short planning horizon and a lack of trust among them. CPR provision is organised in a centralised way. The state enforcement mechanism is weak and cannot protect the individuals or eventually back the collective decisions. The above problem is investigated in the case of irrigation in Bulgaria where water usage declined by nearly 85% during the period of transition. In addition, large parts of the existing canal systems were abandoned. Three groups of institutional options are investigated in the paper: improvement of the local level co-ordination; limiting the market imperfections, and strengthening the external conflict resolution and sanctioning mechanisms. The investigation of the above case led the author to conclusions that can be generalised for the case of CPR management during the period of transition. The transition process is not just a process of transferring western institutions to Eastern Europe, but also a process of spontaneous emerging of new institutions at local level. Therefore, we call for state intervention, not in the area of CPR provision, but in supporting local co-ordination

The use of irrigation water during transition in Bulgaria's Plovdiv region

"The amount of water used for irrigation has sharply declined during transition in Bulgaria. Large sections of existing irrigation systems were abandoned, and the ones still in use are barely maintained. Crops such as wheat and barley have replaced more water-intensive crops, including vegetables, rice and maize. This problem has an impact on the future development of agriculture and the allocation of the country's water resources. The central argument is that land fragmentation in the wake of decollectivization and restitution contributes to the irrigation systems' abandonment. This paper concentrates on the institutional factors, but also considers additional factors, that may have influenced the process; further, it examines the causes driving these changes and analyses their effect on irrigation. It is based upon a review of relevant legislation, as well as field work in 17 villages located in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria. The paper concludes that, in addition to changes in large-scale market forces and weakening of the state enforcement mechanism, institutional settings have contributed to the decline of irrigation in Bulgaria." (author's abstract)Die Wassermenge, die in Bulgarien während des Transformationsprozesses zur Bewässerung verwendet wurde ist, im Vergleich zu früher, stark zurückgegangen. Große Bereiche der vorhandenen Bewässerungssysteme wurden aufgegeben, und diejenigen, die noch in Gebrauch sind, werden nicht ausreichend gewartet. Getreide wie Weizen und Gerste haben andere, wasserintensivere Kulturen wie Gemüse, Reis und Mais ersetzt. Dieses Problem hat Auswirkungen auf die zukünftige Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft und die Verteilung der Wasserressourcen des Landes. Die zentrale These lautet, dass die Landfragmentierung, die unmittelbar nach der Entkollektivierung einsetzte, sowie die Rückerstattungen zur Aufgabe der Bewässerungssysteme beigetragen haben. Der vorliegende Beitrag konzentriert sich auf die institutionellen Faktoren, betrachtet aber auch zusätzliche Faktoren, die diesen Prozess beeinflusst haben. Des Weiteren untersucht der Autor die Ursachen, die zu diesen Veränderungen geführt haben, und analysiert deren Auswirkungen auf die Bewässerung. Der Beitrag basiert auf einem Überblick über die relevante Gesetzgebung sowie einer Feldarbeit in 17 Dörfern der Region Plovdiv in Bulgarien. Der Autor stellt fest, dass zusätzlich zu den Veränderungen im Bereich der Marktdynamik und der Schwächung der staatlichen Zwangsmechanismen institutionelle Parameter zur Abnahme der Bewässerung in Bulgarien beigetragen haben. (ICDÜbers

Irrigation and Water Regulation Systems in Transition: The Case of Bulgaria in Comparison with Latvia, East Germany and Romania

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Case Study - Bulgaria, Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo Project)

This Technical Note 'Case Study ¿ Bulgaria' is part of a series of case studies within the ¿Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation¿ (SoCo) project. Ten case studies were carried out in Belgium, Bul-garia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom between spring and summer 2008. The selection of case study areas was designed to capture differences in soil degradation processes, soil types, climatic conditions, farm structures and farming prac-tices, institutional settings and policy priorities. A harmonised methodological approach was pursued in order to gather insights from a range of contrasting conditions over a geographically diverse area. The case studies were carried out by local experts to reflect the specificities of the selected case studies.JRC.DDG.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Institutional Options for Sustainable Irrigation: An Evidence from Bulgaria

This paper investigates a local problem of common pool resources (CPR), the solution of which needs a balance between the collective and private interests. In the political context we have a large group of actors with a short planning horizon and a lack of trust among them. CPR provision is organised in a centralised way. The state enforcement mechanism is weak and cannot protect the individuals or eventually back the collective decisions. The above problem is investigated in the case of irrigation in Bulgaria where water usage declined by nearly 85% during the period of transition. In addition, large parts of the existing canal systems were abandoned. Three groups of institutional options are investigated in the paper: improvement of the local level co-ordination; limiting the market imperfections, and strengthening the external conflict resolution and sanctioning mechanisms. The investigation of the above case led the author to conclusions that can be generalised for the case of CPR management during the period of transition. The transition process is not just a process of transferring western institutions to Eastern Europe, but also a process of spontaneous emerging of new institutions at local level. Therefore, we call for state intervention, not in the area of CPR provision, but in supporting local co-ordination

The Use of Irrigation Water During Transition in Bulgaria's Plovdiv Region

The amount of water used for irrigation has sharply declined during transition in Bulgaria. Large sections of existing irrigation systems were abandoned, and the ones still in use are barely maintained. Crops such as wheat and barley have replaced more water-intensive crops, including vegetables, rice and maize. This problem has an impact on the future development of agriculture and the allocation of the country's water resources. The central argument is that land fragmentation in the wake of de-collectivization and restitution contributes to the irrigation systems' abandonment. This paper concentrates on the institutional factors, but also considers additional factors, that may have influenced the process; further, it examines the causes driving these changes and analyses their effect on irrigation. It is based upon a review of relevant legislation, as well as field work in 17 villages located in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria. The paper concludes that, in addition to changes in large-scale market forces and weakening of the state enforcement mechanism, institutional settings have contributed to the decline of irrigation in Bulgaria

Institutional Options for Sustainable Irrigation: An Evidence from Bulgaria

This paper investigates a local problem of common pool resources (CPR), the solution of which needs a balance between the collective and private interests. In the political context we have a large group of actors with a short planning horizon and a lack of trust among them. CPR provision is organised in a centralised way. The state enforcement mechanism is weak and cannot protect the individuals or eventually back the collective decisions. The above problem is investigated in the case of irrigation in Bulgaria where water usage declined by nearly 85% during the period of transition. In addition, large parts of the existing canal systems were abandoned. Three groups of institutional options are investigated in the paper: improvement of the local level co-ordination; limiting the market imperfections, and strengthening the external conflict resolution and sanctioning mechanisms. The investigation of the above case led the author to conclusions that can be generalised for the case of CPR management during the period of transition. The transition process is not just a process of transferring western institutions to Eastern Europe, but also a process of spontaneous emerging of new institutions at local level. Therefore, we call for state intervention, not in the area of CPR provision, but in supporting local co-ordination.Crop Production/Industries,