Institutional Barriers to Efficient Water Management

Abstract: Water resources are crucial for the sustainable development of the society, the economy and the environment; however those precious resources are often managed in very inefficient ways. The increasing water scarcity worldwide highlights already now the tremendous need for more efficient management. Agriculture is the major consumer of water resources around the world, thus efficient water management in agriculture is of paramount importance. There has been abundant research done about the economic, technological, social and environmental aspects of efficiency in the water sector. However, there is a lack of research about institutional barriers to efficient water management. The water sector experiences challenges in Southern Europe, thus we have identified the following research questions: To what extent do the identified institutional barriers hinder efficient water management in the agricultural irrigation sector in Bulgaria, Italy and Spain? Why do the identified institutional barriers differ in Bulgaria, Italy and Spain? We intended to measure two main parameters in our framework: (A) The role of institutions in terms of coordination, trust, active management, strategic planning, clear objectives, clear responsibilities and financing; and (B) Rules and Regulations in terms of water rights, pricing and metering, trade and water markets. The qualitative research program based on secondary sources was able to identify the answers to our research questions. Water rights constitute the biggest barriers in Bulgaria, lack of metering and pricing in Italy and absence of clear objectives and responsibilities in Spain. Based on our findings, we propose a pyramid framework that allows assessing the current development or maturity level in countries, and explains thereby why the institutional barriers are of different relative importance.