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    Adaptation to Global Change in Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems of the Gandaki Basin in Nepal

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    Author
    Thapa, Bhuwan
    Issue Date
    2018
    Keywords
    adaptive capacity
    agriculture
    climate change
    common pool resources
    local institution
    mountain
    Advisor
    Scott, Christopher A.
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Publisher
    The University of Arizona.
    Rights
    Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
    Embargo
    Release after 08/27/2020
    Abstract
    The food security and livelihood of millions of marginal farmers depend on the productivity of smallholder farms that account for 50 percent of global farmland production. However, these farms are increasingly under stress from global change, including climate change, market integration, and international out-migration. In addition, there is limited information on how farmers and local irrigation institutions cope with and adapt to these multilevel changes. Using the case of 379 farmers located in 12 farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMIS) in the Gandaki Basin of Central and Western Nepal, this study explores how FMIS and farmers cope with and adapt to water stress. Drawing on empirical evidence of these FMIS, I build on the understanding of adaptive capacity -- a central aspect of institutional adaptation -- based on five capitals (human, social, physical, natural and financial) and two governance attributes. The institutional adaptation of FMIS can be broadly categorized into structural (e.g. canal lining, temporary dams) and operational measures (e.g. water allocation rules). Some of the factors that facilitate effective adaptation include collective action, leadership, and good governance as well as physical attributes including the presence of an economically feasible alternative water source. At the farmers’ level, I studied crop choice, which emerged as one of the common adaptation strategies to global change, by incorporating multilevel drivers at household, institution, and regional level. The household attributes included farmer’s demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, institutional information focused on irrigation system attributes, and regional variables included precipitation and temperature variables. The study showed that crop choice is driven by biophysical system, (measured by the size of the river that feeds the irrigation system), market integration, and farmer’s age. Climate change and variability act as a threat multiplier because they compound the existing impacts the system faces from social, economic and biophysical changes. Overall, the dissertation helps us better understand the institutional adaptive capacity that incorporates both the assets and governance-based dimensions, expands the typology of irrigated agriculture to include both the structural and operational measures. Further, the multilevel modeling adds as a quantitative tool to assess the effects of global change. The dissertation, therefore, makes theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions to the literature on adaptation and resilience.
    Type
    text
    Electronic Dissertation
    Degree Name
    Ph.D.
    Degree Level
    doctoral
    Degree Program
    Graduate College
    Geography
    Degree Grantor
    University of Arizona
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