Water user group
Type: Approaches
Creation: 2014-10-27 00:00 Updated: 2017-08-03 15:03
Compilers: Stefan Graf
Reviewers: David Streiff
Country/ region/ locations where the Approach has been applied
- Country: Cambodia
- Region/ State/ Province: Kampong Chhnang
- Further specification of location (e.g. municipality, town, etc.), if relevant: Toeuk Phos
- Map: View Map
Description of the SLM Approach
Short description of the Approach
A water user group, led by a committee staff, decides about the distribution of the water during the dry season to plant dry season rice.
Detailed description of the Approach
Aims / objectives: During the Pol Pot regime, a dam was built to catch and store water from a temporary stream to irrigate rice during the dry season. The dam degraded over time, therefore it was repaired by a NGO to provide water for the cultivation of dry season rice. To manage it, a water user group was formed. The aim of this water user group is to have a fair distribution of the water hold by the dam among the farmers located downstream. The water user group is led by an elected committee staff of 5 members, who are the direct contact persons for the individual farmers and village chiefs, as well as for the provincial department of hydrology.
Methods: A former local NGO, PRASAC (now a microfinance institute), which repaired the dam and gates, organised a meeting with the three concerned villages to elect a committee responsible for the management of the water. The committee, consisting of a chief, a vice-chief, a secretary and an accounting, and two managers of the gates (each responsible for one gate) is responsible for the fair distribution of the water. The chief is the contact person for the village chiefs or the farmers themselves, who can request water. He is the contact person for the provincial department of hydrology as well.
Stages of implementation: The water user group was elected in 2002, when the dam was fixed. A short training was given to the committee which was then left on its own for the management. After tensions that occurred between farmers, the committee asked for advice in the provincial department of hydrology, which was passed off to CDRI (Cambodia Development Resource Institute), a local NGO. The CDRI conducted meetings and acted as a mediator, since then no tensions occurred anymore between water users as they introduced weekly schedules.
Role of stakeholders: The chief and vice chief are responsible for the distribution of the water. The two gate managers are controlling the gates.
Photos of the Approach
- 📍 Toeuk Phos, Kampong Chhnang
- 📷 Stefan Graf (Switzerland)
- 📍 Toeuk Phos, Kampong Chhnang
- 📷 Stefan Graf