An uncertain future for water user association for irrigation in France

Abstract

This article discusses the conditions for the sustainable management of irrigation schemes by users' associations, through the analysis of the conditions for the longevity of French Authorised Syndicated Associations (ASA). We first present five of the most important principles of their old legal and administrative framework born of a desire to control the future of the ASAs by public authorities and then illustrate how these principles allow ASAs to conform to most of the sustainable principles highlighted in institutional economy, in particular by E. Ostrom (1990) following several monographs on jointly managed assets . In the third part, we will point out the limits of these design principles regarding replacement of infrastructures, maintenance and adaptation to social changes and question the future of these WUA inlight of the latest public policies and agricultural statistics.