Abstract:
Irrigation tanks are classic examples of common pool resources that have been traditionally
managed by local communities. However, the tank performance under community
management in Tamil Nadu has declined over the last few decades and
threatened the local livelihoods. This study investigates the effect of community management
on irrigation tank performance using village-level two-period data collected
across 100 tank-intensive villages in Tamil Nadu. To address the problems encountered
in the subjective measures, this study adopts an objective assessment method
using the satellite imageries of Landsat-7 to derive tank performance measures.
Satellite-derived data are then incorporated with the field survey data and used in the
analysis. The results show that community participation in tank management has a
significant positive impact on tank performance, suggesting that strengthening traditional
institutions in irrigation tank management can be a viable strategy for reviving
tank irrigation systems.
