Water allocation of Begnas lake in Nepal among different sectors: a comparison with Sri Lankan dry zone small irrigation systems.

Abstract

Begnas Lake is a highland freshwater lake which has variety of uses for three main user groups; farmers, fisheries group and boat operators. The irrigation department has the ownership of the lake. The water users’ association (WUA) formed by farmers in the command area operates and manages the irrigation system and is considered as a major stakeholder. This study was conducted to study the institutional mechanism of water allocating among different water user groups and to compare the water management of Begnas Lake with the water allocation in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. The basic information was collected through informal discussions with farmers and other stakeholders and field observations. A focus group discussion was held with officials of the WUA and a key informant discussion was conducted with a former president of the WUA and a member of Begnas lake women association. The results from the study found that the WUA is mainly involved in the decision making and controlling the water release form the lake. The women’s association involves in lake maintenance and cleaning activities. However, it was found that, some water user groups such as fisheries group and boat operators are not included in decision making on water allocation to different sectors. It was concluded that there is no collaboration among all the stakeholders in sharing the available resources of the lake among different sectors, hence not satisfying the stakeholders of the lake resources.