Resource information
Water and watersheds are difficult to separate for management purposes.Providing irrigation as a supplement to rainfall for crop production requires considerablecollective action at the watershed level to mobilize labor and other resources, as well asto make decisions and implement the distribution of benefits. Small- scale waterharvesting irrigation systems in Mexico have endured for centuries. They now faceconsiderable challenges with changes in the ejido property rights over land and water, thegrowing importance of alternative sources of livelihoods, and increasing scarcity andcompetition for water within the river basins. Two case studies of water harvestingirrigation systems in the Lerma-Chapala Basin illustrate the response of communities tothese challenges. In the first community, earlier collective action to build the irrigationreservoir provided a platform to address catchment resource use. Water here was lessscarce than in the second community, allowing for good crop productivity throughsufficient irrigation. Water scarcity in the second community increases crop risk;expected sorghum yields during the period of field study did not justify harvesting costsand the crop was used as stover. Members of the second community increased theirdependence on off- farm income sources, but still responded collectively to externalforces claiming the water.
