Problems and Prospects

Successful management of irrigation goes well beyond the manage- ment of the infrastructure, by encompassing management of human relations, institutional and organizational dimensions and irrigation policies. The recent three decades have also seen sweeping socio-economic and environmental challenges that have significant impact on irrigated agriculture and the management of irrigation systems in Asia. The new challenges relate to at least three aspects—competing needs for water, ensuring accountability and the partnership between the public, community and private sectors and reforms. A “Workshop on Asian Irrigation in Transition” held at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, in April 2002 and, the book under review is an edited selection of many of the papers presented. The book presents the papers and the Asian experience, under the following heads: General perspectives on transition; Responses to competition for resources; Institutional reforms and new partnership; Markets and economic productivity of irrigated agriculture and synthesis and strategic responses.