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Mental models are the dynamic internal, cognitive representations of people’s interaction with the world. Such models can be used to gain insights into how humans structure their beliefs and actions about environmental issues. This research paper aims to understand the evolution of mental models of sustainable groundwater management among farmers in semi-arid regions of Maharashtra, India. Using a mixed method approach of qualitative interviews and systems mapping, we assess how environmental, social, and institutional processes and structures influence farmer beliefs, motivations, choices, and actions regarding groundwater use and management. We also assess the motivation and visions of farmers for future water sustainability and identify policy triggers that can nudge people towards sustainable groundwater management. Results reveal three key insights: i) Farmers’ actions towards either increased groundwater extraction or conservation are shaped by social, environmental, and institutional dynamics rather than self-interested individual will. ii) Farmers who experience higher water scarcity have a higher desire for groundwater conservation and higher consciousness towards future groundwater sustainability. iii) Supply-driven water policies and initiatives can lead to maladaptive outcomes such as an increase in groundwater extraction in the long run. Current water policies need a transformative shift from focusing on improving the physical availability and supply of water to those that facilitate long-term sustainable groundwater management by influencing behavior, norms, and values around groundwater. Future interventions that allow and encourage collective mobilization, enhanced ownership and participation, adequate training, financial resources, and decentralized management structures with enhanced accountability are likely to be more effective in developing long-term solutions for sustainable groundwater management.
Sanga et al. (Fri,) studied this question.