Theory versus practice: The bureaucratic ethos of water resource management and administration in Pakistan

Cooperative interaction between the state and civil society actors can be a catalyst for equity and efficiency in resource management. By analyzing the perceptions of the Pakistani water bureaucracy towards civil society-based participatory management, the present paper hopes to contribute towards practical policy discourse on narrowing the gap between the state and civil society and the prospects for participatory water resources management. Pakistani water management bureaucracy as an integral part of a bureaucratic tradition, which is a lineal descendant of the British colonial Indian Civil Service, is structurally hostile towards the civil society. A series of interviews conducted with government officials at all levels of the water management bureaucracy in Pakistan indicates that most have a patronizing and adversarial attitude towards the public. A small minority of senior level officials, however, is beginning to recognize the value of public participation in water resources management. The interviews with water managers indicate that their assumptions and management of water resources are steeped in scientific modernity, which is not necessarily consonant with the public's discourse on water management. It is suggested that theoretically grounded, non-positivist research will contribute to generating knowledge that may facilitate better state and civil society synergy, at least in the realm of resource management.