Transitions in institutions for water allocation and rights: path dependence and performance

Many countries are already contending with relative water shortage where water demand structurally exceeds availability. Demographic and economic growth combined with deteriorating catchments and climate change will affect more countries and deepen this stress. To manage allocation effectively, institutional instruments are applied, comprising regulatory, economic and collective-action measures. In a longitudinal comparative analysis, based on a literature review and structured interviews, the development paths, instruments and performance attributes of emergent regulatory frames for institutional measures are studied in nine countries. In all countries, this development is taking decades to address deficiencies in effectiveness and, notably, to better incorporate environmental needs and achieve better equity. The regimes prove path-dependent and context-specific. To address the trade-offs between productivity and sustainability, and between security and adaptability, they show balancing dynamics over time: countries where private rights were strong have been attenuating and restricting these, and countries with traditionally strong administrative management now tend to create flexibility by introducing water markets. A lock-in effect of pathways related to private rights and markets appears to exist. Compared with the situation prior to the introduction of reforms, performance has improved, whereby each allocation regime features distinct advantages and disadvantages and some systemic challenges remain.