IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

Research article
erd

Evaluation of Participatory Irrigation Management
Introduced into Dry Land Agriculture in Turpan, China
YAMAMOTO TADAO*
Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Email: tady@env.agr.hokudai.ac.jp

NOZAKI AKIHIRO
Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, JapanSHIMIZU KATSUYUKI
Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, JapanKUME TAKASHI
Faculty of Agriculture, Ehime University, Matsuyama, JapanABDISALAM JALALDIN
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China
Received 26 December 2016

Accepted 5 Nov 2017(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract A stable supply of irrigation water is essential to ensure agricultural productivity inarid regions. To efficiently use the limited water resources, upgrading of hard infrastructure,such as reducing leakage from channels and installing drip irrigation, and of soft
infrastructure, such as introducing irrigation management involving local farmers, is beingpursued. This study reviewed the rationality of participatory irrigation management (PIM) inTurpan, Xinjian, China. Turpan depends for its irrigation water on streams, pumped
groundwater, and karez (qanat). PIM mainly involves management of irrigation watersupplied from streams. Between 2013 and 2015, interviews with Turpan City’s Water
Management Agency (WMA) branch office staff, PIM staff, and local farmers wereconducted to collect information on water management. The findings showed that thefounding of PIM organization resulted in the following benefits: (i) reduction of governing
agency’s burden: PIM is now in charge of work that used to be performed directly by staff ofthe WMA branch office (ii) Prevention of illegal practices: PIM staff are elected from among
local farmers, so there is a system of mutual surveillance. (iii) Smoother implementation ofwater management: Previously, there were conflicts between local farmers and staff fromother regions, who were unaware of the local situation. Since establishment of the PIM, local
farmers have taken charge of the water management, which facilitated communication
between the water administrator and farmers. (iv) Enhanced interest in water conservation:
Because farmers now directly manage their water distribution and maintain theirinfrastructure, they are more aware of the importance of conserving water. Regarding thedisadvantages, during seasons with a risk of drought, water management requires operations
24 h a day and there are many housekeeping issues, so labor shortages are a problem. Thislatter issue occurred because the main source of finance is from water fees, which are set bya governmental agency. As a result, the PIM team could not secure a sufficient budget to hire
more staff.
Keywords participatory irrigation management, agricultural water use, interview survey,water shortage

INTRODUCTIONⒸ ISERD

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Irrigated agriculture is employed in the dry climate of Turpan, China. In this area, oasis agriculture
was undertaken before the 1960s. After the 1960s, many dams and irrigation canals were constructed,
and water was taken from many rivers for agricultural use. In addition, modern irrigation agriculture
spread via the use of groundwater obtained by digging wells. However, recently, securing irrigationwater has been difficult due to the increasing demands from industry and domestic users. Water
shortages have also occurred because of inadequate cooperation between the sectors of landdevelopment and water resource development in China (Yamamoto et al., 2006). To prevent water
shortages, the delivery rate of water has been improved by lining irrigation canals, and more water
resources were developed by digging more wells (Jalaldin et al., 2005). Recently, in addition to suchinfrastructure, participatory irrigation management (PIM) by farmers has been introduced in thisregion due to the expectation that it would improve awareness of the importance of conserving water.
Its introduction in this region occurred later than in other parts of China
In general, PIM aims to involve farmers themselves in irrigation operation and maintenance(Tanaka & Sato, 2003). PIM is a tool to manage irrigation water or irrigation systems to increase theefficiency of their use (Rattanatangtrakul, 2005). It can reduce government costs by reducing thenumber of staff (Raby, 2000). However, Pathasarathy (2000) indicated that although PIM has indeed
led to better and smoother resolution of irrigation-related conflicts, reductions in government
expenditure have not materialized. Many studies have analyzed the effect of PIM in these locations
in monsoon areas, but the results have varied according to differences in the study area. In addition,
few studies on the effect of PIM in semi-arid areas have been performed.
Moreover, there are many karezes around Turpan. A karez is a traditional groundwater system
like a qanat, as found in the Middle East. The old karezes in this region were constructed 300 years
ago and were used for agriculture and for water for daily uses for a long time. However, many karezes
have now been abandoned due to the depletion of groundwater as a result of the digging of wells. In
particular, farmers’ own wells were dug haphazardly and the owners pumped up excessive
groundwater. This excess water intake has also caused degradation of the regional ecology aroundoutward flow of karezes.
OBJECTIVE
To maintain a sustainable regional community and agriculture in this area, there is a need to construct
an agricultural water use system in consideration of sustainable irrigated agriculture by conservationof traditional groundwater use system. To conserve groundwater resources, improvement of water
management is required in this area. And it has been widely expected that PIM can improve issues
in water management. Thus, the goals of this study are to understand the situation of agricultural
water use and to evaluate the effects of PIM introduced recently via a case study based on Turpan.
METHODOLOGY
Turpan district is located in the east of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China,
and is in a basin surrounded by mountains. This investigation focused on Meijiaoqou and Taerlang
river basins in Turpan, a prefecture-level city. The climate in this location is considered to be BWk
according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. The average annual temperature is 13.9°C,
with a maximum of 49.6°C and a minimum of -28.7°C (Turpan Hydrology and Water Resources
Observation Station HP, 2012). The annual discharge of each river is 80 million m3. Annual rainfall
is under 50 mm, and the potential evaporation is 2,845 mm (JICA, 2006). Irrigation water depends
on river intake, groundwater in wells, and karezes, the water of which is meltwater from snow andglaciers of Mt. Tienshan located to the north of the city. Irrigation methods are border and drip
irrigation. The main crops are cotton, grape, corn, and wheat. Field surveys with interviews tounderstand changes of water supply and influence on water management by PIMs introduction wereconducted from 2013 to 2015 in representatives of the water management agency, PIMs in Qiatekale
Township on Meijiaoqou river basin and Yar Township on Taerlang river basin, and farmers (Fig.

Ⓒ ISERD65IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-21). In the interviews, in addition to above contents, we researched irrigation area, crop, problems onPIMs and etc.

Fig. 1 Investigation area
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Changes of the Water Management Organization
Figure 2 shows the common water management system for intake from a river in Xinjiang. Thissystem matches that in Turpan. Before early 2000, the branch office of the WMA had managed thewater supply from water resources to each township, and a representative farmer in the township andthe branch office staff had conducted water distribution in the township. After late 2000, PIM
gradually became involved in terminal water management. Before introduction of PIM, branch
offices at the township level had managed the water supply from large canals - primary or secondary- to farming blocks, and branch office staff and a representative farmer performed the water supply
from small canals - tertiary and terminal canals - to each piece of farmland. After introduction ofPIM, the branch offices managed only primary canals and each PIM managed secondary canals. PIM
staff and a representative farmer dealt with the terminal water supply. In other words, farmers
performed a key administrative role on behalf of government staff regarding the terminal watersupply.
Crops and Water Resources
The main crops cultivated in this area are grapes, corn, cotton, and wheat. The supplied water for
agriculture consists of 44% river intake and 56% groundwater from wells and karezes. The riverwater is mainly used for grape irrigation. The groundwater is basically used for cotton, corn, andother crops, except grapes. Farmers do not use water by mixture of groundwater and river water even
if they can use both resources. The reason for this is that the groundwater is not appropriate forgrowing grapes due to its higher salinity than river water, and its temperature is lower than that inthis area. In addition, the wholesale price of grapes is higher than for other crops. Thus, farmers canobtain an adequate profit even if they pay the fee to use river water. This fee was 0.164 CNY(approximately $0.027)/m3 in 2011, which consists of 0.136 CNY for the water resource fee and0.028 CNY for the management fee. This water resource fee is a flat fee in this district, while themanagement fee is decided by Turpan WMA, along with the benefit area of the water facilities,
length of the irrigation canal, and scale of division works of each PIM or branch office.

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Management organization (and management objects)
Administrative boundary
Before introduction of PIM

After introduction of PIM

Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region

Water resources bureau

Prefectural level
County level

Turpan water management agency

Township levelvillage level

branch offices
staff: public servants(river, primary canal,s econdary canal)

branch offices
staff: public servants(river, primary canal/larger size canal)

PIMs
staff: representative farmers
in township(primary canal/smaller size andsecondary canal)

representative farmer in village+ bracnh office staff(from tertiary canal to terminal canal)

representative farmer in village+ PIM staff(from tertiary canal to terminal canal)Fig. 2 Changes in water management organization before and after PIM introduction
Table 1 Outlines of each PIM
Land use system
Established
Irrigation water supply river(Intake water rate to river discharge)
Cultivated area (ha)Number of villages in PIM
Number of PIM staff
Monthly salary ($)
Main crops(% of total cultivated area)

Yar PIM
2003
Taerlang(100%)
5,467
2213(Two vacancies)
240
Grapes (90)Vegetables (10)Qiatekale PIM
2007
Meijiaoqou(40%)
6,6671211240
Grapes (30)Corn & cotton (70)Concerning groundwater use, the water management organization has managed only publicwells and has deregulated private wells. Therefore, there was no water fee for groundwater use, andfarmers only had to pay for the electricity to pump up the water. However, to protect groundwater
resources, from 2011 the local government decided to prohibit the digging of new wells and to charge
a property fee for those with existing private wells.
Outline of PIM in Turpan
Each PIM is an agricultural water management association operated by representative farmers ineach town. Table 1 shows the outline of each PIM. Branch offices of the WMA are higher-levelcomponents of the organization of PIMs (Fig. 2). There are currently 13 staff members at Yar PIM
and 11 at Qiatekale PIM. Each PIM also has a public servant from Turpan WMA acting as anaccountant. Except for the loaned staff, the others are elected by farmers at the town level National
People's Congress. The term of PIM chairman lasts for five years, but the chairman can be dismissed
regardless of the term if they do wrong.
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The main duties of PIM are to manage the water supply to villages via smaller canal, secondaryor tertiary canal, to record the quantity of supplied water, to maintain water supply facilities, and tocollect water fees. PIM manages only the river water and has no involvement in groundwater use.
During summer, when water shortages are more likely, PIM supplies water to each village by rotation
supply. The rotation system and the supplied water volume are decided in consideration of thenumber of wells, cultivated area, and growth situation in each village. PIM records the supplied water
volume and collected water fee, as calculated by a specific method. The water fee and supplied water
volume are determined each month. Some of this collected water fee is allocated for the salary of
PIM staff and administrative expenses to maintain the water supply facilities. PIM has no right todecide the water fee; it is instead decided by a higher-level organization, Turpan District WMA.
Moreover, it is a custom that the loaned staff from the WMA is in charge of accounting.
Merits of PIM in Turpan
PIM has attracted attention as intangible methods of rationalization of agricultural water managementin China. This is because it is thought that the introduction of PIM can increase efficiency in water
management by promoting voluntary irrigation management by farmers (Drainage and Rural Water
Division, 2007). We identified four merits of PIM from interviews with PIM staff and farmers.
(a) Decreasing government expenditure: Before PIM establishment, each branch office of Turpan
WMA had been in charge of water management in each town. Since PIM establishment,
representative farmers have performed some of the management that was previously conducted attown level by the branch offices. This could allow local government to reduce personnel expenses
by reducing the number of government workers.
(b) Prevention of illegal practices: Farmers were aware of cases of branch office staff undertaking
illegal practices before PIM establishment. However, if such practices are identified now, farmers
can remove the staff from their post because the PIM staff are representatives of the farmers andelected by a congress. In addition, it is indicated that PIM staff have less incidence of illegal behavior
because they have neighborly relations with the farmers in their controlled area and are under mutual
surveillance. This follows the finding in a previous study by Hui et al. (2007).
(c) Facilitating water management: Conflict about the distribution of water can more easily arise
between users in arid areas where there is a chronic water shortage. In Turpan, such conflict also
occurred between farmers and water management staff before PIM was established. Many staff
members came from other areas and did not understand the typical water use in the townships orvillages. However, establishment of PIM provided opportunities for greater understanding andcontributed to smooth water use management. This effect is accepted in a previous study by S. Shindoand K. Yamamoto (2017). One identified merit was that farmers could more easily give their opinions
about water distribution because PIM staff is now from the same area and understand their local
customs and the details of the irrigation situation.
(d) Improvement of farmers’ awareness of the importance of conserving water: Afterestablishment of PIM, farmers are directly involved in water distribution and the maintenance offacilities. This improves their awareness of the importance of conserving water via theirunderstanding of the present condition of regional water resources.
The results of interviews on the introduction of PIM could help to rationalize water managementin Turpan. However, some problems were revealed from the interviews with PIM staff. For example,
they consider it difficult having to work day and night in periods with severe water shortages. They
desire an increase in staff because they feel that current staffing levels are inadequate. However, thebudget prevents an increase of staff under current conditions.
CONCLUSIONWe considered agricultural water use in Turpan from the perspective of change in the management
organization. There are wells and karezes in this area and the pumping up of groundwater affected
the water resources of the karezes. Preventing karezes was required to maintain the groundwaterⒸ ISERD

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level by reducing groundwater pumping via improved irrigation efficiency. PIM was introduced inthis area for improving water management. From interview researches it is clear that PIM has apossibility of improving irrigation efficiency, some beneficial effects, such as the improvement oflocal government finances and the avoidance of water conflict. However, there are some problems
that still need to overcome to ensure continuous running of PIM. Specifically, we suggest that thelocal government should pay a subsidy to PIM and that the automation of water supply facilities
should be introduced, among others, for the sustainable management of PIM.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Xayar County Government, Xayar Water Management Agency, and Xinjiang Uyghur AutonomousRegion Water Resource Management Bureau supported this research. This study is part of academic
research (No. 24405039) supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) from the Japan
Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
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