As a result of the close cooperation between project managers and the people who work the fields, the Sindhu Palchock project is a success. Costs were controlled, and agricultural output has increased. Farmers have developed their own management systems and methods of enforcing their self-imposed rules. In all 19 systems there is now more cooperation in maintaining the canal during the monsoon season. And new crops are thriving in fields where they could not have been grown before.
Caution is needed in generalizing from empirical research in a single country.
But the Nepalese experience correlates well with other research on the ability of local users to self-govern projects as diverse as inshore fisheries, mountain commons, grazing areas, and forest resources. Whenever project funds are channeled through a system in which they enhance the power and wealth of national politicians, project plans cannot be expected to reflect conditions in the fields. And if the engineers and officials assigned to projects do not depend on the farmers for budgetary support or career advancement, the projects probably won't work as well as they might. Users need to select their own officials to govern and manage a system or resource that they themselves own and operate. Only then will the incentives of the managers be aligned with those of the users.