Irrigation water management in the Northern Mountains of Vietnam: Towards more autonomy?
Changes in Vietnamese policies and the economic context have influenced the evolution of irrigated systems in Northern mountainous areas. The end of production cooperatives allowed the emergence of new modes of management. Surveys and interviews of different irrigation stakeholders have shown the emergence of different types of irrigation management. The main differentiating factors are topographical, which affects the sizes and types of schemes, and the distribution of irrigated land among households of one community. Decollectivization led to management transfer from the production cooperatives to various entities: water users, villages, communal People's committees, and state-controlled companies. Nevertheless, the direct involvement of users in management and decision-making processes remains rare, even if new developments are appearing with the recent suppression of hydraulic fees.