Water scarcity and the sustainability of a common pool resource institution in the urban Andes
- 2009
The Cochabamba Water War of 2000 was precipitated by Bolivians' defense of common-pool water resources & institutions against privatization. This article examines the design of a water institution & its sustainability during periodds of water scarcity in urban Cochabamba. Based on data collected via participant-observation & panel surveys conducted in 72 randomly selected households, I draw three main conclusions. First, the institution operated accoridng to principles foudnd in sustainable resource management institutions in the rural Andes (Trawick 2001) & across cultures (Ostrom 1990). Second, while the function of the common-pool resource institution was stable over the five study periods, the social structures that supported collective choice & operational rules were sensitive to external events including seasonal water scarcity. Third, while institutions with strong hsitorical preedents for contingencies under resource stress may be sustainable, toher forms of social organization on which the isntitution depends may be more vulnerable to water scarcity.
Urban Water scarcity Seasonal Climate Institutions Commons Cochabamba Bolivia