Collective water resource management: the example of the irrigation canals of Madeira

26/10/2011 - Article

The irrigation canals of Madeira, known as "levadas", make up the heart of the island's agrarian systems. For centuries, they have been managed locally by their users. Jean-Luc Sabatier, a water management expert from CIRAD, showed in a recent study how the methods used to manage the levadas have changed in time.

The first canals in Madeira were built in the mid-15th century to irrigate sugarcane fields. To paint a picture of the small social groups that have ensured the sustainability of these fragile systems that could be deemed "common goods", Jean-Luc Sabatier interviewed many members of the community of irrigators, known as heréus. Therein lies the specificity of this management method: the resource has always been managed by its users, and the sustainability of the system has served to consolidate the island's agricultural economy.

In particular, the researcher looked at a region in the Southwest of the island: Lombada de Ponta do Sol, which is on a strip of land stretching from the mountains to the sea, between two water courses. Lombada originally belonged to one person, and was subsequently passed on from generation to generation or by marriage. In the 16th century, the landowners were able to transfer use of the land to settlers, who then paid the owner a share of their crop.

However, Lombada is also a region with abundant water: fountains, natural springs, rivers and irrigation canals are everywhere. At the start of the 20th century, the land was bought, after much struggle, by settlers and other small-scale landowners. This was the start of the rural community of Lombada. The region became a land of the people and its water belonged to the heréus , who set up commissions throughout the century, to organize management of each levada: even water distribution in both space and time, canal cleaning and repairs. The resource is highly coveted, particularly in the Summer, and is sometimes a source of conflict. However, distribution and reservoirs are under the daily surveillance of their users, and order and strict management serve to limit such conflict.

In the 2000s, the Madeira government put pressure on the heréus community to transfer management of the levadas to it. The community reacted strongly and the government was forced to backpedal. The heréus decided to set up a new, single commission, symbolizing the community's determination in the face of threats from outside.

Over the past decade, the number of farmers has fallen sharply, which has reduced the pressure on irrigation water. The fall has also meant that users have not formally set out the changes in the rules of use, and the way in which the system is organized is now more confused than ever. The relationships between the heréus have changed: several collective practices have been abandoned, the commissions are rarely in contact with each other, and the notion of solidarity is dying out. This is the sorry picture of the current situation, in which the idea of a local, shared, common good is gradually fading into oblivion.

To find out more

Histoire, mémoire et relations sociales autour de la gestion de l’eau
Les levadas de la Lombada de Ponta do sol (Ile de Madère)
Jean-Luc Sabatier, Eglantine Fauvelle
Under the direction of Prof. Rui Carita
(To be published shortly in Islenha)

Category: Science