Comparative Institutional Analysis On The Basin Water Resources Governance Model

From the late 1980's, concerning the problem that Tragedy of the Commons successively happened in most of basins, the governance change of water resource began in our country involving in two directions, the first was that overall governance of water resource was realized by a unified management institution within the basin scope, the second was that homogenization problem of water resource governance was solved by decentralized institution. Therefore, the nature of change was that different water resource governance modes were constructed. As a result, a comparative analysis of different water governance modes is necessary.In this study, using water resource attribute - water resource confliction-governance model choose analysis model, paper points out that improving public interest is the fundamental objective of water resources governance. Integrating research methods of property rights economics and management and common resource management theory, combined with analysis of structure characteristic of water resource governance pattern and operation mode as well as application scope and governance limitations of bureaucratic and participated patterns as a main in our country in order to discuss the base of improved public interest is to promote complementary of different water governance.According to the content and objective of this thesis, the conclusions of the thesis include the parts as following:1. Based on the water properties and water right incompelte, the defined process of water rights is not only a process of eliminating externality, but also may extend the public field of water resource. As a result, water resource attribute determines that water rights private right with public property attribute, and improving public utility of water resource is the basic aim of governance.2. Due to centralized decision and hierarchical authority, hierarchy water resource governance pattern has the governance advantage on the integrate planning and design of water resources allocation and maintenance of water resources in the public interest and coordination of inter-regional water confilicts. But the V-rights structure causing by multiple identities of water occupants makes it can not cope with strategic choice of local-level water. The limitations of bureaucratic water resource governance pattern are paradox relationship between administrative authority and degree of hierarchy, Tragedy of the Commons induced by multi-level water rights division and confliction of administrative management. The limitations, in practice, display the parts as following:(1)effective degree of water usage controlling was improved by extension of bureaucratic system, and then management costs were continuously improved; (2)management costs were reduced by "water allocation contradiction" of allocating much more water rights to water position prevailing party and tolerating water position inferior party moderate violation of water occupation and these would result in failure of regulatory authority;(3)regulation right was institutionalized into "timely water right" in order to improve allocation efficiency of water rights, but result in strategic behavior of excessive water allocation in non-scheduling period because of the stability weakening of water rights. So, hierarchy water resource governance pattern always is inefficient on governance the local-level water resource which also weakened the public interest.3. Participated water resource governance pattern, Net-rights structure and joint decision, effectively weakens the strategic behavior. But in practice, the dissertation proposed that (1) water rights transaction mechanism introduced by participated water resource governance pattern pertains to profit-oriented contractual relationship in water rights community, and this avoids the externalities induced by pure water rights transaction, but influences sustainable development of Water Supply Company (water management units) and Water Users Association due to government holding water pricing;(2)participated management organization may induce the fragmentation unification contradiction of water policy and further result in the tendency of bureaucracy. This tendency occurred in advance in our country due to government selective intervention and organizations such as farmer user association adaptive response during the course of construction of participated management organization. In theory, it breaks through the discussion of domestic present study which only localizes phenomenon described of participatory water resources governance of becomes a mere formality, advancing the theory of water resources governance; (3) transformation of water resource management right facilitates the forming of self-management mechanism, however, this mechanism is only suitable to water field scope governance with small size, and governance limitation of whether or not sustainable exists due to interest confliction of long and short term.4. Because the hierarchy water resource governance pattern constructed based on the administrative system, there has no real difference between the previously administration water resource governance pattern and the hierarchy water resource governance pattern. Due to the organizational relationship between the governmental organizations and participating organizations is{strong control, strong support}, there is significant hierarchy trend in the Participated water resource governance pattern. These effect the sustainable development of the water resource governance pattern. Government should endow more management right and self-development support to NGO and{weak control, strong support} organizational relationship with it.Academic contribution is always at marginal. According to research content, some views is expanded which refrence by paper. Based on water properties, "water-right hierarchy" with "V-rights structure", different occupants have a wide range of behavior choice collection of strategy. Then hierarchy water resource governance pattern and polycentric governance should develop into a "hierarchical" non-governance and difference-Matching principle of water resource governance mode choosing, respectively.Compared with similar studies, the innovation points of the thesis include the parts as following:1. This study is to comparative analysis of the similarities and differences and institutional relationship about the different model of water resources governance with comprehensive use of property rights, institutional economics, management, public resources management theory and comparative institutional analysis.2. Water resource attribute was as a basis to understand correlation effect of water behavior and institution design. Based on it, the study proposes that externality in water resource governance and essence of public field problem was relevance effects of water behavior determined by water resource attributes. Simultaneously, water occupants have multiple identities because of water resource attribute and water rights private right with public property attribute. So, "private water rights——strong public controlled" is the core of the water institutional change.3.In the analysis of participated water resource governance pattern, the thesis presents the theory of the tendency of bureaucracy.In theory, it breaks through the discussion of domestic present study which only localizes phenomenon described of participatory water resources governance of becomes a mere formality, advancing the theory of water resources governance.