Water for irrigation and irrigation infrastructure are both common pool resources, due to their low excludability and high rivalry. The well-known common pool resource dilemma is often the consequence. Collective action may be a way how societies can overcome this dilemma. First results from a...

During the post-socialist transition period, the Bulgarian irrigation facilities deteriorated to a large extent and no longer meet the needs of the new landowner and agricultural production structure. The Bulgarian government therefore enacted two new laws to encourage collective action and to...

In Bulgaria’s irrigation sector, collective action solutions have been propagated by the Bulgarian Government and the World Bank in recent years. However, the introduction of a World Bank Project, the enforcement of the Bulgarian Water Law in 2000 and the Water User Association Act in 2001...

Irrigation, until recently a major water user in Bulgaria, has been drastically affected by the political and economic changes that came about after the collapse of the socialist system. Collective action might be a way for societies to overcome the well-known common-pool resource dilemma,...

In this paper we consider both hydrology and governance as critical dimensions for irrigation water security. We scale down the overall water security concept to the agricultural sector, suggest an index of irrigation water security faced by farmers, and provide an empirical illustration in the...