Tashi Tsering

The management of irrigation water and other resources, as practiced by traditional farming communities in developing countries, is often presented as a model of an equitable system – especially when compared to systems managed by states. This study demonstrates that the resource management practices in two Himalayan farming communities are, in fact, inequitable in terms of local gender, caste and class roles. This thesis examines inequalities in the social organization of irrigation systems in two villages in Spiti Valley in India's Himachal Pradesh state. Its key finding is that the social organization of irrigation management, particularly in terms of farmers' gender, class and caste backgrounds, is best understood as part of a broader division of labor for farming and related resources (such as for the management of fodder, dung and firewood), which are all embedded in the local socio-economic structure. This finding, which is based on participatory observation and interviews with farmers, as well as an analysis of historical and legal documents, underlines the importance of studying management of different resource sectors relationally rather than compartmentally. In particular, this study identifies key functional linkages between the social organization of farming and different resource sectors and develops theoretical approaches to the study of resource management in rural communities.

In environmentalist discourse, there is often an assumption that certain non-industrial peoples, usually called “traditional” or “indigenous” live in more “harmonious” relations with nature. The general argument is that instead of treating these communities as “backward” or “uncivilized,” the modern world has much to learn from them in terms of living with the environment. Helena Norberg-Hodge's Ancient Futures is an

Tibet’s environment and its implications As a geographical landmass, the Tibetan Plateau is the highest and largest plateau in the world, exposing its inhabitants to a challenging environment of living at an average elevation of roughly 4,000 meters above sea level. This prominent landmass in south central Asia is roughly 2.5 million square kilometers in size; geologically, it is considered to be young and still growing in height. The Plateau is the predominant driver of South Asia’s annual monsoon winds, which deliver summer rains from eastern Pakistan to central China. The Plateau also drives the seasonal latitudinal position, duration, and intensity of jet stream winds, which in turn drive so-called regional climate “teleconnections”1 that influence seasonal weather trends and extreme events.2 The freshwater resources in Tibet constitute some 104,500 cubic metres per person, ranking the region fourth in the world after Iceland, New Zealand and Canada.3 An important hydrological a...

The management of irrigation water and other resources, as practiced by traditional farming communities in developing countries, is often presented as a model of an equitable system – especially when compared to systems managed by states. This study demonstrates that the resource management practices in two Himalayan farming communities are, in fact, inequitable in terms of local gender, caste and class roles. This thesis examines inequalities in the social organization of irrigation systems in two villages in Spiti Valley in India’s Himachal Pradesh state. Its key finding is that the social organization of irrigation management, particularly in terms of farmers’ gender, class and caste backgrounds, is best understood as part of a broader division of labor for farming and related resources (such as for the management of fodder, dung and firewood), which are all embedded in the local socio-economic structure. This finding, which is based on participatory observation and interviews wi...