Pakistan is predominantly a mountainouscountry where rural development activities arecharacterised by inconsistency, politically motivatedshort-term projects without proper feedback. Sincethe inception of the country,...Pakistan is predominantly a mountainouscountry where rural development activities arecharacterised by inconsistency, politically motivatedshort-term projects without proper feedback. Sincethe inception of the country, the top-down approachhas been followed, and the same development plansthat were formulated for the plain areas have beenextended to the mountains without any modificationIn doing so, neither the participation of the locacommunities was cared for, nor the mountainspecificities were considered in the planning processMoreover, the representation of the local inhabitantswas improper and contradictory to the facts. Thisbiased approach has been one of the main causes forthe failure of development projects carried out bydifferent agencies of the Government. Contrary to theperception of the state authorities, the mountaincommunities proved to be more open to accept newapproaches and demonstrated the capacity andcapability of being a dependable development partnerIn this paper, a detailed account of the Aga KhanRural Support Programme (AKRSP) has beenpresented to assess and evaluate the approachfollowed by this non-governmental organisation (NGO), and the response of the local inhabitants as collaborators in the development process. The achievements of the AKRSP from project planning, implementation and monitoring can be adopted as a model for rural development not only in the plains, but also in the mountainous areas of the developing countries in the world.展开更多
Farmer-managed irrigation systems(FMIS) in the high altitude valleys of the Karakorum,Pakistan, continue to be managed effectively despite increased pressure on the social arrangements that sustain them. Colonial era ...Farmer-managed irrigation systems(FMIS) in the high altitude valleys of the Karakorum,Pakistan, continue to be managed effectively despite increased pressure on the social arrangements that sustain them. Colonial era records shows that over a century ago government agencies undertook irrigation support projects. In the past three decades,government agencies and the non-government agency Aga Khan Rural Support Programme(AKRSP), which channels foreign funds into the region, have actively engaged in the provision of irrigation support. This article seeks to explore whether such projects support or undermine farmer-managed irrigation systems and the complex institutional arrangements that underpin them. Field research using ethnographic and participatory methods was conducted in spring 2013 in the upper Shigar valley, Skardu district, GilgitBaltistan. The findings show that irrigation development is a political activity that involves village-based actors, religious leaders, local politicians,and government and non-government agencies.Government agencies operate in a largely top-down,engineering mode, their larger projects limited to villages suffering water scarcity. The local government provides small funds for renovation work of FMIS,though allocation of funds is highly politicized. Nongovernment agencies, for a variety of reasons including donor-funding cycles, apply a one-size-fitsall ‘participatory' model in an attempt to socially engineer rules and institutions. In communities divided by factionalism the use of such external models that stress formation of committees are unlikely to yield positive results, and could instead contribute to undermining the very systems they seek to support. This research argues that irrigation interventions should take care to build upon the rich and complex social arrangements that have sustained FMIS through the centuries.展开更多
文摘Pakistan is predominantly a mountainouscountry where rural development activities arecharacterised by inconsistency, politically motivatedshort-term projects without proper feedback. Sincethe inception of the country, the top-down approachhas been followed, and the same development plansthat were formulated for the plain areas have beenextended to the mountains without any modificationIn doing so, neither the participation of the locacommunities was cared for, nor the mountainspecificities were considered in the planning processMoreover, the representation of the local inhabitantswas improper and contradictory to the facts. Thisbiased approach has been one of the main causes forthe failure of development projects carried out bydifferent agencies of the Government. Contrary to theperception of the state authorities, the mountaincommunities proved to be more open to accept newapproaches and demonstrated the capacity andcapability of being a dependable development partnerIn this paper, a detailed account of the Aga KhanRural Support Programme (AKRSP) has beenpresented to assess and evaluate the approachfollowed by this non-governmental organisation (NGO), and the response of the local inhabitants as collaborators in the development process. The achievements of the AKRSP from project planning, implementation and monitoring can be adopted as a model for rural development not only in the plains, but also in the mountainous areas of the developing countries in the world.
基金funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
文摘Farmer-managed irrigation systems(FMIS) in the high altitude valleys of the Karakorum,Pakistan, continue to be managed effectively despite increased pressure on the social arrangements that sustain them. Colonial era records shows that over a century ago government agencies undertook irrigation support projects. In the past three decades,government agencies and the non-government agency Aga Khan Rural Support Programme(AKRSP), which channels foreign funds into the region, have actively engaged in the provision of irrigation support. This article seeks to explore whether such projects support or undermine farmer-managed irrigation systems and the complex institutional arrangements that underpin them. Field research using ethnographic and participatory methods was conducted in spring 2013 in the upper Shigar valley, Skardu district, GilgitBaltistan. The findings show that irrigation development is a political activity that involves village-based actors, religious leaders, local politicians,and government and non-government agencies.Government agencies operate in a largely top-down,engineering mode, their larger projects limited to villages suffering water scarcity. The local government provides small funds for renovation work of FMIS,though allocation of funds is highly politicized. Nongovernment agencies, for a variety of reasons including donor-funding cycles, apply a one-size-fitsall ‘participatory' model in an attempt to socially engineer rules and institutions. In communities divided by factionalism the use of such external models that stress formation of committees are unlikely to yield positive results, and could instead contribute to undermining the very systems they seek to support. This research argues that irrigation interventions should take care to build upon the rich and complex social arrangements that have sustained FMIS through the centuries.
