Successful factors and activation theory/concept of water users’ organizations - based on the MWMS project in Thailand

This paper analyzes successful factors and develops theory/concept for the activation of the Water Users’ Organizations (WUOs) in the Modernization of Water Management System (MWMS) project in Thailand. The main successful factors are as follows: (1) improvement of irrigation facilities with the farmers’ participation; (2) providing an opportunity for discussions with farmers to enable the adjustment of water allocation through the establishment of an Integrated Water Users’ Group (IWUG) in the early stages of the project; (3) holding monthly meetings of the IWUG; (4) developing, operating, and monitoring the water allocation plan in cooperation with both farmers and government officials. That is to say, initiation of the facilities’ improvement and the establishment of the WUOs were performed concurrently. Moreover, the farmers participated from the beginning of the planning stage to the management stage. The MWMS project contributed to create a system that farmers can acquire and use irrigation water with reliability. Through this system, farmers could have ownership in their facilities, and then they participated in the operation and maintenance spontaneously. The most important thing is to give priority to a joint study process between the farmers and government officials for producing mutual understanding and building a good confidential relationship.