

@mastersthesis {6960,
	title = {Non-market and public welfare values of common-pool irrigation in {New} {Mexico}},
	year = {2008},
	note = {3329465},
	school = {The University of New Mexico},
	type = {phdPh.{D}.},
	address = {Ann Arbor},
	abstract = {Traditional irrigation systems or acequias in New Mexico can be difficult to analyze using traditional economic methods. However, they face a typical economic problem, competition for scarce water. Sometimes seen as in conflict with municipalities in demand for surface water, on the other hand they are considered integral to New Mexican culture, providing critical non-market values. This research begins to create a framework for assessing the total economic value of acequia irrigation for the purposes of comparing that use to other, more easily quantifiable types of use. The research asks three questions in order to address those values in San Miguel County, New Mexico: how are allocation decisions handled in the acequias of the Gallinas River, do irrigators{\textquoteright} responses in an experiment differ from non-irrigators{\textquoteright}, and how do residents of San Miguel County perceive water use and acequia culture? Three methods are used: the Institutional Analysis and Development (LAD) Framework, a Common Pool Resource (CPR) Experiment, and a Contingent Valuation (CV) Survey. The IAD interviews provide a baseline of detailed descriptives about acequia irrigation on the Gallinas River; the CPR experiments provide information about whether there are any measurable differences between irrigators on acequias and undergraduate students; the CV survey investigates attitudes toward different water uses and futures, and asks for willingness to pay to protect acequia culture. This would be pursued through a training program addressing traditional and contemporary farming methods, as well as water law and global climate change. Some predictions of local precipitation change show less snow and more rain in future years, a change for which acequias, dependent on snowpack, are totally unprepared. The acequias on the Gallinas River are far from homogeneous, and employ different strategies to confront varying management issues. Any careful analysis of even a single watershed must consider a heterogeneous management structure. The CPR results suggest that are not significant variations in perception and behavior in withdrawals between the two groups. CV results show that residents of San Miguel County hold positive non-market values for acequia culture, with differences predictably emerging between urban and rural groups.},
	keywords = {0501:Economics, 0503:Agricultural economics, Acequias, Agricultural economics, Common pool resources, Common-pool irrigation, Contingent valuation, economics, Experimental economics, Institutional analysis, New Mexico, Public welfare values, Social sciences},
	url = {http://search.proquest.com/docview/304535544?accountid=14270},
	author = {Raheem, Nejem}
}
