The use of irrigation water in Bulgaria's Plovdiv region during transition.
The amount of water Bulgaria uses for irrigation sharply declined during the transition. Large sections of the existing irrigation systems were abandoned, and those still in use are hardly maintained. Crops such as wheat and barley have replaced more water-intensive crops, such as vegetables, rice, and maize. This problem has an impact on the future development of agriculture and the allocation of the country's water resources. The central argument is that land fragmentation in the wake of decollectivization and restitution contributes to the irrigation systems' abandonment. This article focuses on the institutional factors involved, but also considers additional factors that might have influenced the process. Further, it examines the causes driving these changes and analyzes their effect on irrigation. It is based on a review of the relevant legislation as well as fieldwork in 17 villages located in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria. The article concludes that institutional settings, in addition to changes in large-scale market forces and the state enforcement mechanism, have contributed to the irrigation decline in Bulgaria.
Penov
Ivan
I
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Agriculture-Plovdiv, Plovdiv-4000 Bulgaria. ipenov@au-plovdiv.bg
D000383:Agriculture; D002031:Bulgaria; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics*; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D010945:Plants, Edible; D011050:Policy Making; D012924:Social Conditions; D014881:Water Supply