Marquina: a small town coping with change
Valeriana Choque Zambrana and her family manage a small farm in Bolivia, growing vegetables both to eat at home and to sell in the market. But water is becoming increasingly unreliable – and like many farmers, Valeriana struggles to ensure her crops are properly irrigated.
Water demand in Bolivia’s Cochabamba department is increasing, and farmers fear that an increasingly unreliable water supply will cause them to lose their lands and traditional agricultural practices. To ensure policies help the most vulnerable – and don’t exacerbate existing inequalities – policy-makers need models that incorporate gender and social equality aspects.
SEI set out to do that in Marquina, a small community of 400 families in the valleys of Cochabamba. Urban expansion, land partitioning and illegal construction projects pose a threat to the community’s irrigation infrastructure and practices, and farmers have asked local authorities to help them ensure water access and efficiency. SEI researchers teamed up with local partners to build a model of Marquina’s water supply and demand in the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) software. The results show that by refining the model to include small groups within regions and communities, we can better inform policies that help the environment and improve the living conditions of all people.
Male farmers take a break while chewing coca leaves during the traditional annual maintenance works in mit’a channels. Photo: Lina Terrazas.
Some farmers are able to invest in greenhouses for flower production. Photo: Lina Terrazas.
A model that shows hidden inequalities
To do this, we combined hard data on water supply and demand with “qualitative” information from a literature review and several surveys that revealed the social and cultural factors that affect irrigation supply. We then made two models: one representing Marquina as a single object (as would be typical in a watershed model); and a second that differentiated groups based on the relative location of the canal system, the water rights of the farmers, and the gender of the water rights holders.
By comparing the aggregated and disaggregated models, we can see the importance of illuminating inequalities in water supply and identifying the vulnerable groups.
The results show that inequalities are often missed in typical watershed models – and could be missing the hardships of women farmers, or marginalized groups. By showing these inequalities in a disaggregated model, policy-makers can test out policies to ensure they are fair and effective.
Water availability as shown in a typical water model
In a typical water model – where Marquina is represented as a single object – water shortages seem small (shown here as ranging from about 85% to 100% of coverage, depending on the year).
Water availability as shown in water model that disaggregates by socio-economic groups
When a water model separates out socio-economic groups – represented here as groups 01 through 14 – inequalities appear. Groups 12 and 13, for example, see water supply that covers less than 50% of demand.
Difference in overall water availability from refining the model by social groups
When the results of the differentiated model is aggregated at the community level, the overall water coverage is lower, because it captures water shortages unseen in the traditional water model.
The difference between coverage of water rights and water needs
This shows water rights coverage (soft colors) and water demand coverage (sharp colors). Water rights is the amount of water to which an individual is entitled based on water rights. Water demand is the water required for crops. The figure shows that groups 11– 13 are not receiving all the water to which they are entitled; other groups, however, get the water to which they are entitled (fulfilling their rights), but it is not enough water to satisfy their production (1 -4, 7, 11, 12, 13).
Climate change impacts on water shortages
This shows the percentage change in overall water demand coverage between 2015 and 2049, using historical records and climate change projections. As the model approaches the 2050s, water demand shortages increase in all projections. Climate projections: 1. CCSM4, 2. CESM1-CAM5, 3. IPSL-CM5A, 4. MPI-ESM-LR
Average annual precipitation and temperature
Each mark in this graph corresponds to the values of estimated average precipitation and temperature for each climate projection for every year between 2015 and 2019. Climate projections: 1. CCSM4, 2. CESM1-CAM5, 3. IPSL-CM5A, 4. MPI-ESM-LR
Female farmers participate in the closure ceremony of the traditional annual maintenance works of mit’a channels. Photo: Lina Terrazas.
Women’s access to water
In Marquina, we found that some groups are more vulnerable than others. Some producers, for example, do not have water rights under the Mit’a, a collective system of management and maintenance that was first established during the precolonial period. Additional water rights – which came with the construction of reservoirs to ensure water in the dry season – are not tied to the land, as they can be sold between individuals.
Valeriana Choque Zambrana talks about how she manages her family’s farm in Marquina, Bolivia. Video: Lina Terrazas / SEI, YouTube.
Furthermore, while a few groups should be getting enough water based on their rights, they don’t. The main reason is because they are located downstream. Water rights also vary among Andean communities depending on the source of water, system of irrigation, typical crops and cultural relations among the users.
Community-based decisions, which are the main decision-making mechanism in the region, should create the space to voice concerns over water availability and rights. But women’s representation is limited, as they are rarely elected to leadership positions. Men benefit from a historical link between land ownership and community leadership.
Gender dynamics are influenced by many aspects related to culture and socio-economic realities. In Marquina, women were able to take control of water rights because of an increase in the number of men who left to work in cities. However, the ownership of the land appears to be still predominantly male-owned, based on surveys. Though women are water right holders, they are not elected to represent irrigators.
Paulino Chavez, former leader of the Organization of Irrigators of Marquina (2015-2017), explains water rights in Marquina. Video: Lina Terrazas / SEI, YouTube.
Female farmer visiting the reservoir of Marquina. Photo: Lina Terrazas.
More work to be done
This study highlights the importance of mainstreaming gender and social equality analysis in water planning efforts in small communities. With the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), SEI will further examine poverty and gender related aspects in water planning and sanitation in a three-year project that aims to inform environmentally sustainable policies and improve the livelihood of all people.
Paulino Chavez, former leader of the Organization of Irrigators of Marquina (2015-2017), explains Marquina’s current agricultural challenges. Video: Lina Terrazas / SEI, YouTube.
Contributors
This story was written by Emily Yehle and is based on analysis by SEI senior scientists Laura Forni and Marisa Escobar and local consultant Lina Gabriela Terrazas Villarroel. Terrazas Villarroel also produced the video and many of the photos featured in this story.
