Irrigation water management in the Chancay-Lambayeque Basin, Peru

The resource appropriated from the Chancay-Lambayeque Basin is water for irrigation. There are two groups of farmers. One groups is located upstream the main canal of the system, and the second groups downstream. Upstream users are freeriding from the canal: They do not pay for the infrastructure maintenance, and at the same time they appropriate water without any formal regulation. Downstream farmers are members of an irrigation association and follow their rules. The national water law supports these rules. The author reported many fights around water use, thus this case is considered as an unsuccessful instance of common-pool resource management.