Rural Water Management in Africa: The Impact of Customary Institu ...

Moreover, the understanding of the relationship and impact of both types of institutions is very crucial for an assessment of whether formal institutions support or undermine the contribution of informal institutions for water management. To achieve the purpose, this study has five main objectives which will be discussed more in chapter 4. These objectives are

i. to analyze the determinants of compliance with both customary and statutory institutions;

ii. to analyze the role of gender in water management and identify the customary and statutory institutions that offer opportunities and/or impede the role of women in water management. This includes an analysis of how institutions affect women’s and men’s access to water and whether the current institutional arrangement promotes the sustainable management of water resources in rural areas;

iii. to determine the effectiveness of customary and statutory institutions in water management;

iv. to determine the strengths and weaknesses of customary and statutory institutions for water management; and

v. to determine the role of customary and statutory institutions in access to water for different uses. The main water uses that will be investigated are: water for domestic use, water for animals, and water for crop irrigation. The analysis of different water uses will reveal whether the type of water use has an impact on institutional arrangements that determine who has rights to water.

The importance of customary institutions in Africa cannot be underestimated. Most of human behaviors are defined, shaped, and influenced by society’s norms, values, and customs.³¹ For example, the majority of the population in many African countries prefers to use customary institutions to resolve conflicts than statutory institutions. Moreover, customary land tenure covers about 75 percent of the land in Africa. In that regard, this study investigates the importance of customary institutions in rural water management in Tanzania. Chirayat, Sage, and Woolcock argue that ignoring customary institutions may create numerous problems: