A study on the Kabu-ido system: An innovative institution for groundwater management in the ring-levee area, Japan

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26550101
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Design and evaluation of sustainable and environmental conscious system
• Research Institution: Osaka Prefecture University
• Principal Investigator: Endo Takahiro 大阪府立大学, 人間社会システム科学研究科, 准教授 (50414032)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 地下水 / コモンズ / 輪中

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Kabu-ido system was a customary institution for groundwater management in a ring levee area of the Noubi Plain in Japan. It was created in Edo era and lasted until Meiji era. While historical studies dealt with the development process, this study tries to re-evaluate the Kabu-ido as an innovative groundwater management institution from policy-science viewpoint.
This study clarifies the following points. First, how widely groundwater pumping reduction was introduced in entire Noubi-Plain is visualized by GIS. Second,the Kabu-ido system developed a self-organized restriction on groundwater pumping. This study demonstrates why local groundwater users succeeded in such restriction without intervention of external authorities, with special reference to the Commons studies. Lastly, a problem of unequal access to water resource caused by permission concentration is suggested as a lesson for current groundwater management policy.

Free Research Field

環境政策