Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Among the sectors of municipal, power generation, manufacturing industry and
agriculture, the latter two, the agricultural sector in particular, have actually incurred
heavier burdens of water savings in many cases, and concluding transfers to municipal
sectors should have improved economic efficiencies. Table 2 shows the agreed
percentages of water extraction reductions from river flows by sector in competing cases
of the 2005 droughts.
The community-like consensuses above might be based on the commonly shared
considerations of priorities (larger marginal benefits) of municipal water use, and on the
fact that such droughts do not take place very often. Only a few regions are damaged
during limited periods and the serious droughts of 2005 were the first ones since 1994.
Taking into considerations of the above conditions and the public nature of water, ad hoc
negotiations like the above, compared with fully market-oriented trading, will rather help
to minimise transaction costs for efficiency gains and to mitigate social contradictions
(the fourth and fifth criteria above).
Table 2. Rate in restriction of water extraction:
14 cases of drought in 2005
Percentage of water saving by:
Name of river
Subregion
Agriculture
Industry
Municipality
4 0
4 0
2 0
Kiso
II
40
40
20
Miya
I
45
(d)
(a)
7 6
( d )
4 0
Yahagi
II
30
30
10
III
30
30
10
Kushida
> 40 (b)
20
5 - 20 (c)
Toyo
10
10
10
Kino
10
10
10
1 5 . 9
1 5 . 9
1 5 . 9
Yoshino
II
35.0
35.0
35.0
Niyodo
20
(d)
20
Shigenobu
11
(d)
5
Yamakuni
0 - 30 (c)
67
10
Simple average
31
30
17
Note:
(a) voluntary saving.
(b) counted as 40.
(c) counted as 20 and 30 in calculation of the average,
considering the acceptance levels.
(d) no extraction before.
Source:
MAFF, http://www.maff.go.jp.
Permanent transfers, namely the transfer of water rights, have been also carried out in
a form of implicit trading under the provision of the Ministry of Agriculture since 1972.
The transfer in this case is connected to capital investments to improve efficiencies of
water use in a partner LID's territory. The project is managed by the Ministry, but the
municipalities concerning to the water rights should pay a part of the investment costs.
While demand for water in municipal use has not been increased significantly in recent
years, 11 cases of such 'trading', which is equivalent to the demand of 3.3 million people,
have been realised up to 2005.
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