Perceptions of fairness in common-pool resource access: farmer responses to new agricultural water use restrictions in Idaho

ABSTRACT

This study examines farmers’ perceptions of fairness regarding an agricultural water use policy change in Idaho: the 2015 settlement agreement, a compromise between ground- and surface water farmers in Idaho’s Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) that requires reductions in groundwater withdrawals of about 13% for all groundwater farmers. We characterize the agreement as an attempt to solve a common-pool resource social dilemma and draw on Elinor Ostrom’s seven ‘design principles’ as a conceptual framework. Using data from 43 interviews and 265 mail surveys, we find a split between farmers who grudgingly accept the agreement as necessary to keep the region’s agricultural productivity sustainable, and those who consider it unnecessary, unfair, or even illegal. A belief in the importance of protecting groundwater resources and support for local control was cited by farmers backing the agreement, whereas dissenting farmers believed outside interests had exerted too much influence throughout the negotiation process and generally mistrusted the state’s groundwater data. Given that residents of the American West are likely to continue having to address declining water availability in the future due to climate change, our findings can help policymakers design effective and equitable water policies in a way that advances rural environmental justice.

KEYWORDS:

• Agriculture
• aquifer recharge
• climate change
• common-pool resources
• groundwater governance
• rural environmental justice
• social acceptance
• social dilemmas

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation’s Idaho EPSCoR MILES Program, [award number IIA-1301792].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [IIA-1301792];

Notes on contributors

Katrina Running

Katrina Running is currently an Associate Professor in Sociology at Idaho State University. An environmental sociologist, her research examines how farmers are adapting to agricultural water restrictions in Idaho, international variation in public opinion about climate change, and the public's perception of ecosystem services, frequently through the lens of environmental justice. Katrina received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Arizona in 2013.

Morey Burnham

Morey Burnham is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Idaho State University. He is a broadly trained environmental social scientist who works at the interface of climate change adaptation and vulnerability, agriculture, and water in arid and semi-arid regions. Morey received his Ph.D. in Human Dimensions of Ecosystem Science and Management from Utah State in 2014.

Margaret V. Du Bray

Margaret V. Du Bray completed her Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology from Arizona State University in 2017. After a year and a half of post-doctoral research at Idaho State University, she is now a Visiting Professor of Environmental Studies at Augustana College. Her research focuses on the political ecology and environmental anthropology of water, governance and the social relations built around resource use.