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Exploring the scope for transboundary collaboration in the Blue Nile river basin: downstream willingness to pay for upstream land use changes to improve irrigation water supply

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Abonesh Tesfaye  and
Roy Brouwer
Abonesh Tesfaye
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Economics, Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]
Roy Brouwer
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Economics, Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

In this study we model the preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) of downstream farmers in one of the largest irrigation schemes worldwide in Sudan for improved irrigation water supply through transboundary collaboration with farmers upstream in Ethiopia. In a choice experiment, Sudanese farmers are asked to pay an increase in existing irrigation fees to secure future irrigation water availability by either enhancing the removal of sediments in their local irrigation channels or compensating farmers in the Ethiopian highlands for taking soil conservation measures to prevent land degradation and soil erosion. Although Sudanese farmers downstream do not feel very connected to farmers upstream in Ethiopia, we find a high degree of trust in international cooperation and a positive WTP for improved irrigation water supply and water use efficiency through transboundary collaboration.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , April 2016 , pp. 180 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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