(2) Transparency

Disputes over water are common at the local level, i.e., between and within WUAs. Local conflicts can impose severe consequences for the community and beyond, as they often result in eroded cooperation among users and a lack of adherence to water rules and mismanagement of the water resources. Bureaucratic and logistic constraints also pose major obstacles to access legal water institutions by remote, ill-resourced water users [82]. Thus, transferring authority to judge water-related disputes from regional courts to local WUAs could make the legal system more accessible. Further, transparent and accountable local institutions would fill in the current gap left by the limited reach of national institutions [87].
