Adapting to Scarcity. Community-based water management and climate adaptation: Insights from Santa Cruz canton, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Abstract

As climate change increasingly affects water management systems, in regions like Guanacaste, Costa Rica the impact of hydrometeorological events is becoming incrementally more significant. This research aims to examine water scarcity and climate adaptation, in the context of a community-based water management system (CBWM). Academic gaps include a lack of understanding of the specific enablers and barriers to climate change adaptation, the effectiveness of climate adaptation interventions and the management of freshwater resources within Santa Cruz’s CBWM organisations, the ASADAS. This research applied a conceptual framework based on climate adaptation, principles of community-based natural resource management and water conflict. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify barriers and enablers, and a stakeholder analysis was done to assess previous water sector interventions on the aforementioned principles and water conflict. Finally, water sector stakeholders were interviewed to explore their perceptions of water scarcity. The aim of which was to answer the following research question: How can the community-based water management system and its climate change adaptation be improved, for the sector’s stakeholders in the Santa Cruz canton of Guanacaste, Costa Rica? Findings show that enabling factors, like secondary forest plantings and community-based monitoring, can address barriers such as irrigation inefficiencies and data scarcity. Interviews revealed that some stakeholders recall more abundant water in the past, whilst many now perceive increased shortages due to tourism pressures. Several principles of CBWM, for example the monitoring of water systems, were found in need of strengthening. Stakeholders’ influence over water sector interventions varies, with community members having less power compared to higher-level institutional stakeholders. Evaluating such interventions revealed partial adherence to CBWM principles, and highlighted the importance of participatory, bottom-up approaches to increase community buy-in. Improving community-based water management in Santa Cruz and subsequent climate change adaptation involves applying CBWM design principles to address weaknesses and leveraging respective barriers and enablers. Addressing issues such as corruption and streamlining water concessions can prevent first-order conflicts, whilst strengthening the community-based water management system through adaptation can prevent maladaptive and unintended consequences.