‘It’s our water now’: why informal institutions and tribalism matter in the success of water user associations in Jordan Valley

Abstract

Jordan, among the world’s most water-scarce countries, faces severe irrigation challenges in Jordan Valley (JV), its primary agricultural hub. We examine the successful establishment of Water Users Associations (WUA) in JV, focusing on how unwritten social norms, values, and social networks–known as informal institutions–affected and shaped this process. Employing qualitative methods and a customized institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, we analyse how historical experiences and tribalism influenced institutional change. We find that integrating tribal values, such as collective responsibility, into the WUA implementation process played a pivotal role in their successful establishment.