InstitutionClaim Cited
Oman's aflaj irrigation institutions
Oman's aflaj carry groundwater, spring water, or floodwater by gravity into settlements and farms, but channels alone do not distribute scarcity. Time shares, water rights, falaj officers, communal maintenance, endowed assets, and repeated adjustment turn a variable flow into an inherited social institution—one now strained by pumping, declining aquifers, land-use change, and the cost of keeping collective work alive.
How can an arid settlement divide a changing flow of water predictably enough for households and farms to endure while preserving the shared channel on which every private turn depends?