Water Resources

There are a variety of resources of water, which are in the public domain, and a significant part of these are included in the category of commons. Examples are flows of rivers, tanks and natural lakes, groundwater, wetland and mangrove areas, and such other water bodies. Man-made water resources such as dams and canals, tube wells, other wells, and supply of all types of potable water also fall in the category of CPRs depending upon their property rights.

Unfortunately, even after many debates about property rights (such as traditional rights, community rights, and basic need human rights); water has not yet been declared as CPR in India, though references are made in the water policy document indirectly. By and large, water resources in India are in common property regimes only. Irrigation canals are managed jointly by the government and communities. Traditionally, tanks, village ponds, and lakes -  all of which are treated as CPRs -are sources  of water for drinking, livestock rearing, washing, fishing  and bathing, and several sanitary-related activities.