Nonmarket valuation of acequias: Stakeholder analysis

From a traditional market economy perspective, the productivity attained when water and land is used for acequias is much lower than the productivity achieved when applying these same resources to urban and industrial uses. An analysis of key stakeholders has indicated that there are cultural and environmental attributes of acequia agriculture landscapes that are not captured in the market-assigned value of acequias. This analysis revealed the motivations behind the value placed on acequias by government,, policy organizations, religious groups, and other stakeholders. Such context may not be fully captured in a developers, quantitative nonmarket valuation study. This research also identified potential policy and management initiatives that could improve the nonmarket, value of acequias. These include investments in less water intensive acequia infrastructure and agriculture techniques, supporting education and research of the cultural and environmental contributions of acequias;, and promoting the interests in tourism in acequia communities.