Already for decennia, water is a scarce resource in Java. The tropical climate, uneven water distribution amongst the islands in place and time, rapidly growing population, and climate change have been and continue to be significant contributors to this issue. As Java is Indonesia's economic and population center and a major food producer, addressing the island’s experienced water stress is crucial for its sustainability and continued development.
The Indonesian government has been trying to alleviate water stress by building more and more infrastructure to capture surface water. However, this strategy has repeatedly shown to cause secondary issues and conflict, leaving significant challenges unresolved. These eWects should inspire policymakers to find additional solutions to relieve the country’s water stress.
One such option is institutional analysis. Polski & Ostrom (1999) define institutions as a widely understood rule, norm, or strategy that incentivizes behavior in repetitive situations. The study of the institutions related to Common Pool Resources has shown that wellfunctioning institutions contribute to significant improvements in the sustainability of the resource. As surface water is such a resource due to its high extractability and low excludability, an institutional analysis could provide substantial insights that could help support future improvements...