ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Andean irrigation water control involves examining the space and time specific meaning and versatile, dynamic appearances of water rights. Andean irrigation systems link water allocation to land and persons, but also involve crops, cultural geographical positions in the community. Water rights in Andean communities are collective or individual. Individual rights are often confused with private rights and collective rights are sometimes associated with only control rights or decision-making rights. Analyzing water rights bundles in particular contexts shows that the apparently incomprehensible, inappropriate for governing conflicts in water control in practice organized complexity, In house usage rights, written or not,usually establish what users must obey, according to local agreements. The neighboring comuneros of Tzaticahuan dared to ask the office of INERHI for permission to use the secondary irrigation canal above Guitarrapamba. The precise quantitative and qualitative relationship between investment contributions and rights creation and re-creation, and the perception of whether this is equitable, usually differs per system.
