A Case of Polycentricity

In Colorado, there have been growing concerns about water availability for agriculture use, municipal use, and the environment. Rivers have run dry or have experienced drops in water flows. In response efforts across the state range from governmental institutions to private firms and non-profits. This situation is an example of a polycentric order.

To start, we will define a polycentric order. This is the order of organization for social tasks that arise spontaneously. This encompasses many organizations that exist to achieve individual goals and work together or alone. They are constrained by rules. Traditionally, individuals are the unit of analysis however it is possible for firms and public agencies to be the unit of analysis too. For firms, they must be subject to the same rules and incentives as others. With this criterion established we can connect the efforts of Colorado to solve water scarcity to polycentric order.

To illustrate polycentric order within Colorado we will look at an individual project on water conservation. Let’s establish the rules for water use. In Colorado, there is the Colorado Doctrine which states that the right to use water must be for a beneficial purpose and if there isn’t one person forgo their right of water use. In this situation, water users are inclined to maximize their use of water since there is no benefit to leaving it in the water. Consequently, rivers have led to environmental degradation and increase competition for water. In 1973 a law was passed that ruled water left in the stream as a beneficial use for wildlife, which means conservationists could buy a water right and have a water court repurpose the right for leaving water in the stream to guarantee greater water flows. An example of successful water conservation is the Crystal River Project. This project was motivated by the Colorado Water Trust and agriculture producers to achieve consistent flows in the river even in times of drought. To resolve this issue other conservation agencies involved hired a firm to perform analysis on the river to establish a management plan. Here we have many actors working to achieve a goal for different reasons. For example, the agriculture industry is aiming to improve water flows for financial reasons. Meanwhile, the Colorado water trust and other conservation organizations are interested in higher water flows. Then, a land trust is interested in improving the land for its members. There is no hierarchy here where one organization holds more priority or power than the order. This phenomenon can best be described by polycentric order. Notably, similar efforts have leased water rights from agriculture or purchased to achieve similar outcomes. Still, these situations have many actors and no hierarchy. 

Polycentric order is an observation of the world as it is occurring. With the water scarcity in Colorado, there have been diverse organizations involved with this predicament. The response to this issue is an example of polycentric order involving firms, non-profits, and public agencies operating with zero notions of hierarchy.