Navigating Water Shortages and Community Tensions: A Case Study in Leh District, India

This study presents how local governance shapes community responses to water scarcity in three high-altitude villages of Leh District, India. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, we surveyed 122 households and interviewed 12 village heads, water managers, farmers and non-governmental organisation (NGO) representatives. All three villages faced severe water shortages affecting 94%–96% of households annually, yet outcomes differed dramatically. In Nang, a centralised hereditary authority manages water behind closed doors, leading to high conflict (91.2%) with only fragmented individual conservation (80.9%). In Stakmo, kinship-based governance produced moderate conflict (42.1%) and partial conservation (68.4%). In Umla, participatory rule-making with NGO support achieved low conflict (12.5%) and universal conservation (100%). Our findings show that transparent and participatory governance, not water availability, determines whether scarcity leads to conflict or cooperation. Based on this, we offer three policy recommendations: reform centralised governance to establish fair water allocation and dispute resolution; scale community-led conservation that builds social trust; and invest in water storage and livelihood diversification to strengthen adaptive capacity.