Abstract
Irrigation systems have changed significantly in the last 50 years. Originally supplied by surface water, its farming systems depend increasingly on the massive use of groundwater through private tubewells. Withdrawals are currently leading to a general decrease in groundwater table levels which in the past caused waterlogging due to excess surface irrigation. This new context calls for the repositioning of the paradigm of the twin menace of waterlogging and salinity in which the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) community defined its concepts. It also requires taking into consideration existing groundwater institutions, often informal and developed locally, more rarely legally recognized processes when moving towards groundwater governance. We present an analytical framework showing the role of these institutions in groundwater governance. This special issue contains a selection of papers presented at the 24th European Regional Conference of ICID in March 2011, organized by its French National Committee, AFEID. The selected contributions focus on critical analysis of formal and informal institutions at the local scale dealing with groundwater access, restoring the groundwater balance and water quality protection. We argue that these analyses can help building a more process‐oriented approach to policy and engineering, contributing to new modes of groundwater governance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.