Giovanni Munoz - Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, FAO: Munoz, Garces and Renault belong to the Land and Water Development Division. Contact details
Carlos Garces Restrepo - Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, FAO: Munoz, Garces and Renault belong to the Land and Water Development Division. Contact details
Douglas L. Vermillion - International Water Management Institute, IWMI. (Vermillion is a former IWMI staff).
Daniel Renault - Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, FAO: Munoz, Garces and Renault belong to the Land and Water Development Division. Contact details

This paper summarises information collected from a range of countries worldwide. A database with all the information collected as well as other related documents led to the creation of a specialized webpage on the subject managed by FAO, found at: http://www.fao.org/landandwater/aglw/waterinstitutions/. The paper is structured into five sections. This first section provides a brief introduction to set the stage of why irrigation sector reform has emerged. In section 2, the policy and legal framework for IMT are presented. With respect to policy, the section addresses the requirements to support IMT programmes as well as to establish Water Users Associations, the cornerstone of the transfer process. The elements present in the implementation of IMT programmes is the subject of section 3. In sequential order, the document addresses IMT strategies such as the scale of transfer, the scope of activities included and the speed of implementation. In section 4 the paper brings together the outcomes and impacts derived or expected from the reform. Section 5 summarizes key conclusions and recommendations.