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This paper argues that the concept of land governance should be broadened in order to integrate the sustainability conditions of the territorial development process. The analysis focuses on the conditions that are required for the necessary redefinition of property rights over water, considered here to be a resource closely related to the soil. This approach is applied in the example of a Territorialized Agro-Environmental Scheme implemented in a territory located inside the water basin of the Adour and Garonne Rivers in the Midi-Pyrénées region (France). The paper shows that the communicative process developed among the various partners implied in the scheme plays a crucial role in the learning process, itself being a central factor in farmers adopting (or not) new rules concerning the management of soil and water. This process is based on deliberative methods, which are seen as discursive institutions. As such, they help farmers update their motivations for action and for adopting improved ethical values concerning the use of environmental resources.