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Closing of the Krishna Basin: Irrigation, Streamflow Depletion and Macroscale Hydrology [Added on 09/20/2007] Discharge from the Krishna River into the ocean decreased by 75 percent from 1960-2005, and was zero during a recent multi-year drought. This paper describes the physical geography and hydrology of the Krishna Basin, including runoff production and a basic water account based on hydronomic zones. More than 50 percent of the basin’s irrigated area is groundwater irrigation, which is not currently included in inter-state allocation rules. Future water allocation will require inclusion of the interactions among all irrigated areas, including those irrigated by groundwater and surface water. Download PDF (1.33MB) |
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[Added on 09/20/2007] Water Matters looks at the environment and its water needs, focusing on the Bundala Lagoons, rich in biodiversity and frequented by migratory birds, presently at risk because of changes in water quality. The issue of water pollution through agricultural activity, and IWMI’s wetland mapping initiative are also highlighted. Download PDF (771Kb) |
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Pro-poor Intervention Strategies in Irrigated Agriculture: Lessons from the Asian Experience [Added on 09/20/2007] Irrigated agriculture has contributed greatly to food security in Asia— and irrigation projects present new opportunities for reducing poverty. This requires that projects deliberately tilt towards the poor. Moreover, policymakers, implementers and managers need to adopt an integrated approach when using irrigation as a pro-poor intervention strategy. With the right institutional and technical conditions, an effective incentives structure and proper implementation and management practices, pro-poor irrigation projects can make a significant difference to poverty in the region. Download PDF (313Kb) |
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Rethinking Tribal Development: Water Management Strategies for Revitalizing Tribal Agriculture in central India [Added on 09/20/2007] A major drawback of India’s agriculture, watershed development and irrigation strategy has been the neglect of relatively wetter catchment areas and the tribal people living therein. Investing in small-scale interventions for improved water control can produce a dramatic impact on the productivity and dependability of tribal livelihood systems. Download PDF (313Kb) |
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Rural-Urban Food, Nutrient and Virtual Water Flows in Selected West African Cities [Added on 09/19/2007] Impacts of increasing population pressure on food demand and land and water resources have sparked interest in nutrient and water balances and flows at a range of scales. In IWMI Research Report 115, it was tried for the first time to quantify rural-urban food flows for selected cities in Ghana and Burkina Faso to analyse their dependency on food supplied from rural vs. peri-urban vs. urban farming. Both, the urban nutrient and water footprints are closely interlinked. Currently, 80-95 percent of the domestic water used and the nutrients consumed go to waste without treatment or resource recovery. The economic dimensions are significant. Options to reduce the environmental burden by closing the rural-urban water and nutrient cycles are discussed. Download PDF (516kb) |
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Establishing a Catchment Monitoring Network through a Participatory Approach [Added on 09/13/2007] Catchment monitoring has always been important to water resources managers and scientists in the development and implementation of effective water resources management strategies. The establishment of a catchment monitoring network involves a process, from the inception of the idea to the actual construction/installation of various structures and instruments while engaging relevant stakeholders especially the local community. In many cases, such a process is not documented, even though it is crucial to do so in order to share such experiences for the benefit of other stakeholders, including researchers, who may wish to undertake a similar exercise. Despite numerous field challenges (social, scientific and engineering), this report strives to document a successful process of establishing a detailed catchment monitoring network in the midst of a rural community inhabited by smallholder farmers, the Potshini community, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Download PDF (1.57 MB) |
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Developing Procedures for Assessment of Ecological Status of Indian River Basins in the Context of Environmental Water Requirements [Added on 09/11/2007] This report attempts to introduce a prototype scoring system for the ecological status of rivers in India and illustrate it through the applications in several major river basins. This system forms part of the desktop environmental flow assessment and is based on a number of indicators reflecting ecological condition and sensitivity of a river. The unique aspect of this study is that it interprets, for the first time, the existing ecological information for Indian rivers in the context of environmental flow assessment. The report targets government departments, research institutions and NGOs which are engaged in environmental flow management and associated policy development, and suggests some subsequent steps in environmental flow work in India.. Download PDF (722kb) |
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Environmental and Social Values of River Water: Examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka [Added on 09/11/2007] Similarly to other water demands, environmental water demand (Environmental Flows - EF) also has an economic value and cost. However, few studies have directly considered these costs to date. In this paper, the Menik Ganga (River) in southern Sri Lanka is used as a case study to attempt to evaluate the costs and benefits of EF. The EF components evaluated include the needs of the religious festival at Kataragama, the requirements of the Yala National Park, the requirements of the Pilinnawa Wetland and the requirements of the Yala Marine Protected Area and the Yala Fishery Management Area. Estimates are based on use values of EF such as marketed goods and recreation. For some components multiple estimates have been attempted. A cumulative value of individual EF components is calculated and discussed. It is anticipated that valuing the benefits of EF, in the Menik River or in similar other basins in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, would strengthen the decision making process of water allocation in the future. Download PDF (462kb) |
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