Redefining the Water Poverty Index

Abstract

The Water Poverty Index (WPI) of arid and semiarid climatic zones is redefined by introducing the contribution of rainfed agriculture into WPI calculations and by making the WPI equation account for diversities in climatic conditions within arid and semiarid zones and for recycled household water used in irrigation.     

Global Water Demand and Supply Projections

Abstract

This paper presents a modeling approach for projections of water demand and supply for domestic, industrial, livestock, and irrigation at the basin or country level in a global scope. Particular emphasis is put on simulating water availability for crops taking into account total renewable water, non-irrigation water demand, water supply infrastructure, and economic and environmental policies at the basin or country level. This paper focuses on concepts and methodology involved in the modeling exercise. Data assessment and results are presented in a companion paper (Rosegrant and Cai, 2002).     

Model-based Regional Assessment of Water Use An Example for Semi-arid Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Water use assessments are a necessary prerequisite for sustainable water resources management and planning in river basins, federal states, or countries. For reasons of transparency, flexibility, ease of update, and the possibility to generate scenarios of future water use, such assessments are best carried out by applying a water use model. To support water resources planning in two federal states of semi-arid Northeastern Brazil, Ceará and Piauí, the regional-scale water use model NoWUM was developed. It computes withdrawal and consumptive water use for each of 332 municipalities, distinguishing five water use sectors: irrigation, livestock, households, industry, and tourism. The model is suited to simulate the impact of global change and of management measures on water demand. Using NoWUM, the present-day water use situation in Ceará and Piauí is assessed. In addition, the impact of inter-annual climate variability and long-term climate change on irrigation requirements is considered. Scarce and uncertain input data lead to a high level of uncertainty in the model results. It is likely that water use in the most important sector, irrigation, is underestimated, while industrial water use is possibly overestimated. With some modifications, NoWUM has the potential to be applied for water use assessments in other data-poor regions of the globe.     

Transforming River Basin Management in South Africa

Abstract

This paper analyzes the transformation of river basin management in South Africa by focusing on the political processes involved in the creation of new water management bodies and irrigation infrastructure in the Lower Komati sub-basin. Institutional reform is described and analyzed in terms of the collaboration theory of Gray (1985). Attention is paid to the absence of mutual collaboration in the water domain through the analysis of three phases that are characteristic of collaborative management: problem setting, direction setting, and structuring. The perceptions and strategies of stakeholders in the change process are informed by the skewed access to land and water, the protracted struggle for redress of historical inequities, the quest for autonomy in water management by commercial farmers, and large political power differentials. This has resulted in differential access to decision making and political influence and in the materialization of these skewed relations in water control technology. The reluctance of stakeholders to explicitly recognize their interdependence and the role of the state as the convener of the change process has hampered the emergence of a shared appreciation of the problems in the water domain. Despite efforts by government to move towards equitable and inclusive water management, little redress of past inequities has taken place, and the majority of small farmers are uninformed and excluded from the change process. This suggests that the proposed Catchment Management Agency will not be representative nor attain equitable water management unless a well-conceived redistribution of water entitlements and land rights is carried out as part of an encompassing program to strengthen political democracy.     

Economic Benefits of Reservoirs in the Irrigated Agriculture

Abstract

In the Jordan Valley of Jordan, the demand for water and ability to control its location, timing, quality, and quantity are becoming critical. The competition for water between the urban and agricultural sectors is increasing. There is a general trend in Jordan to reduce water allocated for agricultural use. Increasing the price of irrigation water or restricting the planted areas of water consuming crops, such as bananas, has been implemented during the recent growing season. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the impact of optimal allocation of irrigation water by building storage capacity on the economy of Jordan Valley. A linear programming technique is used, and the main results show that for proper management of water storage capacity, the suggested cropping pattern would generate $88.2 million, whereas the actual cropping pattern generated $74.4 million. The optimal water demand schedule is distributed according to the needs of the planted crops, and water demand has been allocated in an efficient way. In addition, appropriate management of storage capacity has solved the problem of water scarcity during the summer months, when peak production takes place. Storage-transfer system between locations played a significant role in reallocating irrigation water through the storage system. This compensates to a high degree in keeping the agricultural production more stable in physical and monetary units.     

Irrigation infrastructure development in the Limarí Basin in Central Chile: implications for adaptation to climate variability and climate change

One option to deal with climate variability in agriculture is to build irrigation infrastructure, although this may lead to the overdevelopment of water resources, leading to ‘basin closure’. The Limarí Basin, in central north Chile, has relied on irrigation infrastructure over the last 30 years to increase water supply reliability and extend irrigated acreage, especially for permanent crops. This situation has reduced adaptation opportunities in the basin, which is currently experiencing a severe drought that, according to climate change projections, is expected to persist in the future, with important consequences for the sustainability of agriculture production.     

Water productivity and water footprint: misguided concepts or useful tools in water management and policy?

Water productivity (WP) and water footprint (WFP) are popular concepts in research and discourses on water management. Yet there are concerns about their theoretical validity and practical value. This paper shows that the water production function, the concept with a sound theoretical foundation, is the basis for WP. Total WFP is the reciprocal of WP. The practical value of WP and WFP depends on the context of water use and stress. Maximizing WP, not a panacea to all water problems, mainly suits arid rainfed areas. In other regions, economic and marginal WP for increasing overall production should take precedence in water management and policy decisions.     

一维畦灌地表水流-土壤水动力学耦合模型Ⅰ：建模

畦灌地表水流-土壤水动力学耦合模型可从物理机制上综合模拟地面灌溉过程中地表水与土壤水系统之间的互动关系,为开展区域尺度地面灌溉系统性能评价提供了基础工具.利用二阶时空离散精度的混合数值解法求解一维全水动力学模型,建立了一维畦灌地表水流运动模型,并利用二阶时间离散精度有限差分法和构建的四阶空间离散精度有限体积法解算一维土壤水动力学模型.同时,以地表水和土壤水质量守恒方程交替迭代计算的地表水深收敛值为基础,利用动量守恒方程获得地表水流速场,实现了地表水-土壤水系统间的有效迭代耦合,构建起基于数值解法和迭代耦合模式同步改进的一维畦灌地表水流-土壤水动力学耦合模型.     

干旱区膜下滴灌定向排盐和盐分上移地表排模式研究

干旱农业区采用覆膜滴灌技术,在无覆膜的膜间裸露区内设置排盐浅沟,探讨不同灌水定额和不同排盐梯度条件下,覆膜滴灌土壤盐分定向运移和盐分上移地表排盐效果.研究结果表明,膜下滴灌定向排盐效果明显,滴头附近形成盐分淡化区域,排盐沟周边形成盐分集中区域.地表以下0~60cm平均土壤盐分普遍呈现膜下的盐分低于膜外,而膜外裸露区积盐作用显著的特点.灌溉用水量愈大,排盐作用愈强烈,相应的积盐数量也愈大.通过农田排盐沟灌水冲洗后的地表排水矿化度随时间呈减小趋势,排盐梯度最小的试验小区冲洗排盐量最大.总体来说,在排盐沟冲洗定额1515m3/hm2条件下,各小区总排盐量达到4521~6351kg/hm2,表明盐分上移地表排的脱盐效果显著.     

我国节水灌溉利益相关者关系分析

节水灌溉是一项涉及国家、地方、部门、个人之间利益全面调整的综合系统工程,也是一个涉及政府、主管部门、水管单位、用水户等多个利益主体的复杂多重博弈过程。运用马克思主义历史唯物观,分析了我国节水灌溉过程中机构、团体或个人之间的利益关系,从多元动态博弈的视角对节水灌溉利益相关者的博弈行为与博弈结果进行分析,论证了只有充分考虑各利益相关者的利益诉求,引导、激励和规范节水灌溉行为,用水户实施节水灌溉行为,政府、主管部门、水管单位和用水户才能同时获得最大收益,达到不同利益者共赢多赢的目的。