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Research
Report 11, 2006
Prospects
for productive use of saline water in West Asia and North
Africa. Stenhouse, J. and J. W.
Kijne |
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This study of the potential to use
saline water for irrigation in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and
Tunisia concludes that it is technically feasible but its
economic viability remains to be established. Expert opinion
suggests that saline irrigated agriculture is most likely to
succeed in the West Asia/North Africa region as a complement
to small-scale mixed livestock and cropping farming systems.
Precise quantification of the available saline water resources
is not possible because of the lack of hard data. As a result,
precise quantification of the likely impact of introducing
saline irrigated agriculture on poverty alleviation and food
security is also impossible, although anecdotal evidence
suggests that this would be positive. The report argues that
the environmental effects of saline irrigated agriculture –
both positive and negative – need to be integrated into
policies and decisions on the use of saline water. Uses other
than agricultural (for example, amenity uses, industrial,
landscaping, carbon sequestration or biomass production for
energy) also need to be considered, and may be more socially
and economically beneficial.
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Research
Report 10, 2006
Cities
Versus Agriculture: Revisiting Intersectoral Water Transfers,
Potential Gains and Conflicts. Molle, F.
and J. Berkoff |
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Water demand management, or making
better use of the water we have—as opposed to augmenting
supply—is increasingly proposed as a way of mitigating
water-scarcity problems. Moving water away from agriculture to
uses with higher economic value is one of the main measures
widely seen as desirable. Sectoral “allocation stress” is
often identified as resulting from four different
observations: a) agriculture gets the “lion’s share” of all
diverted water resources; b) agriculture is not only the main
water user but also an activity that incurs by far the largest
wastage; c) cities are “thirsty” ; and d) water productivity
in nonagricultural sectors is far higher than in agriculture.
This apparent misallocation is often attributed to the failure
of the government to allocate water rationally.
This report revisits this commonly-accepted wisdom and
examines the nature of urban water scarcity, the relative
importance of both physical and economic scarcity, and how
cities secure funds for the development of their water
infrastructure (or fail to do so).
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Research
Report 9, 2005
Historical
Transformations of the Lower Jordan River Basin: Changes
in Water Use and Projections (1950 – 2025).
Courcier, R., J.P. Venot and François
Molle |
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The Lower Jordan river basin
(LJRB), defined as a hydrological entity, is a region of prime
importance for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: this area
includes 83 percent of the total population of
Jordan, and most of the main industries in the country,
80 percent of irrigated agriculture, and receives 80 percent
of the national water resources. During the last 50 years,
because of a demographic boom and generalized economic
development, the Jordanian part of the LJRB has experienced an
intensive and rapid process of mobilization of its rare water
resources. This report presents a qualitative and quantitative
assessment of the history of water resources mobilization and
uses within the LJRB.
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Research
Report 8, 2005
Meta-Analysis
to Assess Impact of Watershed Program and People's
Participation
Joshi,
P.K., A.K. Jha, S.P. Wani, Laxmi Joshi and R.L.
Shiyani |
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The study assessed the performance
of watershed programs by employing meta analysis. Meta
analysis is a statistical procedure that integrates and
upscales numerous spatially and temporally distributed
combinable micro-level studies to distil logical macro-level
policy inferences. The inferences drawn, based on meta
analysis, are often more objective and authentic. Based on an
exhaustive review of 311 case studies on watershed programs in
India, the study attempted to document efficiency, equity and
sustainability benefits.
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Research
Report 7, 2005
Impacts
of Irrigation on Inland Fisheries: Appraisals in Laos and Sri
Lanka
Sophie
Nguyen-Khoa, Laurence Smith and Kai
Lorenzen |
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There is an increasing recognition
of the need for improved approaches for integrated water
resources management (IWRM). In many river basins
irrigation is the largest water use, and attention must be
paid to its socioeconomic and environmental impacts, and
to the potential for multiple-use of irrigation systems.
This requires improved approaches for the planning, impact
assessment and management of irrigation projects, and an
important component, the assessment and management of
impacts on inland fisheries.
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Research
Report 6, 2005
Macro
Policies and Investment Priorities for Irrigated Agriculture
in Vietnam
Randolph
Barker, Claudia Ringler, Nguyen Minh Tien and Mark Rosegrant
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This report discusses the
experience of the recent past and future prospects of the
agriculture sector. We examine the trends and changes in
agricultural taxation and expenditures noting the constraints
to agricultural growth related to policies in the
nonagriculture as well as the agriculture sector. We focus, in
particular, on irrigation, which has accounted for over half
of agricultural expenditure over the past decade and which has
been a major contributor to both rapid growth in exports and
agricultural employment.
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Research Report 5,
2004
Evolution of Irrigation in South and Southeast
Asia
Randolph Barker and François Molle |
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In what some may regard as an overly ambitious exercise, we
have chosen in this report to present some salient aspects of
the evolution of Asian irrigation. Our objective is to
identify the major factors that have influenced irrigation
development, to focus on the current issues, and to suggest
what this implies for the future development of irrigation and
for the steps needed to promote this development.
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Research Report 4, 2004
Does International
Cereal Trade Save Water? The Impact of Virtual Water Trade on
Global Water Use
Charlotte de Fraiture, Ximing Cai,
Upali Amarasinghe, Mark Rosegrant, and David
Molden |
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Virtual water refers to the volume of water used to produce
agricultural commodities. When these commodities enter the
world market, trade in virtual water takes place. This report
argues that the role of virtual water trade in global water
use is modest, since most trade takes place, and will continue
to take place, between water abundant countries.
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Research Report 3, 2004
Water Management in
the Yellow River Basin: Background, Current Critical Issues
and Future Research Needs
Mark Giordano, Zhongping
Zhu, Ximing CAI, Shangqi Hong, Xuecheng Zhang and Yunpeng
Xue. |
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Because of the role of the Yellow River basin in China's
overall economy, the success of its water managers in
addressing new issues will have implications for the entire
country. At the same time, China's experience can provide
lessons for other parts of the world facing similar challenges
and change.
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Research Report 2, 2004
Taking into Account
Environmental Water Requirements in Global-scale Water
Resources Assessments
Vladimir Smakhtin, Carmen
Revenga and Petra Döll |
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Assessments of water availability, water use and water
stress at the global scale have not explicitly considered
requirements of aquatic ecosystems for water. This report
summarizes results of the first pilot global assessment of the
total volume of water required for the maintenance of
freshwater ecosystem functions in world river basins. These
volumes are referred to as Environmental Water Requirements.
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Research Report 1, 2003
Integrated Land and
Water Management for Food and Environmental
Security
F.W.T. Penning de Vries, H. Acquay, D.
Molden, S.J. Scherr, C. Valentin and O.
Cofie |
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This document focuses on the impact of degradation of land
and water on food and environmental security. It aims to
provide a basis for priority policy and research actions that
will counteract the progression of degradation and will reduce
its impact on household food security and the loss of other
ecosystem services.
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