Suchergebnisse

In McCornick, P. G.; Kamara, A. B.; Tadesse, G. (Eds). Integrated water and land management research and capacity building priorities for Ethiopia: proceedings of a MoWR/EARO/IWMI/ILRI International Workshop held at ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2-4 December 2002. Nairobi, Kenya: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI); Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Ethiopian Ministry of Water Resources; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization ; This paper presents an overview and synthesis of the key research and capacity building issues arising from the workshop presentations and the papers. Three days of intensive deliberations by professionals from various research, development and governmental organizations, and of diverse disciplines, backgrounds and nationalities have clearly acknowledged that water management issues remain very crucial for poverty alleviation and rural development in Ethiopia ? the overwhelming proportion of the population depends on smallholder agricultural production, which is highly constrained by water availability (absence of perennial rivers, high spatial and temporal availability of rainfall, etc.). This situation, over the years, has generated a critical need for efficient water and land management to reduce production risks and hazards, and enhance stable agricultural and livestock production. Recent decades have witnessed various efforts in the area of irrigation and supplementary irrigation (and other development initiatives), employing various water harvesting technologies, construction of micro dams, diversions structures, etc., which were largely combined with traditional yield-enhancing methods to facilitate sustainable smallholder agricultural production. ; Most of these efforts did not only fall short of their desired objectives of improving smallholder production conditions but also generated a host of other problems which aggravated smallholder production conditions: the large scale irrigation schemes (e.g. Awash Basin and elsewhere) resulted in secondary soil salinization where large tracts of land have gone out of production; the spontaneous construction of micro-dams across the country (especially in Tigray) is associated with human and livestock health hazards that in some cases has resulted into abandonment of the dams; the production potential of extensive watersheds remain largely unexploited or inappropriately utilized, resulting in extensive degradation of fragile lands, and so on. The potential for effectively integrating crops and livestock management in the context of growing water in complementary crop-livestock systems remains largely unexploited, especially from the perspective of efficient water and land utilization. The limited success of most of the technologies in Ethiopia calls attention to a dire need for research and capacity building to understand the complex issues of water and land management, so as to enhance national and local capacity to deal with water and land management issues to enhance food security, poverty alleviation and national economic development.

In Annex 1, Expert Group Seminar ?Working Together to Respond to Climate Change.? OECD Global Forum on Sustainable Development, Paris, France, 27-28 March 2006

In National Workshop on National River Linking Project of India: Analysis of Hydrological, Social and Ecological Issues, Delhi, India, 9-10 October 2007

This work was carried out with the aid of grants from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada and from the Global Mechanism (GM) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). ; The workshop emerged from a joint mission of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to Ethiopia in February–March 2002, at the invitation and enthusiastic support of various Ethiopian government ministries and other institutions for developing long-term collaborative research and capacity building in integrated water and land resources management. The workshop brought together about 80 professionals, both researchers and practitioners drawn from a wide range of institutions in Ethiopia, in addition to the international participants. Twenty-five papers were presented and discussions conducted on land and water management research. Well-targeted and good quality research is essential to develop Ethiopia's natural resources and to reduce poverty and promote development. A range of important research issues were identified, which will be useful for guiding future research projects in Ethiopia. These research issues need further prioritising. Carrying out the research will require co-operation among Ethiopian research institutions and partnerships with federal ministries and regional governments, and can be strengthened through partnerships with international institutions. They can facilitate collaborative research among the countries sharing the Nile and other river basins, and exchange of experiences with other regions and basins. The workshop made it clear that there is considerable research and development capacity in Ethiopia. However, this capacity is fragmented among diverse institutions. Integrated water and land management research must be interdisciplinary, including the social, physical and biological sciences. The human, institutional and financial resources for carrying out research are well short of the level required to meet the needs of the country.

Across Africa and Asia water resources are being affected by a complex mixture of social, economic, and environmental factors. These include climate change and population growth, food prices,oil prices, financial disruptions, and political fluctuations. The need to produce more food will have one of the largest impacts on water and will continue to re-shape the patterns of agricultural water use in major food-growing regions.With this increasing demand on water for agriculture, from large-scale irrigation to intensification of rainfed systems, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that water resources decision-making has access to information that captures the spectrum of water uses, across seasons, and over time. Furthermore, the major sectors that place demands on water and otherwise affect the resource need water-related information to inform their decisions. In this paper we consider two cases where the range of agricultural water management uses have been examined. We examine the methodologies and approaches used, the utility of this information to decision-making in the water and agricultural sectors, and the limitations of the information gathered.

Hydropower development in the Lower Mekong Basin is occurring at a rapid pace. With partial funding from international financial institutions has come pressure on the riparian governments to ensure that the potential environmental and social impacts of hydropower projects are properly considered. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one of the primary environmental management tools being proposed to fulfill these obligations. This article highlights some of the challenges that are inherent in applying EIA in the Mekong context through critical analysis of both its conceptual and institutional aspects. The main argument of the article is that while EIA application indicates a certain degree of environmental consideration, it is not necessarily sufficient to ensure good environmental practices. Lending institutions such as the World Bank have identified lack of implementation capacity as the biggest constraint to effective EIAs. Focusing on Laos, we show how EIA application should be equipped with necessary institutional arrangements and a transparent public participation process. This will ultimately require a shift within the region to allow environmental and social issues to be given significant weight.

Waterlogging and salinization are major impediment to the sustainability of irrigated lands and livelihoods of the farmers, especially the smallholders, in the affected areas of the Indus Basin. These problems are the result of a multitude of factors, including seepage from unlined earthen canals system, inadequate provision of surface and subsurface drainage, poor water management practices, insufficient water supplies and use of poor quality groundwater for irrigation. About 6.3 million ha are affected by different levels and types of salinity, out of which nearly half are under irrigated agriculture. Since the early 1960s, several efforts have been made to improve the management of salt-affected and waterlogged soils. These include lowering groundwater levels through deep tubewells, leaching of salts by excess irrigation, application of chemical amendments (e.g. gypsum, acids, organic matter), and the use of biological and physical methods. However, in spite of huge investments, the results have in general been disappointing and the problems of waterlogging and salinity persist. This paper reviews sources, causes and extent of salinity and waterlogging problems in the Indus Basin. Measures taken to overcome these problems over the last four decades are also discussed. The results reveal that the installed drainage systems were initially successful in lowering groundwater table and reducing salinity in affected areas. However, poor operation and maintenance of these systems and provision of inadequate facilities for the disposal of saline drainage effluent resulted in limited overall success. The paper suggests that to ensure the sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the Indus Basin, technical and financial support is needed and enhanced institutional arrangements including coordination among different federal and provincial government agencies to resolve inter-provincial water allocation and water related issues is required.

The impact of climate change (CC) on water resources is likely to affect agricultural systems and food security. This is especially true for Nepal, a least developed country, where a high percentage of the population is dependent on agriculture for its livelihoods. It is thus crucial for Nepal?s leaders and resource managers to draft and begin implementing national adaptation plans. This working paper aims to create a more comprehensive understanding of how the impacts of CC will be realized at different scales in Nepal, from household livelihoods to national food security, and the many institutions governing the ultimate adaptation process.

In countries with transitional economies such as those found in South Asia, large-scale irrigation systems (LSIS) with a history of public ownership account for about 115 million ha (Mha) or approximately 45% of their total area under irrigation. In terms of the global area of irrigation (320 Mha) for all countries, LSIS are estimated at 130 Mha or 40% of irrigated land. These systems can potentially deliver significant local, regional and global benefits in terms of food, water and energy security, employment, economic growth and ecosystem services. For example, primary crop production is conservatively valued at about US$355 billion. However, efforts to enhance these benefits and reform the sector have been costly and outcomes have been underwhelming and short-lived. We propose the application of a 'theory of change' (ToC) as a foundation for promoting transformational change in large-scale irrigation centred upon a 'global irrigation compact' that promotes new forms of leadership, partnership and ownership (LPO). The compact argues that LSIS can change by switching away from the current channelling of aid finances controlled by government irrigation agencies. Instead it is for irrigators, closely partnered by private, public and NGO advisory and regulatory services, to develop strong leadership models and to find new compensatory partnerships with cities and other river basin neighbours. The paper summarises key assumptions for change in the LSIS sector including the need to initially test this change via a handful of volunteer systems. Our other key purpose is to demonstrate a ToC template by which large-scale irrigation policy can be better elaborated and discussed.