Journal Articles

This article discusses ways in which the South African Government and grassroots organizations envisage and implement democracy achieved since 1994 in the eld of water resources management. The focus is on the democratic, political and economic freedom and equality in resource rights for poor black women, who are central to poverty eradication. While the new water policy and law provide an enabling framework for achieving these goals, implementation on the ground encounters both new opportunities and constraints. This is illustrated by several cases of establishing South Africa’s new water management institutions: catchment management agencies and water user associations. The important nexus between state-led democratization of water resources management and bottom-up grassroots movements is also discussed. The article concludes that the Government’s af rmative and targeted intervention is indispensable for redressing gender inequalities and eradicating poverty.

Roof water harvesting is being widely promoted as a panacea for the growing drinking water crisis in India and many underdeveloped and developing countries. This article analyzes the scope, physical feasibility, and economic viability of roof water harvesting systems across classes and under different physical and socioeconomic situations. This article argues that roof water harvesting systems (RWHS) are not alternative to public systems in urban and rural areas of regions receiving low rainfall. Hydrological opportunities for RWHS are very poor in urban and rural areas. The systems offer very little scope in ensuring domestic water security for urban housing stocks of low- and middle-income groups. At the same time, they offer tremendous potential for independent bungalows having large roof area. However, their physical feasibility is very poor in urban areas. Their economic viability as a supplementary source of domestic water supply seems to be poor in urban areas, when compared to augmenting the supplies from the existing public systems. The incredibly low rates charged for domestic supplies by urban water utilities and government subsidies for RWHS would only lead to the urban elite increasing their access to water supplies, while the burden on water utilities would remain unchanged. This will lead to greater inequities in access to water supplies. At the same time, in rural areas with dispersed populations and hilly areas, RWHS may be economically viable as a supplementary source to already existing public water supply schemes. But as its impacts are not likely to be uniform across classes, government subsidies are not desirable. In hilly regions receiving high rainfalls, government investment for community water supply schemes could be replaced by heavy subsidies for installation of RWHS.

When considering water management, formal institutions tend to overshadow the local informal ones although the latter guide day-to-day interactions on water use. Conversely, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has demonstrated a bias toward the formal state-based institutions for water management. A study was carried out to examine how local water rights and local informal institutional arrangements influence water management in the Great Ruaha River catchment in the Rufiji basin in Tanzania. Participatory appraisals were carried out, supplemented by focus group discussions, interviews, and a stakeholders workshop. It was found that local water rights, local water rotations and local water user groups are widely in use and are more influential than the formal water rights, water fees and water user associations (WUAs). Water allocation at the driest period depends on local informal relations among irrigators. More than 70% of water users surveyed choose to settle disputes over water via informal channels and the latter are more effective in resolving water conflicts and reconciling the antagonists compared to the formal routes. It was also found that although much emphasis and many resources have been expended in transforming local water rights and water related organisations to formal registered ones, the former have remained popular and water users feel more affiliated to local arrangements. The paper concludes that local informal water management can offer the best lessons for the formal management arrangements and should not be simply overlooked. Finally, the paper recommends that the formal and informal institutions should be amalgamated to bring forth a real Integrated Water Resource Management framework.

Upstream-downstream water conflicts are common phenomenon in most basins. Such conflicts take a different dimension when they occur during dry season with an already low level of river flows. This context aggravates the spatial externalities on downstream communities and water-dependent ecosystems, causing serious socioeconomic and ecological effects. Utilizing an analytical framework to capture the causes and consequences of the spatial nature of these externalities and relying on both primary and secondary data pertaining to the Upper Ewaso Ngiro North basin in Kenya, this paper (1) shows how these externalities are caused more by upstream land and water use changes than by any climatic and hydrological factors, (2) evaluates the nature and magnitude of their impacts on different downstream community groups, (3) assesses the extent and success of past policy responses and local initiatives, and (4) concludes by indicating the needed approach and interventions for finding a durable solution to the problem of upstream-downstream water conflicts and externalities.

Many small estuaries and coastal lagoons in different parts of the world may be classified as temporarily closed/open ecosystems. They are blocked off from the sea for varying lengths of time by a sand bar, which forms at the estuarine mouth. The lengths of the closed and open phases, which are determined primarily by the interaction of river inflow and the sea in the mouth region, affect the structure and functioning of the estuarine biotic community. Freshwater inflow to such estuaries is normally not measured, and observations on the duration of estuarine mouth openings/closures are very scarce. As a result, relevant management decisions are often made on the basis of general experience and intuitive judgment. This paper describes an innovative approach for linking hydrologic data to mouth state in ungauged estuaries. A key characteristic in the method is the stream/river flow duration curve. It is first established for a daily index, which reflects the upstream catchment wetness and is calculated using rainfall information from the nearest rain gauge(s). This duration curve is then used to convert the current precipitation index time series into a continuous daily inflow time series at the ungauged estuarine mouth location. The conversion is based on the assumption that precipitation index values in a small catchment, and daily inflows to the estuarine mouth correspond to similar probabilities on their respective duration curves. The paper further illustrates how the generated inflow data could be used for the simulation of a continuous time series of estuary mouth openings/closures. Inflows are routed through a reservoir model, and the estuary mouth is considered open on days when the spillage from an estuarine “reservoir” occurs. The approach is illustrated using limited observed data on estuary mouth conditions from the South African coastline.

Drip irrigation, in its various forms, is the dominant mode of micro-irrigation in India. The benefits of these technologies in water scarce regions have been widely studied all over the world. A review of literature on drip-irrigation technologies strongly suggests that there are significant financial, economic and social benefits in the adoption of these technolgoies. In the Maikaal region of Central India, a grassroots innovation called apos;Pepseeapos; has become a popular choice for farmers. At less than half the cost of conventional drip systems, this innovation promises comparable returns. What is most interesting is that while government and non-government agencies have struggled to promote water-saving technologies across the country, the people in this area have adapted and adopted these technologies on their own. This paper looks at the various aspects of this grassroots innovation, its spread, adoption behavior and impacts. The authors find that while Pepsee and other water-saving technolgoies do lead to farm level improvements in water efficiency, they will not contribute to system level apos;realapos; water saving unless a favorable policy environment encourages their adoptin on a large scale.

The chemical characteristics of two soil types, an Alfisol and an Ultisol, were studied in the humid tropical zone of southern Nigeria. The objective was to investigate the contribution of soil organic matter (SOM) to nutrient retention characteristics and identify those SOM pools that contribute most to the ion exchange properties of the soils. Ion exchange studies involving K-Ca and Mg-Ca systems in whole soil, organic fraction (53-250 mm) and clay fraction (lt;2 mm ) showed a preference for Ca relative to K in the soil and organic fraction. For the clay fraction in Alfisol, the isotherm in K-Ca system suggested a preference for K at low K saturation, but from about 50% K saturation, the isotherm inferred a preference for Ca. However, the overall selectivity at constant temperature and pressure as expressed by Gibb’s free energy change suggested a stronger binding of K than Ca by the fraction.

Editorial

Wastewater reuse is particularly critical in arid and semi-arid countries. Although unregulated irrigation with wastewater does persist in some countries of this region, especially nearer smaller urban centers, the trend is towards regulated reuse of treated wastewater – as far as available capital resources allow.

Exploiting the nutrient and water value in wastewater through agriculture and aquaculture may also help limit uncontained pollution that results from unregulated disposal of wastewater in surface water bodies. Treatment processes form an important part of wastewater reuse strategies, alongside other measures to protect health, but a concerted effort to promote capacity at all levels is required to enable the benefits of wastewater reuse to be realized.

Establishing water rights is an appealing measure, which conveys a sense of orderliness and rationality that contrasts with a situation of assumed wastage, environmental degradation and conflicts. Transferable entitlements increase economic efficiency, while providing a compensation mechanism. The paper distinguishes between formal rights defined through a bureaucratic process and flexible allocation rules designed through a gradual and continuous process of negotiation. It investigates the prerequisites, advantages and drawbacks of these two kinds of water rights, and examines how they apply to the specific natural and historical conditions of Sri Lanka. It concludes by showing that policy models must be tailored to the local situation and be based on what is feasible rather than on what is considered desirable

A nationwide assessment in Pakistan showed that the direct use of untreated wastewater for agriculture, particularly vegetable production, was common in most cities. The main reasons for this use were the absence of alternative water sources, the reliability of the wastewater supply, the nutrient value and the proximity to urban markets. It was estimated that 26% of the total domestic vegetable production of Pakistan was cultivated with wastewater. The importance of the wastewater was reflected in high water and land fees. Policy makers have to take the importance for local livelihoods and food security into account when making decisions regarding direct wastewater use

Although the water supply and sanitation sector of the state of Karnataka in India has made significant progress in terms of area coverage and, to some extent, meeting consumption targets, two tasks, i.e. fulfilling the unmet backlog demand and meeting the water needs of future population, continue to remain as its major challenges. Based on an analysis of the data and information pertaining to the sector during 1999–2001, this paper aims to assess the financial capacity and reform commitment of the state to meet these sectoral challenges successfully. Towards this end, this paper (a) describes the current status and recent performance of the sector, (b) reviews the financial health of the sector including an estimation of the magnitude of budgetary subsidy, (c) discusses the causes for and consequences of subsidy growth; (d) identifies the issues and strategies for sectoral reforms including an evaluation of some recent reform initiatives and (e) concludes by highlighting the major implications for sectoral policy in the state in particular and India and other developing countries in general.

Recent attempts to modernise irrigation tanks with a focus on physical rehabilitation, but little institutional development to maintain and manage them, have resulted in a vicious cycle. With the lack of maintenance and upkeep, rehabilitated tanks soon fall into disrepair, necessitating a new round of externally-induced rehabilitation. Yet, there are many tanks under traditional local management operating at a high level of performance equilibrium. A study of 41 tanks from 22 districts of eight Indian states was taken up under the IWMI-Tata Programme to identify the characteristics of high performing local- managed tank institutions. The lessons learnt from the study can form the basis for an effective institutional protocol that can enhance the effectiveness of tank rehabilitation and modernization.

North Gujarat is naturally endowed with one of the richest alluvial aquifers of India but its uncontrolled exploitation for irrigation has resulted in many undesirable consequences. A major hydrological opportunity for rejuvenation of the aquifer system is provided by the availability of unutilized flows from Narmada basin. It is proposed to divert this water to north Gujarat through the Narmada main canal, and use the existing canal networks and village ponds and tanks in the region to activate a decentralized recharge process. This paper examines its physical and economic feasibility. An evaluation of two recharge scenarios in north Gujarat shows that using pumped water for recharging outside the designated command area may prove to be an uneconomical proposition, unless there is substantial increase in the productivity of water. Recharge within the command would be much more economical.

Few large irrigation projects in India have been as elaborately planned as the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), incorporating as it did the lessons of decades of irrigation project design and management. The project was to blaze a new trail in farmer-participatory irrigation project design and management with water user associations building their own distribution systems. However, as it unfolds, the institutional reality of the project is vastly different from its plans. If SSP is to chart a different course from scores of earlier large irrigation projects, it must invent and put into place new rules of the irrigation management game.

A study carried out in four villages in Banaskantha district of Gujarat estimated that 60 per cent of the net farm output generated through groundwater use in agriculture came from dairying. Tubewell irrigation supports three-quarters of the farming household income in these villages and, strangely, this share is larger for water buyers and farm labourers than for tubewell owners. This is despite the fact that tubewell irrigation costs have soared rapidly with depleting water tables. Despite the high costs and depleting water tables, irrigated areas have increased steadily, making livelihoods even more precariously dependent upon sustainable groundwater management.

During the past 50 years, Gujarat has led India’s exemplary growth in dairy production by forging the world’s best known cooperative movement. Thanks to the market access and production enhancement programmes run by cooperatives, dairying has emerged at the centre stage of rural livelihoods systems in arid and semi-arid regions. However, intensification of dairying has been accompanied by intensive use of water used in growing feed and fodder. This study estimates that dairying-based rural livelihoods systems are now threatening the limited water resources of arid and semi-arid areas, and their future in turn is threatened by the depletion of these resources. The paper analyses virtual water exports and imports by some of the leading dairy cooperatives of Gujarat.

The key hypothesis of policy-makers during the 1980s was that raising tubewell density would trigger agrarian upsurge in Bihar as it did in Punjab, Haryana and western UP. The state did record high growth rates of cereal yields during the 1980s, higher than the national figures. However, this promising development could not be sustained in the 1990s, and cereal yields have stagnated since then. Based on fieldwork in eight villages of Bihar, the paper argues that, more than agrarian structure, the lack of adequate infrastructure and economic incentives has contributed to the agrarian stagnation in Bihar. The growth potential unleashed by the expansion of shallow tubewell irrigation has been constrained by (a) complete neglect of public sector investments in physical and institutional infrastructure and (b) unfavorable output to factor price ratios.

Watershed development programmes while exhibiting significant impacts in terms of Increased crop production and productivity, appear to have accentuated the inter- household inequities, by ignoring or sometimes negatively affecting landless and livestock, especially small-ruminant, owning households. Enhancing the production potential of a watershed for sustainable livestock production, would contribute to livelihood- and equity-enhancing impacts of the programmes. Appropriate policy and investment decisions are crucial to making this plausible.

Synthesising the lessons of a two year collaborative research programme by researchers and NGOs, this paper suggests that improved water control strategies, designed after taking contextual factors of resource conditions and socio-ecology into consideration, have a high potential for redressing the livelihood problems of India’s most neglected people besides also leading to sustained and salutary impacts on wider human development indicators for this region. While other development interventions are also important and necessary, public investments in assuring improved irrigation water control can act to kick-start the tribal economy in the region.

India’s water sector is crying for institutional and policy reforms. Its public irrigation systems are performing far below par. As a direct consequence, farmers are turning to groundwater for their irrigation needs. Booming groundwater irrigation has become the mainstay of Indian farming but it has also all but wrecked the country’s power economy because of perverse policies of pricing of electricity for agriculture. Yet, there is no firm strategy of dealing with these and other challenges. Other south Asian countries are in much the same boat. Based on two spells of fieldwork in six provinces of north China, this article shows that, facing much the same problems as its south Asian neighbours, China is responding differently to its water problems. This is by no means a suggestion that the approaches China is trying out would work in India – or even in China itself. However, by including China’s experience in its discussions, Indian policy-makers will clearly have a wider repertoire of institutional alternatives with which to experiment.

Application of water productivity analysis can provide clues in the search for solutions to solve water management problems of central Asia. It is in this context that this paper provides an analysis of water productivity both spatially and temporally in the cotton and rice production areas of Syr Darya Basin of central Asia. The spatial analysis includes different farm types and basin segments, and the temporal analysis includes 3 hydrological years during 1999–2001. The analysis of temporal data showed that in water-deficient years, water productivity, both in terms of supply and evapotranspiration, is higher than the same in water-abundant years. The data also show that type and size of farms have an impact on water productivity in the case of both cotton and rice. This study concludes by suggesting strategies and options for enhancing the average water productivity both in the cotton- and rice-growing areas of the Syr Darya Basin.

Irrigation has long played a key role in feeding the expanding world population and is expected to play a still greater role in the future.As supplies of good-quality irrigation water are expected to decrease in several regions due to increased municipal–industrial–agricultural competition, available freshwater supplies need to be used more efficiently.In addition, reliance on the use and reuse of saline andyor sodic drainage waters, generated by irrigated agriculture, seems inevitable for irrigation.The same applies to salt-affected soils, which occupy more than 20% of the irrigated lands, and warrant attention for efficient, inexpensive and environmentally acceptable management. Technologically and from a management perspective, a couple of strategies have shown the potential to improve crop production under irrigated agriculture while minimizing the adverse environmental impacts.The first strategy, vegetative bioremediation—a plant-assisted reclamation approach—relies on growing appropriate plant species that can tolerate ambient soil salinity and sodicity levels during reclamation of salt-affected soils.A variety of plant species of agricultural significance have been found to be effective in sustainable reclamation of calcareous and moderately sodic and saline-sodic soils.The second strategy fosters dedicating soils to crop production systems where saline andyor sodic waters predominate and their disposal options are limited.Pr oduction systems based on salttolerant plant species using drainage waters may be sustainable with the potential of transforming such waters from an environmental burden into an economic asset.Such a strategy would encourage the disposal of drainage waters within the irrigated regions where they are generated rather than exporting these waters to other regions via discharge into main irrigation canals, local streams, or rivers.Being economically and environmentally sustainable, these strategies could be the key to future agricultural and economic growth and social wealth in regions where saltaffected soils exist andyor where saline-sodic drainage waters are generated.

The Pakistani Punjab experienced several devastating malaria epidemics during the twentieth century. Since the 1980s, however, malaria has been at a low ebb, while in other areas of Pakistan and neighbouring India malaria is on the increase. This raises the question of whether transmission in the Pakistani Punjab may have been in uenced by a change in vector species abundance or composition, possibly induced by environmental changes. To investigate this question, routinely-collected government entomological data for the period 1970 to 1999 for the district of Bahawalnagar, in the Indus Basin irrigation system in the southern Punjab, was analysed. Our ndings suggest that Anopheles stephensi has increased in prevalence and became more common than A. culicifacies during the 1980s. This shift in species dominance may be due to the large-scale ecological changes that have taken place in the Punjab, where irrigation-induced waterlogging of soil with related salinization has created an environment favourable for the more salt-tolerant A. stephensi. Some biotypes of A. stephensi are suspected of being less ef cient vectors and, therefore, the shift in species dominance might have played a role in the reduced transmission in the Punjab, although further research is needed to investigate the effect of other transmission-in uencing factors.

The paper presents results of a field experiment designed to investigate the potential use of forage legume Stylosanthes hamata (stylo) to ameliorate the structure of a compact layer in sandy soils of Northeast Thailand. Sandy and acidic soils that are common to Northeast Thailand have restricted agronomic potential due to inherent chemical and physical properties. A compact layer at 20–40 cm reduces root elongation for most crops, thereby restricting the quantity of nutrients and water available for the plant growth. Deep ploughing and subsoiling are costly and have not been shown to be effective in overcoming compaction since these soils are unstable and collapse after the first heavy rainfall event. A three-year study was conducted in order to evaluate the effect of continuous stylo on the porosity of the compact layer and its influence on root elongation and yield of a subsequent maize crop. Continuous stylo was grown for two years in experimental plots and compared to a currently used stylo-maize rotation. Root distribution and macropore density were measured under the two cropping systems. After 24 months of continuous stylo, roots were able to penetrate the compact layer, resulting in a significant improvement in the macroporosity of this layer. The subsequent maize crop developed a deeper andmore extensive root system using macropores created after 24 months of continuous stylo when compared to the stylo-maize rotation treatment. This study demonstrates the potential role of Stylosanthes hamata in structural amelioration of sandy compact layers.

Also published in IWMI South East Asia, KU – IWMI Seminar on Scientific Cooperation, Kamphol Adulavidhaya Conference Room, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand, 26 March 2003. pp.103-110