scholarly journals Climate change and reservoir sedimentation implications for irrigated agriculture in the Indus Basin Irrigation System in Pakistan

2021 ◽  
pp. 126967
Author(s):  
Mobin-ud-Din Ahmad ◽  
Jorge L. Peña-Arancibia ◽  
Yingying Yu ◽  
Joel P. Stewart ◽  
Geoff M. Podger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Reservoir Sedimentation ◽  
Basin Irrigation

scholarly journals Addressing Climate Change Risks Influencing Cryosphere-Fed Kuhl Irrigation System in the Upper Indus Basin of Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-203
Author(s):  
Arshad Ashraf ◽  
Ghani Akbar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Snow Avalanche ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Upper Indus Basin

Cryosphere-fed kuhl irrigation system forms a major lifeline for agriculture and livelihood development in the Himalayan region. The system is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts like glacier retreat, glacial lake outburst floods, snow avalanches and landslides especially in the upper Indus Basin (UIB). It is necessary to conduct reassessment of climate change impacts and find coping strategies for sustainable agriculture development in this mountainous region. In the present study, risks of glacier depletion , lakes outburst flood, snow avalanche and landslide hazards impacting cryosphere-fed kuhl irrigation system in 10 river basins of the UIB of Pakistan were analyzed using multi-hazard indexing approach. High risk of glacier depletion was observed in the Astore and Swat river basins likely because of the combined effect of reduced snow precipitation and rising warm temperatures in these basins. The risk of expansion in aggregate lake area was high in the Indus sub-basin, moderate in the five basins (i.e., Hunza, Shigar, Shyok, Shingo and Astore), while it was low in the four basins (i.e., Swat, Chitral, Gilgit and Jhelum). More than 2% areas of Hunza and Shigar basins in the Karakoram range exhibited high risk of snow avalanche and landslide (SAL) hazard, while moderate SAL hazard was found in >40% areas of Chitral, Gilgit, Hunza and Shigar river basins. An effective early warning mechanism and provision of adequate resources for preparedness are essential to cope with negative impacts of climate change on irrigated agriculture in this region in future.

scholarly journals Managing Water Resources for Environmentally Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture in Pakistan

1996 ◽  
Vol 35 (4II) ◽  
pp. 977-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Afzal
Keyword(s):  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Global Movement ◽  
Basin Irrigation ◽  
To Come

Pakistan’s agriculture is almost wholly dependent on irrigation and irrigated land supplies more than 90 percent of agricultural production. Irrigation is central to Pakistan’s economy. Massive investments in irrigation contributed to the development of one of the largest Indus Basin Irrigation System. Despite heavy budgetary inputs in irrigation system, it is facing shortage of resources and suffering from operational problems. The sustainability of irrigated agriculture is threatened due to problems of waterlogging and salinity, inadequate operation and maintenance, insufficient recovery of O&M expenditure, inequitable distribution, environmental degradation, institutional issues etc. The growing scarcity of water sets the future stage for intensive competition over water between agriculture and non-agricultural users. The growing need for food and fibre requirements of increasing population further limits the per capita availability of water. Due to the limited prospects for expanding irrigation facilities, the projected increase in irrigated agriculture will have to come from significant improvement in the performance of existing systems. Policy-makers and planners are of the view that Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture requires new strategies to enhance input efficiency and maintain and improve the quality of the resource base and to get the irrigation system out of crises. There is a global movement for searching a new type of relationship between the managers of irrigated agriculture and farmers. Such options are being considered by government at various levels to put the system on sustainable development path. In addressing the environmentally sustainable water resource management in Pakistan, the paper makes an attempt to provide an over-view of water resource issues and options.

scholarly journals IoT Enabled Analysis of Irrigation Rosters in the Indus Basin Irrigation System

2016 ◽  
Vol 154 ◽  
pp. 229-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abubakr Muhammad ◽  
Bilal Haider ◽  
Zahoor Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation System ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Basin Irrigation

Impacts of Climate Change on Groundwater Recharge & Discharge in Water Scarce Region: A Case Study of the Ubar/ Shisr Agricultural Region of Oman.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaba Boluwade ◽  
Asma Al-Mamani ◽  
Amna Alruheili ◽  
Ali Al-Maktoumi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Groundwater Recharge ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Agricultural Region ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

<p> </p><p>*Correspondence: [email protected]</p><p><strong>Abstract: </strong>The primary objective of this study was to quantify the impacts of climate change on groundwater recharge using the 3D numerical-based HydroGeoSphere (HGS) model in the Ubar/ Shisr Agricultural region in South of Oman. This region has multi-million US dollar irrigated agriculture project purposely developed for the food security of the country. Excessive abstraction of groundwater for irrigation use (using the center pivot irrigation system) has contributed to the “drying-up” of several groundwater wells located in this area. Therefore, there is an urgent need to characterize the long-term sustainability of this agricultural project under a changing climate. HGS model was calibrated on both steady and transient states using selected monitoring wells located within the study area (approximately 980-km<sup>2</sup>). The coefficient of determination (R<sup>2</sup>) for the steady-state performance was 0.93 while the transient state performances correctly reproduced the seasonality for each monitoring well. A transient-based calibrated version of the HGS model, using 30-year historical observations (1980-2018) was termed “Reference” while model configurations were developed for the immediate climatic projection (period: 2020 – 2039) based on two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP): - RPC4.5 and RCP8.5 extracted from the World Bank Knowledge portal. These two configured models (scenarios) were evaluated for monthly transient simulations (2020-2039). From the total hydraulic head (THH) fluctuations standpoint, there were reductions when compared with “Reference” for all the scenarios with up to 20% THH reductions for groundwater well levels under persistent seasonal agricultural activities. This study is very important in quantifying the trade-offs and synergies involved between sustainable water management and food security initiatives, especially for an arid climate.</p><p>Keywords: groundwater recharge; climate change, hydrogeologic modeling; Sultanate of Oman</p>

Challenge and response in the Indus Basin

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (S1) ◽  
pp. 58-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madison Condon ◽  
Don Kriens ◽  
Anjali Lohani ◽  
Erum Sattar
Keyword(s):  
River Flow ◽  
Environmental Flows ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
River System ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
History Of ◽  
Basin Irrigation ◽  
Indus Waters Treaty ◽  
Institutional Architecture

The authors examine the complex history of the development of the Indus Basin and the challenges faced by Pakistan during the evolution of the Indus Basin Irrigation System and the country's responses to date. The Indus river system must meet the multiple needs of agriculture, energy and flood security. Pakistan's constitutional structure, in which the federation shares overall responsibility for the operation of the Indus with the provinces, poses unique management and implementation challenges. What are the institutional arrangements Pakistan needs to address the challenges to the Indus Waters Treaty it signed with India in 1960? How is the country going to regulate the use of over-abstraction in the basin with the increased reliance on groundwater to maintain agricultural productivity? What are the institutional mechanisms in place to manage increased river flow variations from glacial melt as a result of climate change and for coping with devastating floods? At the same time, is the country maintaining adequate environmental flows to its delta? Provincial mistrust and a lack of institutional capacity underpins the history of the Indus in Pakistan with the Interprovincial Water Accord 1991 serving as a ray of hope on which to build a new institutional architecture of cooperation.

scholarly journals Pakistan: Indus Basin Water Strategy – Past, Present and Future

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (Special Edition) ◽  
pp. 187-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahid Amjad Chaudhry
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation System ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Salinity Control ◽  
Irrigation Water Use ◽  
Indus Delta ◽  
Basin Water ◽  
Basin Irrigation ◽  
Water Strategy

This paper looks at the Indus Basin Water Strategy for Pakistan. It begins with a historical overview of the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS), the Indus Basin Replacement Works (1960-1980) and the Indus Basin Salinity Control Efforts (1960-2000). The paper then looks at the IBIS irrigation and salinity control investments that have taken place over the last decade (2000-2010). The paper goes on to look at the present situation of the IBIS as well as discuss an IBIS strategy for the next decade. Finally, the paper discusses supply side and demand management strategies for IBIS. Overall, the paper concludes that Pakistan should focus on (1) Creating Additional Surface Storage, (2) Preserving surface water (particularly through lining canals), (3) Controlling Groundwater and controlling salinity (by discouraging excessive tube-well use), (4) Encouraging general efficiency of irrigation water use (through improved land management techniques), (5) Enhancing yields through improved farming practices, and (6) Fully meeting the environmental concerns of the Indus Delta, river systems and wetlands.

Command-scale integrated water management in response to spatial climate variability in Lower Bari Doab Canal irrigation system

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Basharat ◽  
Ata-Ur-Rehman Tariq
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Integrated Water Management ◽  
Canal Irrigation ◽  
Irrigation Cost ◽  
Groundwater Regime ◽  
Basin Irrigation ◽  
Scale Integration

Design and management of the Indus Basin Irrigation System are aimed at achieving equity in canal water supply. This concept, which is more than a century old, ignores the due aspect of groundwater management in today's perspective. Recent research has proved that variation in irrigation demand and rainfall within the irrigation units has given birth to varying stresses on groundwater. In response to spatial climate variability, reallocation of canal supplies from the head towards the tail of the Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC) command was evaluated in this study, with the objective of achieving equitable total irrigation costs. The ensuing groundwater regime was simulated for 50 years' time with a groundwater model. A 25% reallocation from head towards tail-end improves the standard deviation of total irrigation cost equity from 1905 to 241. This command scale integration of available water resources also demonstrated a net saving in groundwater pumping cost to the tune of 7.24 to 18.9%, in comparison with existing equitable canal supplies. With this approach, at least minimal or no waterlogging in the head-end area, even during wet years, and no groundwater mining in the tail-end, even during dry periods, are anticipated. In addition, this system-scale integrated water management would increase adaptive capacity to climate change adaptation.

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