Water Security in Pakistan

2018 ◽  
pp. 58-84
Author(s):  
Sofia Idris
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Water Security ◽  
International Community ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
China And India ◽  
Water Treaty

Pakistan largely faces water scarcity, and the arid agricultural land of Pakistan is mainly due to the violation of the Indus Water Treaty by its neighbor India. By blocking the river flow towards Pakistan from the head-works, India has been building excessive dams, barrages, and power projects which are illegal according to the above-mentioned international treaty, and Pakistan has many times appealed in the UN to take action against this unfair act. However, so far, nothing could be done in this regard. The study will be helpful to understand the various challenges facing Pakistan to cater the insufficient supply of water and will give insight on the most important dimensions and facts about the international challenges to meet the shortage. The trans-boundary water issue between China and India have also been studied to try to explore new options and find the solution of a much pressing problem. The study might thus contribute to understand the issue, study the role of international community, and give useful and practical suggestions to solve the most pressing problem.

Scarcity and Cooperation Along International Rivers

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomi Dinar
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Linear Interaction ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Interstate Cooperation ◽  
International Rivers ◽  
Conflict And Cooperation ◽  
Water Treaty ◽  
The Relationship

Scarcity is often argued to be an important variable associated with explaining both conflict and cooperation over international freshwater. Yet it is the relationship between scarcity and cooperation that deserves additional scrutiny and, subsequently, rigorous empirical investigation. Building on existing literature, this article highlights the relationship between water scarcity and interstate cooperation. A model is introduced hypothesizing that cooperation is most likely to take place when the resource is neither abundant (when there is no real impetus for cooperation) nor highly scarce (when there is little of the resource to divide among the parties or the degradation too costly to manage). Rather, formal coordination in the form of an international water treaty is most likely to ensue at levels of moderate (or relative) scarcity. An inverted U-shaped curve, rather than a linear interaction, is consequently suggested for the relationship between water scarcity and cooperation. To illustrate this relationship, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test is conducted using seventy-four country dyad observations, an associated scarcity index, and corresponding international treaty observations. Overall, results support the scarcity-cooperation assertion. Future research is needed to investigate this relationship in a more empirical and econometrically rigorous fashion.

scholarly journals Significant Baseflow Reduction in the Sao Francisco River Basin

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Murilo Cesar Lucas ◽  
Natalya Kublik ◽  
Dulce B. B. Rodrigues ◽  
Antonio A. Meira Neto ◽  
André Almagro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Sao Francisco River ◽  
São Francisco River ◽  
Terrestrial Water ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Storage Change

Water scarcity is a key challenge to global development. In Brazil, the Sao Francisco River Basin (SFB) has experienced water scarcity problems because of decreasing streamflow and increasing demands from multiple sectors. However, the drivers of decreased streamflow, particularly the potential role of the surface-groundwater interaction, have not yet been investigated. Here, we assess long-term trends in the streamflow and baseflow of the SFB during 1980–2015 and constrain the most likely drivers of observed decreases through a trend analysis of precipitation (P), evapotranspiration (ET), and terrestrial water storage change (TWS). We found that, on average, over 86% of the observed decrease in streamflow can be attributed to a significant decreasing baseflow trend along the SFR, with a spatial agreement between the decreased baseflow, increased ET, and irrigated agricultural land in the Middle SFB. We also noted a decreasing trend in TWS across the SFB exceeding –20 mm year−1. Overall, our findings indicate that decreasing groundwater contributions (i.e., baseflow) are providing the observed reduction in the total SFR flow. A lack of significant P trends and the strong TWS depletion indicate that a P variability only has likely not caused the observed baseflow reduction, in mainly the Middle and Sub-middle SFB. Therefore, groundwater and surface withdrawals may likely be a driver of baseflow reduction in some regions of the SFB.

scholarly journals Significant baseflow reduction in the Sao Francisco River Basin

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murilo Cesar Lucas ◽  
Natalya Kublik ◽  
Dulce B. B. Rodrigues ◽  
Antonio A. Meira Neto ◽  
André Almagro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Sao Francisco River ◽  
São Francisco River ◽  
Terrestrial Water ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Storage Change

Water scarcity is a key challenge to global development. In Brazil, the Sao Francisco River Basin (SFB) has experienced water scarcity problems because of decreasing streamflow and increasing demands from multiple sectors. However, the drivers of decreased streamflow, particularly the potential role of surface-groundwater interaction, have not been yet investigated. Here, we assess long-term trends in baseflow, quickflow, and streamflow of the SFB during 1980–2015 and constrain the most likely drivers of observed decreases through trend analysis of precipitation (P), evapotranspiration (ET), and terrestrial water storage change (TWS). We found that over 82% of the observed decrease in streamflow can be attributed to a significant decreasing baseflow trend (< -20 m3 s-1 y-1) along the SFR with spatial agreement between decreased baseflow, increased ET, and irrigated agricultural land. We also noted a decrease in TWS across the SFB with trends exceeding -20 mm y-1. Overall, our findings indicate that decreasing groundwater contributions (i.e., baseflow) is providing the observed reduction in total SFR flow. A lack of significant P trends indicates that only P variability likely has not caused the observed baseflow reduction, mainly in the Middle and Sub-middle SFB. Therefore, groundwater and surface withdrawals may be likely a driver of water scarcity over the SFB.

The impact of land reform on the development of united territorial communities

2020 ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
Tamara Smovzhenko ◽  
Oryslava Korkuna ◽  
Ivan Korkuna ◽  
Ulyana Khromyak
Keyword(s):  
Land Reform ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Practical Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Land Code

Nowadays, according to decentralization and current legislation (Land Code of Ukraine, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine «On Self-Governance»), the public lands have been transferred to the CTCs since 1 February 2018. In 2018/2019, 788 CTCs received communal ownership of 1.68 ha of public lands. According to the Draft Law «On Amendments to Several Legal Documents of Ukraine on Agricultural Lands Turnover», the consolidated territorial communities become the legal entities and can acquire property rights to agricultural land plots. Therefore, transferring the lands to be used by the newly created CTCs is currently an urgent issue that requires extended scientific and practical research. The paper aims to research the role of land reform in Ukraine and its impact on increase of CTCs’ budget revenues. The stages of land reform and the development of the land reform in Ukraine as well as its implementation strategy are outlined. The disparities of the integrated satellite map and the data of the Land Cadaster of Ukraine in terms of unregistered lands are defined. The amount of a CTC budget’s increased revenues due to the reform is estimated. Statistical data on small, medium, and large farmers and their interest in the land reform are analyzed. The terms of selling the land to foreign investors and conditions of participation in land auctions are examined. The mechanisms of land purchase, selling, and lease in line with the land reform are suggested. Generalizing the presented aspects of the land reform in Ukraine and their impact on economic activity of the newly created CTCs, it can be argued that the process is quite positive and necessary for both communities and businesses in order to get additional budget revenues for CTCs. The land reform improves the living standards of Ukrainian people through the disclosure of the country’s agricultural capacity.

The Role of Ecopedological Parameters in Management Sustainability of Banat Lands

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 688-692
Author(s):  
Lucian Nita ◽  
Dorin Tarau ◽  
Gheorghe Rogobete ◽  
Simona Nita ◽  
Radu Bertici ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Nutrition ◽  
Physical State ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
South West ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Laboratory Investigations ◽  
Case Basis

The issue addressed relates to an area of 1891694 ha of which 1183343 ha are agricultural land (62, 56) located in the south-west of Romania and refer to the use of soil chemical and physical properties as an acceptor for certain crop systems, with minimal undesirable effects both for plants to be grown, as well as soil characteristics and groundwater surface quality. It is therefore necessary on a case-by-case basis, measure stoc or rect the acidic reaction by periodic or alkaline calculations, the improvement of plant nutrition conditions through ameliorative fertilization and the application of measures to improve the physical state, sufficient justification for the need to develop short and long term strategies for the protection and conservation of edifying factors and the need to respect the frequency of field and laboratory investigations at all 8x8 km grids of the National Soil-Grounds Monitoring System (organized by I.C.P.A.) and completing it with the relevant pedological and agrochemical studies.

Productivity and Environmental Role of Forest Shelterbelts of Robinia pseudoacacia L. of the Kuban Lowland

2020 ◽  
pp. 88-97
Author(s):  
V.V. Tanyukevich ◽  
◽  
S.V. Tyurin ◽  
D.V. Khmeleva ◽  
A.A. Kvasha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Poa Pratensis ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽  
Average Height ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Aboveground Phytomass ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia L ◽  
Young Growth

Works on protective afforestation are carried out in order to protect agricultural land from degradation processes, as well as to improve the microclimate of land. The research purpose is to study the bioproductivity and environmental role of Robinia pseudoacacia L. forest shelterbelts in the conditions of the Kuban lowland. The approved and generally accepted methods of forest valuation, forest land reclamation, botany, and mathematical statistics were applied. Plantings were created according to the standard technology for the steppe zone of the Russian Federation. The area of forest shelterbelts is 62.4 ths ha, including 5 % of the young growth (I state class), 80 % of middle-aged forest plantings (II state class), 10 % of maturing plantings (II state class), 5 % of mature and overmature plantings (III state class). Living ground cover is formed by the following species: Koeleria pyramidata L., Poa pratensis L., Festuca pratensis H., Elytrígia repens L., Dactylis glomerata L., and Phlum pratense L. Aboveground phytomass is 100–300 g/m2; height is 25–32 cm. Plantings are characterized by the quality classes: young growth – I and II; middle-aged and maturing – III; mature and overmature – IV. At the age of natural maturity (70 years), the Robinia trunk reaches the average height of 15.1 m with the average diameter of 22.1 cm. The total stock of wood reaches 18, (ths m3), including (ths m3): young growth – 68 (ths m3); middleaged plantings – 14,871 (ths m3); maturing plantings – 2,187 (ths m3); mature and overmature plantings – 1,314 (ths m3). Aboveground phytomass in young growth is 20.2 t/ha; in mature and overmature plantings it is 391.2 t/ha. In the region it is estimated at 17,070 ths t, including (ths t): young growth – 64; middle-aged plantings – 13,753; maturing plantings – 2,032; mature and overmature plantings – 1,221. The share of stem mass reaches 84.5–80.8 %; woody greenery – 4.2–1.5 %; branches – 11.3–17.7 %. Recalculation coefficients of the stock into aboveground phytomass are the following for: young growth – 0.936; mature and overmature forest shelterbelts – 0.929. Phytosaturation of forest shelterbelts varies within 0.314–2.474 kg/m3. Forest shelterbelts have accumulated 8,534 ths t of carbon, which is estimated at 145.1 mln dollars. The sphere of application of the research results is the Krasnodar Krai forestry, which is recommended to create an additional 60 ths ha of forest shelterbelts, which will provide a normative protective forest cover of arable land of 5 % and annual carbon sequestration up to 3.4 t/ha.

scholarly journals The Role of Selected Ecosystem Services in Different Farming Systems in Poland Regarding the Differentiation of Agricultural Land Structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6673
Author(s):  
Lidia Luty ◽  
Kamila Musiał ◽  
Monika Zioło
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Formation ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Organic System ◽  
Supporting Soil ◽  
Management Method ◽  
The Impact

The functioning of various agroecosystems is nowadays shaped by different farming systems, which may impair their functions, as well as being beneficial to them. The benefits include ecosystem services, defined as economic and noneconomic values gained by humans from ecosystems, through supporting soil formation and nutrient circulation, and the impact of agriculture on climate and biodiversity. Their mutual flow and various disturbances depend on the agroecosystem’s management method, which is associated with the type of management of agricultural land (AL) in individual farms. This paper raises a problem of transformation in the structure of three main farming systems in Poland, in 2004–2018, in relation to the implementation of 16 selected ecosystem services and their scale. Special attention was given to organic farming, as the most environmentally friendly and sustainable. The analysis demonstrates the increase in ALs in that type of production during the analyzed period of time. Disparities of transformation associated with the type of agricultural system were noticeable at the regional level, which were presented in 16 Polish voivodeships. The results of the analysis confirm that the organic system, which is an important carrier of various ecosystem services, gained a stable position. Moreover, areas with integrated farming still do not exceed 0.5% of total agricultural lands in such voivodeships. The analysis of factors influencing the deterioration or disappearance of selected environmental services characterizing agricultural systems indicates the need to depart from an intensive conventional management system.

scholarly journals Probabilistic Performance Assessment vs. the Safety Case Approach

MRS Advances ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (17-18) ◽  
pp. 987-992
Author(s):  
François Diaz-Maurin ◽  
Rodney C. Ewing
Keyword(s):  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Uncertainty Quantification ◽  
International Community ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Large Uncertainty ◽  
Safety Case ◽  
The Face ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACTThe “safety case” approach has been developed to address the issue of evaluating the performance of a geologic repository in the face of the large uncertainty that results for evaluations that extend over hundreds of thousands of years. This paper reviews the concept of the safety case as it has been defined by the international community. We contrast the safety case approach with that presently used in the U.S. repository program. Especially, we focus on the role of uncertainty quantification. There are inconsistencies between the initial proposal to dealing with uncertainties in a safety case and current U.S. practice. The paper seeks to better define the safety case concept so that it can be usefully applied to the regulatory framework of the U.S. repository program.

scholarly journals Role of glaciers in watershed hydrology: a preliminary study of a "Himalayan catchment"

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Thayyen ◽  
J. T. Gergan
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Initial Increase ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Flow Response ◽  
Sustainable Water Resources Management ◽  
South West Monsoon

Abstract. A large number of Himalayan glacier catchments are under the influence of humid climate with snowfall in winter (November–April) and south-west monsoon in summer (June–September) dominating the regional hydrology. Such catchments are defined as "Himalayan catchment", where the glacier meltwater contributes to the river flow during the period of annual high flows produced by the monsoon. The winter snow dominated Alpine catchments of the Kashmir and Karakoram region and cold-arid regions of the Ladakh mountain range are the other major glacio-hydrological regimes identified in the region. Factors influencing the river flow variations in a "Himalayan catchment" were studied in a micro-scale glacier catchment in the Garhwal Himalaya, covering an area of 77.8 km2. Three hydrometric stations were established at different altitudes along the Din Gad stream and discharge was monitored during the summer ablation period from 1998 to 2004, with an exception in 2002. These data have been analysed along with winter/summer precipitation, temperature and mass balance data of the Dokriani glacier to study the role of glacier and precipitation in determining runoff variations along the stream continuum from the glacier snout to 2360 m a.s.l. The study shows that the inter-annual runoff variation in a "Himalayan catchment" is linked with precipitation rather than mass balance changes of the glacier. This study also indicates that the warming induced an initial increase of glacier runoff and subsequent decline as suggested by the IPCC (2007) is restricted to the glacier degradation-derived component in a precipitation dominant Himalayan catchment and cannot be translated as river flow response. The preliminary assessment suggests that the "Himalayan catchment" could experience higher river flows and positive glacier mass balance regime together in association with strong monsoon. The important role of glaciers in this precipitation dominant system is to augment stream runoff during the years of low summer discharge. This paper intends to highlight the importance of creating credible knowledge on the Himalayan cryospheric processes to develop a more representative global view on river flow response to cryospheric changes and locally sustainable water resources management strategies.

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