scholarly journals Basin-wide water accounting based on remote sensing data: an application for the Indus Basin

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 2473-2486 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Karimi ◽  
W. G. M. Bastiaanssen ◽  
D. Molden ◽  
M. J. M. Cheema
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Water Depletion ◽  
Snow Storage ◽  
Water Accounting ◽  
Annual Water

Abstract. The paper demonstrates the application of a new water accounting plus (WA+) framework to produce information on depletion of water resources, storage change, and land and water productivity in the Indus basin. It shows how satellite-derived estimates of land use, rainfall, evaporation (E), transpiration (T), interception (I) and biomass production can be used in addition to measured basin outflow, for water accounting with WA+. It is demonstrated how the accounting results can be interpreted to identify existing issues and examine solutions for the future. The results for one selected year (2007) showed that total annual water depletion in the basin (501 km3) plus outflows (21 km3) exceeded total precipitation (482 km3). The water storage systems that were effected are groundwater storage (30 km3), surface water storage (9 km3), and glaciers and snow storage (2 km3). Evapotranspiration of rainfall or "landscape ET" was 344 km3 (69 % of total depletion). "Incremental ET" due to utilized flow was 157 km3 (31% of total depletion). Agriculture depleted 297 km3, or 59% of the total depletion, of which 85% (254 km3) was through irrigated agriculture and the remaining 15% (44 km3) through rainfed systems. Due to excessive soil evaporation in agricultural areas, half of all water depletion in the basin was non-beneficial. Based on the results of this accounting exercise loss of storage, low beneficial depletion, and low land and water productivity were identified as the main water resources management issues. Future scenarios to address these issues were chosen and their impacts on the Indus Basin water accounts were tested using the new WA+ framework.

scholarly journals Basin-wide water accounting using remote sensing data: the case of transboundary Indus Basin

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 12921-12958 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Karimi ◽  
W. G. M. Bastiaanssen ◽  
D. Molden ◽  
M. J. M. Cheema
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Information ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Soil Evaporation ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Total Consumption ◽  
Water Depletion ◽  
Water Accounting

Abstract. The paper describes the application of a new Water Accounting Plus (WA+) framework to produce spatial information on water flows, sinks, uses, storages and assets, in the Indus Basin, South Asia. It demonstrates how satellite-derived estimates of land use, land cover, rainfall, evaporation (E), transpiration (T), interception (I) and biomass production can be used in the context of WA+. The results for one selected year showed that total annual water depletion in the basin (502 km3) plus outflows (21 km3) exceeded total precipitation (482 km3). The deficit in supply was augmented through abstractions beyond actual capacity, mainly from groundwater storage (30 km3). The "landscape ET" (depletion directly from rainfall) was 344 km3 (69% of total consumption). "Blue water" depletion ("utilized flow") was 158 km3 (31%). Agriculture was the biggest water consumer and accounted for 59% of the total depletion (297 km3), of which 85% (254 km3) was through irrigated agriculture and the remaining 15% (44 km3) through rainfed systems. While the estimated basin irrigation efficiency was 0.84, due to excessive evaporative losses in agricultural areas, half of all water consumption in the basin was non-beneficial. Average rainfed crop yields were 0.9 t ha−1 and 7.8 t ha−1 for two irrigated crop growing seasons combined. Water productivity was low due to a lack of proper agronomical practices and poor farm water management. The paper concludes that the opportunity for a food-secured and sustainable future for the Indus Basin lies in focusing on reducing soil evaporation. Results of future scenario analyses suggest that by implementing techniques to convert soil evaporation to crop transpiration will not only increase production but can also result in significant water savings that would ease the pressure on the fast declining storage.

scholarly journals Water management in Pakistan's Indus Basin: challenges and opportunities

Water Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahmir Janjua ◽  
Ishtiaq Hassan ◽  
Shoaib Muhammad ◽  
Saira Ahmed ◽  
Muhammad Afzaal
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
River System ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Indus River ◽  
Water Storage Capacity

Abstract The Indus River System is a major source of life in Pakistan. A vast array of Pakistan's agricultural and domestic consumption needs are critically dependent on the Indus River System. The Indus River contributes towards 25% of the country's gross domestic product, providing water for almost 90% of the food production in Pakistan. Linked to the water security issues, Pakistan is potentially at risk of facing a severe food shortage in the near future. The World Bank report of 2020–2021 estimates that the water shortage will increase to 32% by 2025, which will result in a food shortage of almost 70 million tons. Water shortage could also result in confrontation between the provinces as river sharing has always been a source of problem for Pakistan. According to recent estimates, siltation and climate change will reduce the water storage capacity by 2025 to almost 30%. As for the per capita water storage capacity in Pakistan, it is about 150 m3, which is quite meagre in comparison with that in other countries. Irrigated agriculture will soon be adversely affected due to the reduced surface water supplies and the consequent increase in groundwater abstraction. To make matters worse, over the past decades, a great deal of distrust has developed among the provinces of Pakistan regarding the water distribution issue, and the successive federal governments have failed to formulate a cohesive inter-provincial National Water Policy. Along with the shortages and increasing demand for water, administrative corruption also plagues the water sector and is quite common. The beneficiaries of this water reallocation system are not only the rural elite, for example the large and politically influential landlords, but also the small and medium capitalist farmers. If not properly addressed, these complications of decreasing water resources could result in serious political and economic hostility among the provinces. If it wants to harness its potential to increase storage capacity, Pakistan must improve its water-use efficiency and manage its groundwater and surface water resources in a sustainable way. Strengthening the institutions and removing mistrust among the provinces are the key elements for maintaining a sustainable irrigated agriculture in the Indus Basin.

scholarly journals Water Storage for Food Security in Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 35-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khem Raj Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Energy And Environment ◽  
River Types ◽  
Development Paradigm

Increasing trend of water scarcity for drinking, irrigation, hydropower generation and other purposes has been a serious challenge for Nepal. As food need rises, the country's reliance on irrigated agriculture increases. The existing run-of-river types of irrigation systems provide little leverage in providing adequate, timely and equitable water supply to the farmers' fields. With the approval of the 2002 Water Resources Strategy, the country is in the process of changing its water development paradigm from sect oral to integrated water resource management. In this context, intensification of agriculture is the most viable option of achieving food security and this requires assured supply of irrigation water which is possible mainly through water storage systems.Key words: Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM); Irrigation; Water storage; Agriculture intensification; NepalDOI: 10.3126/hn.v7i0.4234Hydro Nepal Journal of Water, Energy and Environment Vol 7, July, 2010Page: 35-37Uploaded date: 31 January, 2011

scholarly journals Irrigation Management in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Production: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1504
Author(s):  
Koffi Djaman ◽  
Suat Irmak ◽  
Komlan Koudahe ◽  
Samuel Allen
Keyword(s):  
Solanum Tuberosum ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Solanum Tuberosum L ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Potato Yield ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Irrigation Methods ◽  
Response To Water ◽  
The Impact

Limited water resources coupled with the increase of the human population calls for more efficient use of water in irrigated agriculture. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most widely grown crops worldwide and is very sensitive to water stress due to its shallow rooting system. With the dilemma of potato sensitivity to drought and limited available water resources restricting crop production, researchers and crop growers have been investigating different approaches for optimizing potato yield and improving crop water use efficiency under different irrigation methods. While potato response to water is affected by other management practices such as fertilizer management, the present review is focused on the potato response to water under different environments and different irrigation methods and the impact on potato quality and potato diseases. Variable results obtained from research studies indicate the non-transferability of the results from one location to another as potato cultivars are not the same and potato breeders are still making effort to develop new high-yielding varieties to increase crop production and or develop new varieties for a specific trait to satisfy consumers exigence. This review is a valuable source of information for potato growers and scientists as it is not only focused on the impact of irrigation regimes on potato yield and water productivity as most reviews on water management, but it also presents the impact of irrigation regime on diseases in potatoes, tuber specific gravity, metabolite content of the tubers and the quality of the processed potato products.

scholarly journals Sustainability of water resources management in the Indus Basin under changing climatic and socio economic conditions

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1883-1912 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Archer ◽  
N. Forsythe ◽  
H. J. Fowler ◽  
S. M. Shah
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Environmental Remediation ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Rainfall Regime ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Pakistan is highly dependent on water resources originating in the mountain sources of the upper Indus for irrigated agriculture which is the mainstay of its economy. Hence any change in available resources through climate change or socio-economic factors could have a serious impact on food security and the environment. In terms of both ratio of withdrawals to runoff and per-capita water availability, Pakistan's water resources are already highly stressed and will become increasingly so with projected population changes. Potential changes to supply through declining reservoir storage, the impact of waterlogging and salinity or over-abstraction of groundwater, or reallocations for environmental remediation of the Indus Delta or to meet domestic demands, will reduce water availability for irrigation. The impact of climate change on resources in the Upper Indus is considered in terms of three hydrological regimes – a nival regime dependent on melting of winter snow, a glacial regime, and a rainfall regime dependent on concurrent rainfall. On the basis of historic trends in climate, most notably the decline in summer temperatures, there is no strong evidence in favour of marked reductions in water resources from any of the three regimes. Evidence for changes in trans-Himalayan glacier mass balance is mixed. Sustainability of water resources appears more threatened by socio-economic changes than by climatic trends. Nevertheless, analysis and the understanding of the linkage of climate, glaciology and runoff is still far from complete; recent past climate experience may not provide a reliable guide to the future.

scholarly journals Sustainability of water resources management in the Indus Basin under changing climatic and socio economic conditions

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1669-1680 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Archer ◽  
N. Forsythe ◽  
H. J. Fowler ◽  
S. M. Shah
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Environmental Remediation ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Rainfall Regime ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Pakistan is highly dependent on water resources originating in the mountain sources of the upper Indus for irrigated agriculture which is the mainstay of its economy. Hence any change in available resources through climate change or socio-economic factors could have a serious impact on food security and the environment. In terms of both ratio of withdrawals to runoff and per-capita water availability, Pakistan's water resources are already highly stressed and will become increasingly so with projected population changes. Potential changes to supply through declining reservoir storage, the impact of waterlogging and salinity or over-abstraction of groundwater, or reallocations for environmental remediation of the Indus Delta or to meet domestic demands, will reduce water availability for irrigation. The impact of climate change on resources in the Upper Indus is considered in terms of three hydrological regimes – a nival regime dependent on melting of winter snow, a glacial regime, and a rainfall regime dependent on concurrent rainfall. On the basis of historic trends in climate, most notably the decline in summer temperatures, there is no strong evidence in favour of marked reductions in water resources from any of the three regimes. Evidence for changes in trans-Himalayan glacier mass balance is mixed. Sustainability of water resources appears more threatened by socio-economic changes than by climatic trends. Nevertheless, analysis and the understanding of the linkage of climate, glaciology and runoff is still far from complete; recent past climate experience may not provide a reliable guide to the future.

scholarly journals A remote sensing-based approach for water accounting in the East Rapti River Basin, Nepal

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajendra Lal Shilpakar ◽  
Wim G.M. Bastiaanssen ◽  
David J. Molden
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
International Water Management Institute ◽  
Water Accounting ◽  
Mountainous River

Accurate estimates of evapotranspiration across different land uses are a major challenge in the process of understanding water availability and uses in a river basin. This study demonstrated a remote sensing-based procedure for accurately generating evaporative depletion and runoff in mountainous areas using Landsat ETM+ images combined with standard hydro-meteorological data. The data was used as a key input into the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)’s water accounting procedure to understand how water is now used, and opportunities for improvements in the future. We found a higher annual actual evapotranspiration from the riparian forest than from irrigated agriculture in the East Rapti River basin of Nepal. Another important finding of our study is that simple rainfall surplus can be a good predictor of river flow at an ungagged site of the East Rapti River basin. The water accounting analysis revealed that there is the potential for further development of water resources in the East Rapti River basin as only 59% of the total available water is depleted. A critical analysis of social and ecological flow requirements downstream is necessary before any development of water resources upstream. This study successfully demonstrated that the key inputs required for evaluating and monitoring the overall water resources conditions in a mountainous river basin can be computed from satellite data with a minimal support from ground information.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hjs.v7i9.5785 Himalayan Journal of Sciences Vol.7 Issue 9 2011 pp.15-30

The aesthetics of water and land: a promising concept for managing scarce water resources under climate change

2010 ◽  
Vol 368 (1931) ◽  
pp. 5323-5337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Tielbörger ◽  
Aliza Fleischer ◽  
Lucas Menzel ◽  
Johannes Metz ◽  
Marcelo Sternberg
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Cultural Services

The eastern Mediterranean faces a severe water crisis: water supply decreases due to climate change, while demand increases due to rapid population growth. The GLOWA Jordan River project generates science-based management strategies for maximizing water productivity under global climate change. We use a novel definition of water productivity as the full range of services provided by landscapes per unit blue (surface) and green (in plants and soil) water. Our combined results from climatological, ecological, economic and hydrological studies suggest that, in Israel, certain landscapes provide high returns as ecosystem services for little input of additional blue water. Specifically, cultural services such as recreation may by far exceed that of food production. Interestingly, some highly valued landscapes (e.g. rangeland) appear resistant to climate change, making them an ideal candidate for adaptive land management. Vice versa, expanding irrigated agriculture is unlikely to be sustainable under global climate change. We advocate the inclusion of a large range of ecosystem services into integrated land and water resources management. The focus on cultural services and integration of irrigation demand will lead to entirely different but productive water and land allocation schemes that may be suitable for withstanding the problems caused by climate change.

Water Governance and Management in Indus Basin - Challenges & Threats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marium Sara Minhas Bandeali
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The State ◽  
Indus Basin

Water governance and management are important challenges for the River Indus Basin in Pakistan. Water governance refers to social, political and economic factors that influence water management. The water scarcity and water security are a major concern for the state to control its water resources. The study aims to give Sindh water policy by exploring the challenges to Indus Basin in managing water resources and to identify opportunities Indus Basin can look to improve water management. Interviews were conducted from water experts and analysts having 5 years’ experience or more in the water sector of Pakistan through a semi-structured self-developed questionnaire using purposive sampling technique and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that increasing population, climatic change and rising demand of water are major challenges Indus is facing and Indus with time is getting water-scarce therefore need strong institutions, civil society and legislatures to ensure equitable distribution of water and maintain the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that water governance and management are necessary for sustainable use of water. Pakistan, the water stress country needs to address ‘governance’ at a wider scale to solve problems in the Indus Basin for the livelihood of people. The research will benefit the state, water experts, institutions as well as civil society to promote efficient use of water in Indus Basin.

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