The economic impact of schistosomiasis

Background The economic impact of schistosomiasis and the underlying tradeoffs between water resources development and public health concerns have yet to be quantified. Schistosomiasis exerts large health, social and financial burdens on infected individuals and households. While irrigation schemes are one of the most important policy responses designed to reduce poverty, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, they facilitate the propagation of schistosomiasis and other diseases. Methods We estimate the economic impact of schistosomiasis in Burkina Faso via its effect on agricultural production. We create an original dataset that combines detailed household and agricultural surveys with high-resolution geo-statistical disease maps. We develop new methods that use the densities of the intermediate host snails of schistosomiasis as instrumental variables together with panel, spatial and machine learning techniques. Results We estimate that the elimination of schistosomiasis in Burkina Faso would increase average crop yields by around 7%, rising to 32% for high infection clusters. Keeping schistosomiasis unchecked, in turn, would correspond to a loss of gross domestic product of approximately 0.8%. We identify the disease burden as a shock to the agricultural productivity of farmers. The poorest households engaged in subsistence agriculture bear a far heavier disease burden than their wealthier counterparts, experiencing an average yield loss due to schistosomiasis of between 32 and 45%. We show that the returns to water resources development are substantially reduced once its health effects are taken into account: villages in proximity of large-scale dams suffer an average yield loss of around 20%, and this burden decreases as distance between dams and villages increases. Conclusions This study provides a rigorous estimation of how schistosomiasis affects agricultural production and how it is both a driver and a consequence of poverty. It further quantifies the tradeoff between the economics of water infrastructures and their impact on public health. Although we focus on Burkina Faso, our approach can be applied to any country in which schistosomiasis is endemic. Graphical Abstract

Preface: The 4th International Conference of Water Resources Development and Environmental Protection (ICWRDEP 2021)

The 4th International Conference on Water Resources Development and Environmental Protection 2021 (ICWRDEP 2021) was successfully held in a virtual meeting room by Zoom on August 7th, 2021. This conference was initially scheduled to be held offline at Universitas Brawijaya in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. However, it was canceled due to COVID-19 and government travel restrictions, particularly for international participants. Since ICWRDEP has been declared a biannual event and has been ongoing since mid-2020, this event would not be postponed. Moreover, when the call for papers was published, academics and researchers were ecstatic. The ICWRDEP 2021 was organized by Water Resources Engineering Department - Faculty of Engineering - Universitas Brawijaya in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Works and Housings of Indonesia, Miyazaki University in Japan, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands, and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. The conference topics are River Engineering and Management, Coastal Engineering and Management, Environmental Engineering & Sanitation, Water-Related Disaster Risk Reduction, and Water Resources Engineering and Management and Water-related to Civil, Architectural Engineering. Through the presentation of papers and discussion, the conference provides a platform for researchers, engineers, and academicians to meet and share ideas, achievements, and experiences. This international event is essential in promoting and encouraging practitioners to apply the new concept of water resource development and techniques and enhancing knowledge and understanding with the required specifications of analysis, design, and construction of any engineering concept. We would like to express the most profound appreciation to the Rector of Universitas Brawijaya, the Dean of Engineering Faculty, Keynote Speakers Prof. Eko Winar Irianto from the Ministry of Public Works and Housings Indonesia, Prof. Keisuke Murakami from Japan, and Prof. Dano Roelvink from the Netherlands, International Advisory Board members, organizing committee, and all participants. List Of Committees are available in this pdf.

Water Resources Management, Technology, and Culture in Ancient Iran

Iran is one of the countries facing high water risk because of its geographical features, climate variations, and uneven distribution of water resources. Iranians have practiced different water management strategies at various periods following the region's geo-climatological features, needs, tools, available resources (surface water and groundwater), political stability, economic power, and socio-cultural characteristics. This study is a brief history of water management in Iran from pre-civilization times to the end of the Islamic Golden Age (1219 AD). This study pointed out geo-climatological features have consistently been crucial intrinsic properties controlling water regime, settlement patterns, and other socioeconomic issues. These factors caused the early agricultural communities to emerge in water-rich regions of northwestern, western, and southwestern Iran. By the 4th Millennium BC, while water access became more difficult as population growth, economic activity, and urbanization progress, water resources' systematic development appeared in west and southwest Iran under the Mesopotamian civilization. However, despite all benefits, Mesopotamian water-based technology and administration could not meet all water demands in Iran's arid regions. For these reasons, qanats were developed in Persia by the First Persian Empire (Achaemenid Empire). No doubt, the Achaemenids (550–330 BC) should be regarded as one of the early civilizations that emerged in a land without sufficient rainfall and major rivers. In this time, idle and marginal lands of Iran and neighboring regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia could be cultivated through the spread of qanat technology, enabling large groups of peasants to increase crop yields and incomes. After a period of recession during the Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC) and the Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD), water resources development gained momentum in the Sassanid era (224–651). In this period, the progress of urbanization was expeditious. Consciously, water resources development in Khuzestan plains (Shushtar and Dezful) was crucial for agricultural intensification, economic expansion, and civilization development. The Sassanids wisely adapted Greek watermills to the complicated topography, limited water availability, and variable climate of Iran to produce food. Although the Iranians practiced a new era of water governance under the Sassanid rule (224–651 AD), chaotic Iran in the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic Period led to severe weaknesses in water-related sectors. After Islam's arrival, the Muslim rulers turned their attention from fighting to set up an Islamic civilization to break the socioeconomic stagnation. To achieve the goal, they opened their scientific doors to science and technology centers. Despite all efforts made during the 8th–12th century, the lack of creativity and investment in promoting water technologies, prioritizing political considerations over social benefits, occurring wars, and poor water management have induced the Iranians to lose their power in developing water resources. In today's Iran, the past water-related problems have aggravated by uneven climate change, population rise, rapid industrialization, urban development, and unprecedented changes in lifestyle. Undoubtedly, solving these problems and moving towards a better future is not possible without addressing the past.

Récension de livre. Livre: ‘Large dams: Long Term Impacts on Riverine Communities and Free Flowing Rivers’ (2019); Séries: Water Resources Development and Management (Édition 1, Nombre de pages: 284); Auteur du livre: Thayer Scudder; Éditeur: Springer Singapore, €135,19 (Hardcover), ISBN 978-981-13-2550-2 (e-book); doi:10.1007/978-981-13-2550-2

Premier d'une série, ce livre met en lumière l'analyse comparative des impacts négatifs des grands barrages sur les communautés riveraines en Afrique, au Moyen-Orient et en Asie. Ce livre est très intéressant pour les scientifiques en hydrologie, les ingénieurs civils et les environnementalistes qui travaillent sur les études sociales et économiques des grands barrages. Il a donc été important d'écrire une critique de ce livre.