Showing papers on "Water scarcity published in 1991"

Ecology and the Politics of Survival: Conflicts Over Natural Resources in India

Abstract: Introduction Ecology Movements and Conflicts Over Natural Resources PART ONE: FOREST CONFLICTS Forest Ecology and Forest Conflicts The Survival Economy and Forest Conflicts The Chipko Movement Afforestation Programmes and Land Use Conflicts Wasteland Development and Conflict Over Commons PART TWO: WATER CONFLICTS Conflicts Over River Waters Large Dams and Conflicts in the Krishna Basin Water Scarcity and People's Alternatives Mining and Water Conflicts Fisheries and Conflicts at Sea Conclusion Towards Sustainability with Justice

Water for sustainable development in the 21st century

Abstract: Many arid and semi‐arid countries are already facing water crisis; the problem is likely to become more serious and will continue well into the 21st century. This article discusses the reasons for the water crisis, and the major water issues of the 21st century: conservation, pricing, social and environmental considerations, institutional responses to better management, international water bodies, and proper analytical framework.

Value of Water in Irrigated Crop Production Using Derived Demand Functions: a Case Study of South Saskatchewan River Irrigation District

Abstract: Water abundance has led most North American societies to use water freely without priorizing its use. As water scarcity becomes reality in the southern part of Saskatchewan, planners and managers of water require information about the value of water in irrigation, as well as in alternative uses. In this study, the value of water to the producer in irrigation is developed both for the short and long run. The basis of this imputation is a derived demand function for water using linear programming. Water demand was bound to be inelastic at lower prices, and highly elastic at higher prices. The short-run value of water varied between $0.44 and $127.82 (1986 dollars) per acre-foot for different levels of product prices. However, the long-run value was estimated between zero and $1.59 per acre-foot of water.

Water for sustainable development in the 21st century: a global perspective

Abstract: Many arid and semi-arid countries are feeling water crisis already at present, and the problem will become more serious in the 21st century. Global water consumption will increase, 10-fold during this century, and the increasing trend will continue well into the 21st century. This Presidential Address to the International Water Reserves Association discusses the reasons for the water crisis, and the major water issues of the 21st century. Among those issues are water conservation and efficient use of water, water pricing and cost recovery, social and environmental considerations, institutional responses to better management, management of international water bodies and proper analytical frameworks.

Effects of Input Quality and Environmental Conditions on Selection of Irrigation Technologies

Abstract: The use of modern irrigation technologies has been proposed as one of several possible solutions to water scarcity, limited drainage, and associated problems in irrigated agriculture. These technologies should be assessed within economic decisionmaking frameworks which could be applied to guide farmers and water districts in irrigation and technology choices, to assist public policymakers in designing policy instruments to increase conservation and reduce drainage and runoff, and to aid developers of irrigation technologies in the design and marketing of new products. An economic model is developed in this chapter, which includes many of the aspects previously developed, and also takes into consideration new aspects such as weather conditions and the dual effects of soil and water quality. The results provide several general insights regarding the impacts of different irrigation technologies and input qualities on productivity and profitability. The results also illustrate differences in outcomes associated with crop selections as affected by weather, input quality, and technology selection.

The Ven Te Chow Memorial Lecture: Environment and Development: Urgent Need for a Water Perspective

Abstract: This paper contains the text of the Chow Memorial Lecture, delivered at the VIIth World Congress on Water Resources Rabat, Morocco, May 13–18, 1991. The paper addresses water-cycle related environmental problems. Three essential water functions are crucial for the disturbances introduced by the interventions in life-support systems known as “environmental problems”: water as a necessity of life on all scales from the cell to the planet: water as a solvent continuously moving above and below the ground surface, and the water-wetting of the landscape due to partitioning disturbances. The second part of the paper analyzes water-cycle related development problems, demonstrating that drought-proneness is today at the core of the problems in the most poverty-stricken countries. There, development is equivalent to challenging water scarcity (seasonal, interannual, or local), and environmental vulnerability. Particularly fatal is rapid population growth, especially as there are few models dealing with hi...

The National Study of Water Management during Drought: Report on the First Year of Study

Abstract: : This is a report on the findings and recommendations from the first year of the National Study of Water Management During Drought. The study, conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with the help of the water management community, is a review of the way water is managed during drought in the United States. This report is a formal part of an ongoing dialogue within the water management and user community. The systems for water management in this country are mature and sophisticated, but sometimes overly contentious and sometimes too inflexible. Although the nation is comparatively well served by its water management system, there are some areas where improvements could provide a more secure supply, better use, and greater efficiency. Like any mature system which already performs reasonably well, the next increment of performance will be more difficult to achieve, but not impossible. This report recommends a practical, step by step strategy for better serving the water needs of the U.S. The impacts of drought differ regionally. The West is a mostly arid region, used to dealing with the specter of water scarcity; there the major issues are the reallocation of water to address changing demands, and Federal management and regulation in an appropriation law setting.

Resolving Problems of Water Shortage in China

Abstract: In order to resolve the problems of water shortage in China, one should consider the integration of irrigation projects, water conservation and economical utilisation of water. Irrigation projects mean exploiting water resources. To transport water from rivers beyond their own flowing reaches, it is necessary to prove its applicability before undertaking construction work. Sinking wells can be done only in areas with a plentiful amount of groundwater. Reservoirs also should be constructed only in areas with sufficient water resources and where less arable land has to be irrigated. Water conservation is connected closely with afforestation or protection of forests as well as protection from industrial pollution. Economic utilisation of water resources includes using water wisely to grow crops, and economising on its use in industry and for domestic purposes.

Uncertainties in Planning Inter-Agency Water Supply Transfers

Abstract: San Francisco Water Department, facing a possible fifth year of drought, purchased surplus water from the Placer County Water Agency and arranged for wheeling of the water through State Water Project facilities to an emergency turnout on the State's South Bay Aqueduct. Planning for construction of the emergency turnout and the inter-agency transfer of water included many operational pitfalls and environmental uncertainties.

Policy Failures Arising from Multiple Jurisdictions: Western Agriculture Water Resources, and the Role of the Courts

Abstract: Inconsistencies between agricultural policy and policies or priorities related to water resources management have given rise to growing uncertainties facing western farmers. Many believe these uncertainties threaten the continued existence of farms in many areas of the United States. A good part of these inconsistencies result from conflicts between multiple jurisdictions, which control agricultural and water resource policies in the West. Problems in this regard have worsened over the last decade or so as the direct result of a dramatic increase in water scarcity, and the resulting increase in competition for water within, and between, Western states.

Women and water in rural Maharashtra

Abstract: Women and water in rural Maharashtra examines the consequences of water scarcity for poor rural women in India, and how responses to this scarcity impact on other aspects of women's struggle. The p...

Water availability in India

Abstract: Water is one of the basic human needs. This requirement has remained mismanaged under the contemporary Indian administration. This article tries to interpret some of the issues of water in relation to population leading to an assessment of the current state. It is not only that water problems are precarious in the population sector but, as a whole, the country has been facing a water crisis both for agriculture as well as for basic needs. Some key data have been gathered, mapping conducted and an integrated picture of the present position is examined briefly to clarify future needs.

Water scarcity: The changing California water scene

Abstract: After five consecutive years of drought, it is easy to forget that California faces major long-term as well as short-term water problems. With no clearly articulated water policy for California, the drought may foreshadow a water future where urban supplies are rationed, agricultural supplies are severely reduced and the quality of water-based environments is continually threatened, even when rainfall is normal. The California Department of Water Resources estimates that, in the absence of new facilities or other strategies, the water supply deficit in a normal precipitation year could reach 2 million acre-feet by the year 2010. The state’s annual population growth of about 700,000 adds nearly 100,000 acre-feet to the urban water demand each year. Although agricultural water demand is not likely to grow, existing levels of agricultural water use depend on ground water overdraft, a practice which cannot continue indefinitely. Demand for water devoted to environmental amenities such as fish, wildlife, recreation, scenic values and the support of aquatic ecosystems is also increasing. As surely as drought, deteriorating water quality reduces available supplies. Toxic wastes, salinity and the residues of agricultural chemicals threaten ground water supplies while surface water quality is threatened by agricultural drainage, land-use practices and urban runoff.

Drought Contingency Plan for the Youghiogheny River Lake Basin

Abstract: The purpose of this Drought Contingency Plan is to provide a basic reference for water management decisions and responses to a water shortage in the Youghiogheny River Basin induced by a climatological drought. As a water management document, it is limited to those drought concerns relating to water control management activities. Its primary value is in identifying drought conditions, documenting data needed in decisions, and defining the coordination needed to manage the Basin's water resources to insure that they are used in a manner consistent with the needs that develop.