 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
TOPICS OF THE CONGRESS |  |
|
|
¡¡ |
Use of Water and Land for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability The world population is expected to increase from 6 billion in 2000 to 9 billion in the year 2050, mostly in the developing countries. To meet the food requirements of this growing population, the global food production will have to be doubled. Food production depends on two fundamental resources: land and water. Their per capita availability is decreasing with the increase in world population. Today, much of the world¡¯s arable land, particularly in developing countries, has been brought under cultivation. Further expansions can be expensive or adversely affect the environment. Large tracts of cultivated lands under irrigation are presently affected by waterlogging and soil salinity. Fertile low lands are frequently flooded or constantly submerged under water. These lands will require extensive investments in drainage, irrigation and flood control systems. Fresh water resources are being stretched to its limits in many developing countries or becoming scarcer and polluted. There is however some potential to expand the existing land base and water storage capacity for food production. This however means that increased food demand will have to be met largely from the present infrastructure and through a more prudent deployment of our land and water resources. The key to increasing future food production thus lies in increasing withdrawals where potential exists, better water and land management in existing irrigated areas and increase in water use efficiency and land productivity. In addition to increasing agricultural production there is a need to minimize losses of agricultural land and crop yields caused by flooding and droughts. Especially in densely populated flood prone areas where flood management urgently needs more attention. When addressing sustainability issues, there is a need to manage water and land resources more prudently not only in quantity but also in quality, and to reduce agriculture pollutants and restore of water quality by recycling and reuse poor quality waters. The challenges to professionals working in the field of irrigation, drainage and flood control are enormous. They comprise the ability to design and operate new generation of efficient agricultural water management systems while sustaining ecosystems and the environment. A. Question 52: Improving Water and Land Management for Increasing Efficiency in Irrigated Agriculture General Reporter Prof. Cai Lingen (China) Panel of Experts Prof. F. Ligetvari (Hungary) Prof. Pulatkhon D. Umarov (Uzbekistan) Prof. E. U. Nwa (Nigeria) Dr. Albert J. Clemmens (USA) Eng. Hussien El-Atfy (Egypt) Mr. Robert lan Bell (Australia) Management of water and soil is a worldwide priority aimed at better meeting the needs for food, livelihoods and nature in a sustainable manner. Integrated approaches must take into account not only scientific and technical but also the socio-economical and environmental aspects. It is widely agreed that irrigation will play a greater role in meeting future food demands than it has played in the past; however, irrigation must achieve this goal with less water. There is an urgent need to explore ways to produce more food with less water under sustainable conditions. Contributions are invited in this question under the following sub-topics. 52.1£ºOn-farm water and soil management Improvement of on-farm irrigation systems; precision land leveling by using LASER leveling equipments and precision irrigation; improved irrigation methods and technology for increasing efficiency of water, land and labor; crop water requirements and on-farm irrigation scheduling techniques, including deficit irrigation, alternate wet and dry irrigation for paddy rice; improved soil management for reduction in runoff and/or evaporation, including sub-soiling, none tillage, mulching and covering; Integrated management water and fertilizer supplies; method to reduce fertilizer depletion. 52.2: Performance evaluation and integrated management of irrigation and drainage systems Indicators and technologies for performance evaluation; impacts of irrigation and drainage on farmer¡¯s income and poverty reduction; impacts of irrigation and drainage on ecosystems and environment; benchmarking of irrigation and drainage systems; socio-economic evaluation of rehabilitation and modernization of irrigation and drainage systems; integrated management of irrigation and drainage systems: innovative approaches and tools; multiple functions of irrigation and drainage systems; improving basin-wide overall efficiency of water usage; evaluation of management effect on environmental sustainability. 52. 3: Conjunctive use of water to optimize food production Dynamic allocation of surface and ground waters and optimum management at system level and basin level; conjunctive use of surface and groundwater: experiences and problems; regional assessment of availability for sustainable irrigation water use; rain water harvesting for irrigation; use of low quality water and drainage water reuse for irrigation; assessment of exploitable groundwater and improvement of recharge; conjunctive use of fresh water and saline and low quality water in irrigation: its impacts on soil productivity, monitoring and modeling. 52. 4: Policy options for water saving in irrigation Policy options for increasing investment in rehabilitation and modernization of existing irrigation systems; socio-economic incentives for adoption of high efficiency techniques; education and capacity building for irrigation and drainage development; strengthening of training and extension services for dissemination of water efficient technologies; promoting innovative research on irrigation and drainage technologies; encouraging private irrigation industries; degree and extent of governmental involvement in irrigation; large scale irrigation management versus small scale irrigation management; high-level elaborate management versus low-level non-elaborate management. 52. 5: Management transfer and participatory irrigation and drainage management Socio-economic and physical conditions required for success of irrigation management transfer; economic and institutional options for participatory management based on local conditions; government support and institutional service; constraints, experience and lessons in management transfer and participatory management. 52. 6: Application of information technology in irrigation and drainage management Geographic information system (GIS) applications; remote sensing (RS) and data acquisition systems; decision support system (DSS); expert systems and decision-making models; information systems and web technologies; automatic control systems; high-level expensive devices versus low-level inexpensive ones in automatic control systems. Question 53: Harmonious Coexistence with Flood Water General Reporter Prof. Dr. Bart Schultz (The Netherlands) Panel of Experts Mr. Peter Frank Borrows (UK) Prof. Andr¨¦ Musy (Switzerland) Mr. Jacky Astier (France) Mr. lllahi B. Sheikh (Pakistan) Mr. S. K. Agarwal (India) Dr. TakeshiHata (Japan) Water issues manifest themselves in different forms depending on natural conditions and social dynamics. Some regions of world suffer from chronic water shortages, while others from frequent floods. Statistical studies indicate that almost one-third of world¡¯s population have been affected by natural disasters in the last decade of the 20th century. Floods and droughts accounted for 86% of them. Increasing population has led to the settlement and cultivation of flood plains resulting in increased emphasis on flood management in many regions; particularly in South and East Asia, which has by far the most densely populated regions of the world. These two regions hold at present about 2.9 billion people, almost half of the world¡¯s population. It is expected that by 2025 the population in these regions will increase to about 4.3 billion and within 50 years 80% of the population will live in flood prone areas. In addition to heavy rainfall and floods during the monsoon season, huge man-induced changes such as uncontrolled land reclamation and inadequate land use planning, may increase the vulnerability of the flood prone areas. Structural and non-structural measures and development of integrated flood management and flood protection measures are needed for effective flood protection. These must be applied in a way that take into account the existence of viable river systems and in harmony with floodwaters. Contributions are invited under this question the following sub-topics 53.1: Impacts of changes in land use planning and climate on flood and drought regime Effects of climate change on flood and drought regime and its integration into land and water use planning; technologies for integrated land and water use planning including the forecast of land use changes and assessment of land use impacts; hydrological processes affected by land use and agricultural practices; risk assessment in land use planning, coping with floods and droughts; environmental improvement in rainfed agriculture: soil and water conservation; adjusting land use to soil and water conservation; flood and drought disaster and food security; wetland recovery and water environment protection; evaluation of effect of flood water detention capacity of farm land; use of vegetation to reduce flood damage. 53.2: Integrated planning and management of flood diversion, storage, retention and discharge areas Flood characteristics in watersheds and river basins; integrated planning of irrigation, drainage and flood control systems and decision-making procedures for new dams; historic flooding events, analysis of effects and damages and desired level of protection; inspection and management of dykes regularly and in emergencies; management and rules for use of flood diversion, retention and discharge areas; integrated operation and risk management of flood diversion, storage and retention areas; resettlement strategies and policies in water project areas; non-structural measures to prevent floods; groundwater recharge using flood water; evaluation of actual effects of dams in reducing floods and increasing available water. 53.3: Adjusting urban and rural development to reduce flood risks Risk analysis and risk management related to flood protection of densely populated areas; integrated planning of urban and rural development in harmony with flood management; flood plain zoning and alternative development options for urban and rural development; regional economic development and policies for flood insurance; resettlement from areas with high flooding risk 53.4: Mechanisms for protection, relief and rehabilitation Mechanisms for investment in flood protection works and assessment of benefits; operation, maintenance and management of flood protection works: institutional and financing aspects; evaluation of damage to infrastructure, crops, irrigation, drainage and flood control systems, public and private property by survey, modeling and remote sensing; relief: organizational and financing aspects; rehabilitation of damaged irrigation, drainage and flood control systems. 53.5: Information technical systems and professional contingent for flood fighting Improved flood forecast and warning systems; mathematical models for simulation of floods real-time monitoring technology of flooding; application of GIS in Decision Support System for flood control; application of RS for flood damage monitoring and assessment; Decision Support System for emergency decision making digital river basin technology and modernization of river basin management organization and professional contingency for flood fighting 53.6: Case studies SPECIAL SESSION: Legal and Institutional Challenges General Reporter Mr. H. Tardieu (France) Panel of Experts Dr. Ding Kunlun (China) Mr. S. A. Assadollahi (Iran) lr. Mohd. Azhari bin Ghazalli (Malyasia) Dr. Mark Svendsen (USA) Mr. Shuhei Seyama (Japan) Mr. S. V. Sodal (India) Traditionally, the planning, development, withdrawal, uses and disposal of water have mostly rested with governments, particularly in developing world. However, public intervention in irrigation and drainage has been often unsustainable and inefficient. Financial allocation for water development or operation and maintenance of existing irrigation systems has steadily declined with many existing water systems in danger of being unable to supply water. Low water prices and inappropriate management is also a cause of low water use efficiency and waterlogging and soil salinity. Moreover, intersectoral and regional competition for water are factors of major concern. The Special Session will provide a forum where these and other relevant issues and experiences illustrated by case studies can be discussed. Authors are invited to submit papers on the following topics. ¡ñ Institutional and legal issues in groundwater utilization; ¡ñ Institutional and legal frameworks for intensive job creation in water resources management projects; ¡ñ Mechanisms for equity in water distribution and conflict resolution; ¡ñ Institutional reforms in the irrigation sector; ¡ñ Water rights, water pricing and water markets; ¡ñ Institutional and legal aspects for management transfer and participatory irrigation and drainage management; ¡ñ Comprehensive water policies and institutional arrangement for reform implementation; ¡ñ Comprehensive water codes for sector legislation: irrigation acts, drainage acts, etc; ¡ñ Legal steps to ensure environmental sustainability of irrigation and drainage; ¡ñ Legal aspects of conflict resolution in construction of irrigation and drainage facilities including dams. SYMPOSIUM: Water Quality / Salinity Management Water quality and salinity have become issues of great concern worldwide. Pollution of surface waters and pollution of groundwater from land use and poorly managed agriculture are widespread worldwide. In fact, the amount of polluted return flows has tripled since 1950. Wastewater from agricultural practices is often cleaner than domestic and industrial wastewater. Scarcity of freshwater resources will necessitate the reuse of drainage water for irrigation. Similarly, effluents from industrial and municipal sources will be reused for irrigation. The use of contaminated water carries certain risks to human health the flora and fauna. Managing water quality to prevent these conditions requires careful assessment and monitoring of inflows and effluent waters. At the same time, recycling and reuse systems should take into account the cumulative effects of pollutants over time as well as the impacts on the soil and water environment. All in all, awareness of these environmental, technological and practical issues is needed at all times for the benefits of planners, managers and users alike. Contributors to the Symposium are therefore invited to submit under following topics: ¡ñ Water saving and salinity control in arid and semiarid regions; ¡ñ Controlling waterlogging and salinity through improved water management and adequate drainage; ¡ñ Water quality management in irrigated agriculture: combination of water management and agricultural practices to reduce leaching; ¡ñ Managing the disposal of drainage water to avoid pollution of receiving water bodies and damage of wetlands caused by salts and toxic agricultural chemicals; ¡ñ Establishing appropriate guidelines, rules and standards for managing the use/reuse of low quality water in irrigation; ¡ñ Surface and ground water quality monitoring, assessment and modeling; ¡ñ Method for managing leaching of salt accumulated in soil; ¡ñ Estimation of future degradation of soil and groundwater by accumulation of salt; ¡ñ Disposal/treatment of heavily contaminated water. SEMINAR: Management of historical/traditional irrigation projects Coordinator: Prof. N. Hatcho (Japan) The Working Group on History of Irrigation, Drainage and Flood Control Projects is soliciting papers from National Committees on case studies of management of historical/traditional irrigation projects, especially those dealing with flood management. ¡¡ |
¡¡ |
 |
 |
| Chinese National Committee
on Irrigation & Drainage 20 West Chegongzhuang St., Beijing 100044 Tel: 86-10-68415522 ext 6506 Fax: 86-10-68457179 Beijing2005@cncid.org |