scholarly journals Policy reforms to promote efficient and sustainable water use in Swiss agriculture

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 887-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Finger ◽  
Niklaus Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Scarce Water ◽  
Irrigated Crops ◽  
Irrigation Technologies

The more sustainable use of scarce water resources is a policy goal in several countries. In this regard, current discussions on potential policy reforms in Switzerland revolve around the subsidization of water-saving irrigation technologies. Today, the share of drip irrigation systems is low, at 3%. In Switzerland, environmental laws specify levels of water flow that must not be undercut. Variable pricing of water, however, has not yet been used. This paper analyzes whether subsidies on water-saving irrigation techniques would be beneficial in this legislative setting, and shows that such subsidies may have crowding out effects because they could provide incentives to switch from non-irrigated crops (e.g. wheat) to the production of crops (e.g. potatoes) that require irrigation. This may result in even higher water withdrawal rates. Such an increased competition for water resources may also result in adverse conditions for farmers. By contrast, our analysis shows the implementation of water prices could lead to a sustainable increase in the share of water-saving technologies, to a shift from irrigated to non-irrigated crops, and therefore to a reduction of overall water use in agriculture. Thus, the introduction of water prices should have absolute priority if agricultural water policies are reformed in Switzerland.

scholarly journals Water-saving irrigation technologies and water use efficiency in agriculture

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Pulatov Ya.E.
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
Water Savings ◽  
Effective Utilization ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Irrigation Technologies

Results of researches of water saving up technologies for irrigation of agricultural crops and effective utilization of water resources in the Tajikistan are described. The comparative estimation of usage methods of water savings is spent and proved that the cheapest method of additional safeguarding of volume of water (up 1000 м3) appeared during introduction of water saving up technologies for irrigation at which expenses is only 1…5 US dollars. It is established that on prospect for maintenance of food safety for Tajikistan it is necessary to develop the suitable new earths for irrigation equal 500…800 thousand hectare, thus a total perspective water fence for all branches of economy will reach volume 18 км3. Lacks of existing system irrigation are revealed that efficiency of use of irrigating water very low and make up from 0.4 to 0.6. Water saving up technologies depending on investment of capital is divided into 2 groups: water saving up technologies, demanding small expenses and demanding big expenses. It is established that at a drop irrigation of a cotton, corn, vegetable cultures and microirrigation of wheat, the economy of irrigating water reaches up to 60 %, and productivity raises in 1.8 … 2.0 times.

Exploring Northwest China's agricultural water-saving strategy: analysis of water use efficiency based on an SE-DEA model conducted in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province

2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 1106-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mu ◽  
L. Fang ◽  
H. Wang ◽  
L. Chen ◽  
Y. Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Shaanxi Province ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Use Efficiency

Worldwide, water scarcity threatens delivery of water to urban centers. Increasing water use efficiency (WUE) is often recommended to reduce water demand, especially in water-scarce areas. In this paper, agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) is examined using the super-efficient data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach in Xi'an in Northwest China at a temporal and spatial level. The grey systems analysis technique was then adopted to identify the factors that influenced the efficiency differentials under the shortage of water resources. From the perspective of temporal scales, the AWUE increased year by year during 2004–2012, and the highest (2.05) was obtained in 2009. Additionally, the AWUE was the best in the urban area at the spatial scale. Moreover, the key influencing factors of the AWUE are the financial situations and agricultural water-saving technology. Finally, we identified several knowledge gaps and proposed water-saving strategies for increasing AWUE and reducing its water demand by: (1) improving irrigation practices (timing and amounts) based on compatible water-saving techniques; (2) maximizing regional WUE by managing water resources and allocation at regional scales as well as enhancing coordination among Chinese water governance institutes.

scholarly journals Water saving through international trade of agricultural products

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Chapagain ◽  
A. Y. Hoekstra ◽  
H. H. G. Savenije
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Green Water ◽  
Blue Water ◽  
Water Flows ◽  
Global Water ◽  
National Water

Abstract. Many nations save domestic water resources by importing water-intensive products and exporting commodities that are less water intensive. National water saving through the import of a product can imply saving water at a global level if the flow is from sites with high to sites with low water productivity. The paper analyses the consequences of international virtual water flows on the global and national water budgets. The assessment shows that the total amount of water that would have been required in the importing countries if all imported agricultural products would have been produced domestically is 1605 Gm3/yr. These products are however being produced with only 1253 Gm3/yr in the exporting countries, saving global water resources by 352 Gm3/yr. This saving is 28 per cent of the international virtual water flows related to the trade of agricultural products and 6 per cent of the global water use in agriculture. National policy makers are however not interested in global water savings but in the status of national water resources. Egypt imports wheat and in doing so saves 3.6 Gm3/yr of its national water resources. Water use for producing export commodities can be beneficial, as for instance in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Brazil, where the use of green water resources (mainly through rain-fed agriculture) for the production of stimulant crops for export has a positive economic impact on the national economy. However, export of 28 Gm3/yr of national water from Thailand related to rice export is at the cost of additional pressure on its blue water resources. Importing a product which has a relatively high ratio of green to blue virtual water content saves global blue water resources that generally have a higher opportunity cost than green water.

scholarly journals The technique of construct water-saving agriculture

2018 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 02016
Author(s):  
Ji Ren
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Canal Water ◽  
Irrigation Methods ◽  
Water Problem ◽  
Water Waste

A shortage of water resource in China, the water problem has become the bottleneck of China’s economic and social development. Agriculture consumes very large amounts of water resources and water waste is quite serious in our country, therefore, the construction of water-saving agriculture is urgent to solve the problem of water resource in our country. Implementation technology in the construction of water-saving agriculture was proposed in this paper, namely improve the canal water use coefficient, water saving irrigation methods and suitable irrigation mode.

scholarly journals Regional Multivariate Indices of Water Use Potential for the Continental United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2292
Author(s):  
White ◽  
Mack ◽  
Harlan ◽  
Krayenhoff ◽  
Georgescu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
United States Geological Survey ◽  
Scarce Water ◽  
Small Set

The necessity of freshwater for sustaining human life has prompted the development of numerous estimation techniques and metrics for understanding where, when, and why water is used. While estimates are valuable, techniques for estimating water use vary, and may be difficult to replicate and/or unavailable on an annual basis or at the regional scale. To address these drawbacks, this paper proposes a series of regional indices for the continental United States that could serve as proxies for water use that are based on key variables associated with water use. Regional indices at the county level are computed, compared against each other, and compared to water withdrawal estimates from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). These comparisons highlight differences amongst the derived indices and the water withdrawal estimates. They also demonstrate promise for future development and implementation of related indices, given their similarities with water withdrawal estimates. Using only a small set of variables, these indices achieve some degree of similarity (~20%) to estimates of water withdrawals. The comparative data availability and ease of estimating these indices, as well as the ability to decompose the additive indices into their constituent use categories and constituent variables, renders them practically useful to water managers and other decision makers for identification of locally specific drivers of water use and implementation of more geographically-appropriate policies to manage scarce water resources.

scholarly journals Analysis of regional features of water use structure in the North Caucasus. Part 1. Water availability and water consumption

2021 ◽  
pp. 96-105
Author(s):  
Е.А. Rybak ◽  
◽  
О.О. Rybak ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
The North ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Impact

The key task of the societal development is to ensure effective management of water resources. As a consequence of aggravation of water problems in the world, the issues of sustainable and guaranteed access to water are considered as one of the components of ensuring food security, conservation and restoration recovery of natural resources, which are the basis of life support for the population. To date, the regulation of water resources in the North Caucasus experiences difficulties resulting from fragmented water use, unequal access to water, and contradictory legislation in the field of water use regulation. These problems are compounded by two factors: climate change and demographic situation. The main problem of water consumption in Russia is the irrational and ineffective use of water resources and, as a result, high specific water consumption. In the North Caucasus, water consumption is currently one of the highest in Russia. The characteristics of the impact on water resources are directly related to the use of water, the main elements of which are the water withdrawal from natural sources, the use of water and the discharge of wastewater. Based on open statistical sources, we analyzed the current situation in the use of water resources in the North Caucasus. The North Caucasus is characterized by problems similar to those of many regions of the country, in particular, large losses during transportation due to the emergency state of water supply networks and treatment facilities. Water supply problems in the North Caucasus are expected to worsen in the future. If urgent measures are not taken, the complex of problems will only accumulate. To overcome their negative consequences, it is necessary to revise the water use strategy and change the water consumption structure.

scholarly journals An integrated model for the assessment of global water resources – Part 2: Applications and assessments

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1027-1037 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Hanasaki ◽  
S. Kanae ◽  
T. Oki ◽  
K. Masuda ◽  
K. Motoya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Environmental Flow ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region ◽  
Meteorological Forcing ◽  
Global Water

Abstract. To assess global water resources from the perspective of subannual variation in water availability and water use, an integrated water resources model was developed. In a companion report, we presented the global meteorological forcing input used to drive the model and six modules, namely, the land surface hydrology module, the river routing module, the crop growth module, the reservoir operation module, the environmental flow requirement module, and the anthropogenic withdrawal module. Here, we present the results of the model application and global water resources assessments. First, the timing and volume of simulated agriculture water use were examined because agricultural use composes approximately 85% of total consumptive water withdrawal in the world. The estimated crop calendar showed good agreement with earlier reports for wheat, maize, and rice in major countries of production. In major countries, the error in the planting date was ±1 mo, but there were some exceptional cases. The estimated irrigation water withdrawal also showed fair agreement with country statistics, but tended to be underestimated in countries in the Asian monsoon region. The results indicate the validity of the model and the input meteorological forcing because site-specific parameter tuning was not used in the series of simulations. Finally, global water resources were assessed on a subannual basis using a newly devised index. This index located water-stressed regions that were undetected in earlier studies. These regions, which are indicated by a gap in the subannual distribution of water availability and water use, include the Sahel, the Asian monsoon region, and southern Africa. The simulation results show that the reservoir operations of major reservoirs (>1 km3) and the allocation of environmental flow requirements can alter the population under high water stress by approximately −11% to +5% globally. The integrated model is applicable to assessments of various global environmental projections such as climate change.

scholarly journals Water Resources Use in the basin of the Lake Khanka

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Lake Water Level ◽  
Russian Part ◽  
Lake Khanka

The article deals with investigation of the Lake Khanka water resources’ use. We have stated that the predominant development of agriculture determines the water resources use on both the Russian part and the Chinese part of the basin. We have assessed the irrigated land areas and water volumes used for this end, as well as economic activities’ impact of the lake water level. On the basis of statistical data, satellite images and published scientific articles we have assessed for the first time the irrigated lands’ dynamics in the Lake Khanka basin over the 1960–2015 period. Analysis of the official information and the expert-restored data on water withdrawal made it possible firstly to estimate the dynamics of water use for irrigation and establish the values of water consumption (irrevocable water losses) during irrigation in the Russian part of the lake basin for the same period. We have established that the source for irrigating rice crops in Russia is the lake itself. The use of Lake Khanka’s waters in China is possible only in low water years. The influence of water use on irrigation in the Russian part of the basin at the lake level for the entire period of rice cultivation was manifested only in its reduction, and to a very small extent. In high water years, the Lake Malaya Khanka acts as a reservoir for the flood waters of the Mulinghe River, which, if discharged into the Lake Khanka, can have an impact on the growth of the Lake Khanka level.

scholarly journals Study on Evaluation of Agricultural Irrigation Zoning and Optimal Utilization of Water Resources in Yantai City

2020 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 05017
Author(s):  
Hong Hou ◽  
Youqian Qiao ◽  
Xiangran Li
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Agricultural Irrigation ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Agricultural Water Use ◽  
Yantai City ◽  
Economic Developments ◽  
Efficient Water Use

Agricultural water is the largest water user in Yantai City, and its water consumption accounts for more than 2/3 of the total water consumption in Yantai City. The potential for agricultural water saving is huge, but the overall level of agricultural water efficiency in Yantai City is not very high, and the waste of water resources is serious. Efficient agricultural water use in Yantai is a key issue for achieving efficient and sustainable use of water resources in Yantai. Different regions in the study area have different social and economic developments, different industrial structures, and different natural climates, and their investments in agricultural water conservancy facilities are also different. In order to better study the agricultural efficient water use model in Yantai City. This article will divide the agricultural irrigation sub-area according to the actual situation of Yantai.

Science as a fundamental framework for shaping policy discussions regarding the use of groundwater in the State of Michigan: a case study

Water Policy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan D. Steinman ◽  
James R. Nicholas ◽  
Paul W. Seelbach ◽  
Jon W. Allan ◽  
Frank Ruswick
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Advisory Council ◽  
Great Lakes Basin

The availability and use of freshwater is a growing concern in the United States and around the globe. Despite apparently abundant water resources, several conflicts over water use have emerged in the Great Lakes region and the State of Michigan. These conflicts resulted in state legislation that both addresses water withdrawal from the Great Lakes Basin and requires the State of Michigan to begin a process to address the sustainability of water resources. The former resulted in Michigan's support of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Compact, whereas the latter resulted in the formation of a Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council. This paper focuses primarily on the Council, describing its formation, and the products it generated. In particular, we focus on the development of indicators of sustainable use of water, the creation of a water withdrawal assessment process to determine if a proposed withdrawal will create an adverse resource impact in the state, and how the lessons learned in Michigan may be applied to other units of government addressing similar issues. Attention is also given to the Compact, as it provides important context for the Council's formation.

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