Organizational Change for Participatory Irrigation Management

The monsoon areas outside of the deltas were among the first to benefit from expansion
of irrigated area and the adoption of high-yielding varieties of rice. Until recently groundwater
has played a relatively minor role. However, with advances in groundwater technologies and
the decline in cereal grain prices, many farmers are finding ways of increasing incomes by
using groundwater to raise high valued crops in the dry season. But these opportunities depend
heavily on development of domestic and export markets.
Finally, we may yet be in the early stages of the groundwater revolution. With
increasing pressure to increase the productivity of water (more crop per drop) new and cheaper
micro-irrigation technologies are becoming available. One can easily imagine that two or three
decades hence, irrigated agriculture in Asia will be very different than it does today.
V. TOWARD INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Until recently, most people believed that we would also have enough water to provide
all our needs. Now the growing scarcity and competition for water is in evidence everywhere.
It is estimated that within the first quarter of this century, 2.7 billion people will live in regions
that face severe water scarcity. However, the shortage of water will be pervasive, extending
well beyond the semi-arid regions and affecting populations in well-watered areas. Urban
centers will experience periodic water shortages similar to those experienced for energy. But
the rural poor are most at risk. Many will lack access to potable water and to the quantity and
quality of water needed for agricultural production.
Water scarcity is beginning to dramatically change the way we value and utilize water,
and the way we mobilize and manage water resources. Over the past 30 years we have
achieved global and national food security. It is now challenged to produce more food with less
water, to enhance livelihoods and alleviate poverty in the rural areas, and to manage water to
protect the environment and human health. This calls for a new approach to water
management.
IWRM implies that we treat water as a resource and an economic good with a wide
range of uses (of which irrigation is only one) that can benefit various members and sectors of
society. The concept of IWRM has many dimensions.
First, as water supplies become limited, we need to allocate among competing uses and
users. These basin-level allocations will favor water for municipal and industrial use over water
for agriculture. Thus, we are going to have to produce more food with less water. At
International Water Management Institute (IWMI) scientists are currently engaged in research
on water saving management practices and technologies.
Second is the need to integrate management of irrigation water at farm, system, and basin
level. Are the practices at farm level consistent with basin-level water use efficiency? This
question becomes critical as more and more basins become closed. That is to say when all
water resources are fully committed and no water of unusable quality is flowing to the sea. PIM
can play an important role in providing the link between farm and basin level planning.
Third, there is the clear need to integrate the management of ground and surface water
irrigation. Planned conjunctive use through PIM can help maintain water tables at sustainable
levels, reduce salinity as a consequence of rising water tables, and avoid excessive draw down
of water tables.
Finally, the impact of irrigation on human health and the environment needs to be
assessed. With the intensification of irrigated agriculture over the past three decades, an
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