Your search found 38 records
1 Johnston, Robyn; Kummu, M. 2012. Water resource models in the Mekong Basin: a review. Water Resources Management, 26(2):429-455. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-011-9925-8]
Water resources ; Water resources development ; Hydrology ; Water allocation ; Models ; Costs ; History ; River basins ; Impact assessment ; Economic aspects ; Policy ; Economic aspects ; Social aspects ; Groundwater ; Surface water / South East Asia / Mekong River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: PER Record No: H044436)
(0.81 MB)
Development of the water resources of the Mekong Basin is the subject of intense debate both within the Mekong region and internationally. Water resources modelling is playing an increasingly important role in the debate, with significant effort in building integrated modelling platforms to describe the hydrological, ecological, social and economic impacts of water resource development. In the hydrological domain, a comprehensive set of models has been effective in building understanding of the system, and in identifying and describing the issues and trade-offs involved in basin-scale water planning. In the ecological and social domains, quantitative modelling has not progressed very far; geo-spatial analysis and qualitative frameworks remain the most commonly used tools. Economic models have been used to assess the costs and benefits of water resources development and to describe the trade-offs between different sectors and users. These analyses are likely to play an important role in the policy and planning debate, but are hampered by uncertainties in valuation of ecosystem services. Future efforts should focus on optimising the use of existing model platforms for the Mekong, including structured comparison of multiple hydrological models to quantify errors and identify an optimum set of modelling tools for different applications. A comprehensive research effort is needed to incorporate groundwater into hydrological models for regional planning. Options for social impact assessment should be reassessed before major investments are made in complex modelling platforms, and participatory social survey methods evaluated as part of an integrated assessment framework.
2 Johnston, Robyn; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Lacombe, Guillaume; Lefroy, R.; Pavelic, Paul; Fry, Carolyn. 2012. Managing water in rainfed agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Final report prepared by IWMI for Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). 100p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2012.201]
Water management ; Agroecology ; Environment ; Rainfed farming ; Irrigated farming ; Farming systems ; Crop production ; Agricultural production ; Yields ; Poverty ; Climate change ; Drought ; Floodplains ; Rain ; Mapping ; Case studies ; Reservoirs ; Deltas ; Groundwater ; Farm ponds ; Water storage ; Rivers ; Lowland ; Highlands ; Plains ; Landscape ; Coastal area ; Urban areas ; Aquifers / Southeast Asia / Cambodia / Laos / Myanmar / Thailand / Vietnam / Greater Mekong Subregion
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044646)
(4.39 MB) (2.44MB)
3 Lacombe, Guillaume; Douangsavanh, Somphasith; Thepphavong, B.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Bounvilay, B.; Noble, Andrew; Ongkeo, O.; Johnston, Robyn; Phongpachith, C. 2011. Is there enough water in the Vientiane Plain? a water balance assessment of the Lower Nam Ngum Basin. Project report prepared by IWMI for CSIRO - AusAID Research for Development Alliance under the project "Exploring Mekong Region Futures". Vientiane, Laos: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 25p.
Water balance ; Assessment ; Water demand ; Water supply ; River basins ; Water power ; Dams ; Irrigated land ; Pumping ; Time series analysis / Laos / Vientiane Plain / Nam Ngum River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044647)
(1.14 MB)
In Lao PDR, one of the less developed countries, water represents a valuable natural resource via the development of hydropower dams and irrigation schemes. In the lower part of the Nam Ngum River Basin, the Vientiane plain is one of the largest food production areas of the country and the largest irrigated area in Lao PDR. While food demand is expected to continue to increase in the future, hydropower dams are under rapid development in the upper part of the basin, modifying the seasonal distribution of the river flow regimes. This study aims at assessing the current water supply and agricultural water demand in the Vientiane Plain and concluding whether the water resource is or may become a limiting factor for food production. The agricultural water demand is assessed from two types of data (characteristics of large-scale pumping stations and official statistics on irrigated areas) and using remote sensing analyses. Flow measurements of the Nam Ngum River were used to quantify the water supply. A 43-year time series (1962-2004) of daily river discharge was reconstructed from actual discontinuous data recorded in the river reach where most of the pumping stations are found. Distinctions in the water resource assessment were made between pristine conditions (before the construction of the hydropower dams) and current conditions of water infrastructure development. A comparison of the water supply and demand indicates that during the 4 driest months of the year (January to April) when the river reaches its minimum level and the irrigation water demand is the highest, pumped volumes represent less than 30% of the river discharge. This ratio should decrease as new hydropower dams are built, storing and releasing more water during the wet and the dry season, respectively. These figures indicate that the availability of water in the Nam Ngum River is not a limiting factor for irrigation, even during the dry seasons of exceptionally dry years. The water demand could exceptionally exceed the water supply in the case of an extreme scenario of irrigation development with irrigated areas 3-fold larger than the current ones. Next analyses will consist in assessing how this water balance will be altered by the development of new hydropower dams and irrigation projects. Possible uses of water surplus will be prioritized, depending on their economic viability and benefits.
4 Johnston, Robyn; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Lacombe, Guillaume; Lefroy, R.; Pavelic, Paul; Fry, C. 2012. Improving water use in rainfed agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Summary report. [Summary report of the Project report prepared by IWMI for Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)]. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) 44p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2012.200]
Water management ; Water use ; Groundwater ; Rainfed farming ; Irrigated farming ; Agricultural production ; Crops ; Rice ; Yield gap ; Environmental effects ; Case studies ; Deltas ; Reservoirs ; Farm ponds ; Farmers ; Agroecology ; Climate change ; Drought / Southeast Asia / Cambodia / Laos / Myanmar / Thailand / Vietnam / China / Greater Mekong Subregion
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H044801)
(3.18MB)
5 Smakhtin, Vladimir; Johnston, Robyn. 2012. Hydrological models bring clarity and consensus to challenging policy issues. Water International, 37(4):357-361. (Special issue on "How hydrological models support informed decision making in developing countries" with contributions by IWMI authors). [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2012.704554]
Hydrology ; Water management ; Water resources ; Water policy ; Models ; Stakeholders / Sri Lanka / Vietnam
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: PER Record No: H045024)
(0.86 MB)
6 Johnston, Robyn; McCornick, Peter G.; Lacombe, Guillaume; Noble, A.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Bartlett, R. 2012. Water for food and energy in the GMS [Greater Mekong Subregion]: issues and challenges to 2020. In Moinuddin, H.; Maclean, J. (Eds.). Proceedings of the International Conference on GMS 2020: Balancing Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability. Focusing on food - water - energy nexus. Bangkok, Thailand, 20-21 February 2012. Bangkok, Thailand: Asian Development Bank (ADB). Greater Mekong Sub-region Core Environment Program. pp.254-267.
Water resources ; Food security ; Energy ; Indicators ; Irrigation systems ; Irrigated farming ; Fisheries ; Ecosystems ; Water power ; Climate change / Southeast Asia / Cambodia / Laos / Myanmar / Thailand / Vietnam / Greater Mekong Subregion
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045074)
http://www.gms-eoc.org/uploads/resources/125/attachment/Proceedings%20International%20Conference%20on%20GMS%202020.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H045074.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H045074.pdf
(10.85 MB)
7 Johnston, Robyn. 2012. Availability of water for agriculture in the Nile Basin. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Molden, David; Peden D. (Eds.). The Nile River Basin: water, agriculture, governance and livelihoods. Abingdon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.61-83.
River basins ; Water availability ; Water balance ; Water accounting ; Groundwater ; Rainfed farming ; Irrigated farming ; Agricultural production ; Climate change ; Hydrology ; Flow discharge ; Environmental flows ; Indicators / Africa / Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H045312)
(1.82MB)
8 Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Johnston, Robyn; Hein, T.; Weigelhofer, G.; DHaeyer, T.; Kone, B.; Cools, J. 2012. Challenges to the integration of wetlands into IWRM [Integrated Water Resources Management]: the case of the inner Niger Delta (Mali) and the Lobau Floodplain (Austria). Environmental Science and Policy, 34:58-68. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2012.11.002]
Wetlands ; Water management ; Deltas ; Floodplains ; Ecosystems ; River basin management ; Institutions ; Legal aspects / Mali / Austria / Niger Delta / Lobau Floodplain / Lobau Wetland / Danube River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045586)
(1.09 MB)
Wetlands are too often perceived as standalone elements and are poorly integrated into river basin management. The Ramsar Convention recognizes the critical linkage between wetlands, water and river basin management; the governments that are party to the Convention have committed to conserving their wetlands within a framework of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The “Critical Path” approach and related guidance have been adopted by Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention in order to effectively integrate wetland conservation and management into river basin management planning and decision-making. However, despite international acceptance of the approach, it is not widely implemented. This paper provides one of the first case study based assessments of the Critical Path approach. The analysis of two contrasting Ramsar sites is presented in order to better understand the barriers to implementation in different development contexts. These are the Lobau wetland in Austria, where management institutions and regulatory frameworks are highly developed; and the Inner Niger Delta in Mali, where the capacity to implement IWRM is less evolved. A planning approach is proposed which involves structured and transparent methods for assessing ecosystem services and institutional capacity, and is suitable as a tool for identifying, prioritizing and negotiating trade-offs in ecosystem services and improving livelihoods. Based on the analysis, two main barriers to implementation are identified; mismatch between local and national or basin level priorities, and a lack of recognition of the ecosystem services provided by wetlands.
9 Johnston, Robyn; Cools, J.; Liersch, S.; Morardet, S.; Murgue, C.; Mahieu, Marie; Zsuffa, I.; Uyttendaele, G. P. 2013. WETwin: a structured approach to evaluating wetland management options in data-poor contexts. Environmental Science and Policy, 34:3-17. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2012.12.006]
Water management ; Research projects ; Wetlands ; Ecosystems ; River basin management ; Stakeholders ; Public participation ; Case studies ; Indicators ; Analytical methods ; European Union / Africa / South-America
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046060)
(1.36 MB)
This special issue of Environmental Science and Policy presents the outcomes of the WETwin project (enhancing the role of wetlands in integrated water resources management for twinned river basins in EU, Africa and South-America in support of EU Water Initiatives), an international research project funded by the FP7 programme of the European Commission. The project aimed to improve wetland management by maximising benefits from wetland use while maintaining ecological health, using case studies from Europe, Africa and South America.In much of the less developed world, data on wetland functions, processes and values are scarce even while wetlands often provide a critical component of livelihoods. Management decisions on balancing competing demands for wetland use must often be made in the absence of comprehensive information. This paper introduces the approach developed and tested under WETwin to evaluate wetland management structures and solutions in datapoor contexts, summarising a conceptual framework which has evolved from seven very diverse case studies. A structured, modular approach was devised which combined multi-criteria analysis, trade-off analysis and vulnerability analysis, drawing on best available information, including quantitative modelling, qualitative ‘‘expert opinion’’, and local stakeholders’ knowledge and values. The approach used in WETwin has three important strengths: it involves stakeholders at all stages of the decision process, it combines qualitative and quantitative data (and therefore allows inclusion of poorly known and potentially important system components) and finally, it provides a relatively simple and structured approach to evaluate wetland management interventions and integrate impact, feasibility and institutional assessments, vulnerability analysis and trade-off analysis. The overall conceptual framework developed for WETwin was found to be robust and transfer-able to different contexts.
10 McCartney, Matthew; Pavelic, Paul; Lacombe, Guillaume; Latt, K.; Zan, A. K.; Thein, K.; Douangsavanh, Somphasith; Balasubramanya, Soumya; Rajah, Ameer; Myint, A.; Cho, C.; Johnston, Robyn; Sotoukee, Touleelor. 2013. Water resources assessment of the dry zone of Myanmar: final report for component 1. [Project report of the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) Dry Zone Program] Vientiane, Laos: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Yangon, Myanmar: National Engineering and Planning Services (EPS). 52p.
Water resources ; Surface water ; Water use ; Flow discharge ; Runoff ; Groundwater resources ; Groundwater recharge ; Water quality ; Water storage ; Reservoirs ; Aquifers ; Evapotranspiration ; Water supply ; Irrigation schemes ; Assessment ; Arid zones ; Food security ; Living standards ; Rain ; Data ; Geology ; Research projects / Myanmar / Dry Zone
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046133)
(3.66 MB)
11 Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali; Joffre, O.; Suhardiman, Diana; Balasubramanya, Soumya; Pavelic, Paul; Htut, U. Y. T.; McCartney, Matthew; Johnston, Robyn. 2013. Community survey on water access, availability and management issues in the dry zone of Myanmar: final report for component 2. [Project report of the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) Dry Zone Program]. Vientiane, Laos: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Yangon, Myanmar: Myanmar Marketing Research and Development (MMRD). 74p.
Water management ; Water resources ; Water availability ; Arid zones ; Surveys ; Villages ; Climate change ; Weather hazards ; Rain ; Income ; Livestock ; Groundwater irrigation ; Groundwater resources ; Water quality ; Water allocation ; Water use ; Water user associations ; Irrigated farming ; Rainfed farming ; Crops ; Food security ; Institutions ; Research projects ; Investment ; Income / Myanmar / Dry Zone
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046134)
(0.77 MB)
12 Johnston, Robyn; Rajah, Ameer; Balasubramanya, Soumya; Douangsavanh, Somphasith; Lacombe, Guillaume; McCartney, Matthew; Pavelic, Paul; Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali; Sotoukee, Touleelor; Suhardiman, Diana; Joffre, O. 2013. Identifying priority investments in water in Myanmar’s dry zone: final report for component 3. [Project report of the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) Dry Zone Program] Vientiane, Laos: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 53p.
Water resources development ; Water management ; Water supply ; Research projects ; Investment ; Living standards ; Arid zones ; Agroecosystems ; Irrigation systems ; Irrigation schemes ; Groundwater irrigation ; Supplemental irrigation ; Rainwater ; Water harvesting ; Water storage ; Reservoirs ; Dams ; Wells ; Watershed management ; Food security ; Farmland ; Rainfed farming ; Irrigated farming ; Social aspects / Myanmar / Dry Zone
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046135)
13 McCornick, Peter; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Bharati, Luna; Johnston, Robyn; McCartney, Matthew; Sugden, Fraser; Clement, Floriane; McIntyre, Beverly. 2013. Tackling change: future-proofing water, agriculture, and food security in an era of climate uncertainty. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 36p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2013.213]
Climate change ; Water resources ; Water management ; Water productivity ; Water governance ; Water storage ; Groundwater recharge ; Aquifers ; River basins ; Irrigation schemes ; Agriculture ; Rainfed farming ; Food security ; Health hazards ; Malaria ; Soil moisture ; Gender ; Women ; Environmental flows
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H046223)
(2.20MB)
14 Cools, J.; Johnston, Robyn; Hattermann, F. F.; Douven, W.; Zsuffa, I. 2013. Tools for wetland management: lessons learnt from a comparative assessment. Environmental Science and Policy, 34:138-145. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.01.013]
Wetlands ; River basin management ; Ecosystem services ; Assessment ; Stakeholders ; Decision making ; Case studies / Europe / Latin America / South Africa / Austria / Hungary / Uganda / Mali / Ecuador
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046247)
(0.62 MB)
This paper provides the synthesis of the special issue on the ‘‘role of wetlands in river basin management’’ and reviews lessons learnt from a comparative assessment of the presented case studies in Europe, Africa and Latin-America. Although wetlands are important for local communities and biodiversity, the services and products they deliver for local livelihoods and river basins are insufficiently known, and inadequately valued and understood by authorities. Wetlands are too often perceived as standalone elements and poorly integrated into river basin management plans. In this volume, an analytical framework is developed to formulate and compare wetland management options, also in data-poor contexts and to bridge the gap between science and policy. The framework is a set of tools and processes to structure the information flows needed to identify and score management options in terms of their impact, feasibility, vulnerability to future changes and trade-offs. In practice, it was found that the framework provided a useful set of tools to promote understanding and underpin negotiations. The major barrier for a better integration of wetlands in river basin management was found to be the lack of understanding of what the important issues were and the institutional capacity to organise cooperation and consequent implementation of the agreed plans. This paper presents the following conclusions. Firstly, rapid assessment tools and simplified scoring methods were used and proved useful in explaining issues across sectors and scales, and were important in creating mutual understanding, even though they did not necessarily present new insights for local or disciplinary experts. Secondly, in order to improve the knowledge base, an integrated database is developed, especially with regard to water quantity simulation at the river basin scale and wetland scale, potential habitat availability and the quantification of adaptive and institutional capacity, including the impact of future changes. Data has been compiled from various, scattered sources, including global data sets, sectoral wetland and/or river basin-specific quantitative and qualitative data sets. Thirdly, in case of limited data availability, rather than improving the accuracy of available quantitative data, it is proposed to better use alternative qualitative sources of data, from local experts, authority representatives and wetland users.
15 Zsuffa, I.; van Dam, A. A.; Kaggwa, R. C.; Namaalwa, S.; Mahieu, M.; Cools, J.; Johnston, Robyn. 2014. Towards decision support-based integrated management planning of papyrus wetlands: a case study from Uganda. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 22(2):199-213.
Wetlands ; Cyperus papyrus ; Decision support systems ; Ecosystem services ; Sustainable agriculture ; Vegetation ; Living standards ; Public health ; Ecology ; Land use ; Stakeholders ; Wastewater treatment ; Water quality ; Case studies / Uganda / Namatala Wetland / Namatala River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046248)
(0.50 MB)
Management and decision making for wetlands need an integrated approach, in which all ecosystem services are identified, their importance are assessed and objectives are formulated about their desired outputs. This approach has been applied successfully in European wetlands with sufficient scientific data. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the application of this approach in the context of a data-poor, multi-use African wetland. The Namatala wetland in Uganda, a wetland under intense pressure from wastewater discharge, conversion to agriculture and vegetation harvesting, was used as a case study. After characterisation of the wetland ecosystem and stakeholder analysis, three management options, subdivided into 13 sub-options, were identified for the wetland. These options were combined into six management solutions. A set of 15 indicators, subdivided into five categories (livelihood; human health; ecology; costs; risk of failure), were identified to assess the performance of these management solutions. Stakeholders’ preferences were taken into consideration by means of weights attached to the indicators, and a best-compromise solution was derived which consisted of a combination of sustainable agriculture in the upper Namatala wetland, papyrus buffer strips along the Namatala river channel, sustainable land use (vegetation harvesting, fishing) in lower Namatala wetland, and papyrus buffer zones at the waste-water discharge points. Despite differences of opinion among stakeholder groups about the relative importance of the indicators, the same compromise solution resulted for all stakeholders. It was concluded that this systematic approach and the stakeholder dialogue about the management options were beneficial to the management process, although the approach would benefit from more and better data about the wetland system and from model-derived predictions.
16 Sylvie, M.; Clement, M.; Johnston, Robyn. 2013. Reconciling livelihoods with ecosystem integrity in Ga-Mampa wetland, South Africa [Abstract only] In European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE). Ecological Economics and Institutional Dynamics: 10th International Conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics, Reims-Brussels-Lille, France, 17-21 June 2013. Book of abstracts. Lille, France: European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE). pp.477-478.
Ecosystems ; Living standards ; Wetlands ; River basins ; Stakeholders ; Farmers ; Irrigation schemes ; Case studies / South Africa / Olifants River Basin / Ga-Mampa wetland
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046262)
https://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H046262.pdf
http://esee2013.sciencesconf.org/conference/esee2013/boa_en.pdf
http://esee2013.sciencesconf.org/conference/esee2013/boa_en.pdf
(0.01 MB)
17 de Silva, Sanjiv; Johnston, Robyn; Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali. 2013. Agriculture, irrigation and poverty reduction in Cambodia: policy narratives and ground realities compared. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Canberra, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). 70p.
Agricultural development ; Agricultural production ; Irrigation schemes ; Irrigation management ; Participatory approaches ; Water scarcity ; Poverty ; Economic growth ; Climate change ; Rice ; Hydrology ; Geography ; Soil quality ; Pumping ; Institutions ; Smallholders ; Fertilizers ; Prices ; Governance ; Private sector ; Livestock / Cambodia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046294)
(1 MB)
18 Johnston, Robyn; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2014. Hydrological modeling of large river basins: how much is enough? Water Resources Management, 28(10):2695-2730. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-014-0637-8]
Hydrology ; Models ; River basin management ; Water resources ; International waters ; Climate change ; Costs / Ethiopia / South East Asia / India / Nepal / Bangladesh / Tibet / Pakistan / Nile River Basin / Mekong River Basin / Ganges River Basin / Indus River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046486)
http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11269-014-0637-8.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046486.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046486.pdf
(5.84 MB) (5.86 MB)
Hydrological modeling is an indispensable component of water resources research and management in large river basins. There is a tendency for each new group working in a basin to develop their own model, resulting in a plethora of such tools for each major basin. The question then becomes: how much modeling is enough? This study reviews hydrological modeling in four large basins (Nile, Mekong, Ganges and Indus). Based on this review, four areas for action to improve effectiveness and reduce duplication in hydrological modeling of large basins are suggested. Model setups and input data, as well as model results, should be published, to allow more coordinated approaches and capitalize on past modeling efforts. More focus is needed on reporting uncertainty, to allow more realistic assessment of the degree of confidence in using results for policy and management. Initiatives are needed to improve the quantity and quality of data for model input, calibration and validation, both traditional hydrological monitoring (improved networks, expansion of automated systems) and new methods for data collection (remote sensing, crowd-sourcing and community based observations). Finally, within each major basin, an appropriate agency should be identified and resourced to take responsibility for data sharing and coordination, to reduce redundancy of effort and promote collaboration.
19 McCornick, Peter; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Bharati, Luna; Johnston, Robyn; McCartney, Matthew; Sugden, Fraser; Clement, Floriane; McIntyre, Beverly. 2014. Afrontar el cambio: Cuidar del agua, de la agricultura y de la seguridad alimentaria en una era de incertidumbre climatica. In Spanish. [Tackling change: future-proofing water, agriculture, and food security in an era of climate uncertainty]. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 36p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2014.216]
Climate change ; Water resources ; Water management ; Water productivity ; Water governance ; Water storage ; Groundwater recharge ; Aquifers ; River basins ; Irrigation schemes ; Agriculture ; Rainfed farming ; Food security ; Health hazards ; Malaria ; Soil moisture ; Gender ; Women ; Environmental flows
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H046664)
(2 MB)
20 Mekuria, Wolde; Langan, Simon; Noble, Andrew; Johnston, Robyn. 2014. Soil organic carbon and nutrient contents are not influenced by exclosures established in communal grazing land in Nile Basin, northern Ethiopia. In Rahman, A.; Ahmadi, R. (Eds.) International Institute of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering (IICBEE) International Conference on Advances in Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Sciences (AABES), Dubai, UAE, 15-16 October 2014. Punjab, India: International Institute of Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering (IICBEE) pp.16-21. [doi: https://doi.org/10.15242/IICBE.C1014045]
Grazing lands ; Common lands ; Land degradation ; Soil properties ; Soil fertility ; Soil organic matter ; Carbon ; Ecosystem services ; Watersheds / Northern Ethiopia / Gomit Watershed / Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046769)
(0.73 MB) (748 KB)
Land degradation through extensification of agriculture and overgrazing is an increasing problem across large expanses of the Ethiopian highlands that give rise to a loss in a range of ecosystem services. Ecological restoration through exclosure establishment has become increasingly important approach to reversing degraded ecosystems in Ethiopia and particularly in the Amhara regional state, northern Ethiopia. The present study was conducted in Nile basin, northern Ethiopia to investigate the changes in soil properties and nutrient contents following establishing exclosures on communal grazing lands. A space-for-time substitution approach to monitor changes in soil properties after conversion of communal grazing lands to exclosures with ages of establishment ranging from 1 to 7-years was used. In the 0- to 20- and 20- to 50-cm depths, significant (p < 0.05) differences in soil pH, exchangeable cations, cation exchange capacity, soil moisture content, and bulk density were observed among exclosures and between exclosures and communal grazing land. Communal grazing land displayed significantly higher soil total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compared to exclosures. However, differences between exclosures and grazing land in soil organic matter (SOM) content and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock were not significant (p > 0.05). The results demonstrated that exclosure age influenced SOM content and SOC stock. The lack of influence in soil nutrient and SOM contents as well as SOC stock after 7-year of exclosure establishment could be attributed to: (a) the favorable environment (e.g., better moisture content and soil pH) in exclosures, which results in increased SOM decomposition, and (b) better vegetation growth in exclosures, which consequently reduce soil nutrient content due to higher nutrient uptake by restored plants. Exclosures alone therefore cannot be regarded as a comprehensive short- or medium-term soil rehabilitation option.
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