Water and the environment : innovation issues in irrigation and drainage

The sustainable use of water resources is now of major concern to all economic sectors and regions. Looking ahead to the 21st century, it is clear that initiating and implementing innovative water management programmes will be a major problem, particularly acute for the agricultural sector, which is responsible for more than 80% of water demand in the majority of countries. Arid, semi-arid, and drought prone regions will be severely affected, as the potential demand exceeds availability in most countries in the world. This publication examines imbalances between availability and demand, degradation of surface and ground waters, and inter-sectorial, inter-regional and international competition in water management. Subjects covered include: combating pollution; environmental impacts on the aquatic biosphere; water conservation practices; combined irrigation scheduling; re-use of return flows; demand and availability assessment; forecasting, planning and management; impacts on global changes; droughts, floods, natural catastrophies; emergency measures; trans-regional and trans-national policies; organizational and institutional considerations; and case studies. The publication is designed to help policy makers, planners, irrigation engineers, researchers, and postgraduate students specializing in irrigation and canal engineering, water pollution and water quality.