Water Resources and Rural Development最新文献

The mission of seaports and river ports have evolved, over time, reflecting greater consideration of economic development. This changing role has been examined through analyzing port authorities in metropolitan regions as they diversify into urban development, but research on the changing role of rural river ports is nascent. Based on a project funded by the Mississippi Department of Transportation, this article explores the sixteen public ports in the rural U.S. State of Mississippi to shed light on how rural port authorities can operationally better support economic development efforts. These public agencies, which have traditionally focused on moving non-containerized cargo, are now diversifying into economic development. To be successful at improving rural livelihoods, rural ports need to work closely with the economic development community, but in different ways than urban ports. Their governance, financing, marketing, planning, and collaborative efforts need to adapt to be successful.

This review addresses short- and long-term adaptation strategies in rain fed and irrigated rice production systems under two climate change scenarios, specifically temperature increases and drought incidence. Each scenario is discussed based on rice plant physiological responses to abiotic stress and, where applicable, consequent yield losses. Possible short- and long-term adaptation measures, mainly focused on crop management strategies and germplasm development, are suggested to overcome production losses. Increased temperature, for example, can adversely affect rice yields either as a result of spikelet sterility or reduced accumulation of assimilates. Most agronomic operations to minimize the impact of increased temperatures involve early sowing or the use of early maturing rice cultivars to avoid high temperatures at grain filling. These measures might be feasible, but inadequate, as periods of increased temperature become more frequent and severe particularly in regions where temperatures are already above optimum for rice growth. On the other hand, rice germplasm from exceedingly warm environments can be used for selecting traits which are appropriate for the development of high temperature stress-tolerant rice cultivars. Drought incidence causes stomata closure, which reduces the leaf CO₂/O₂ ratio, resulting in photosynthesis inhibition and subsequent reductions in biomass production and the life cycle of the plant. These are manifested in significant yield losses. Drought is a common phenomenon in many rice growing environments, and research on developing cultivars capable of escaping, avoiding and/or tolerating drought merits further attention. Crop management, including water management techniques, to mitigate drought stress has also advanced. The implementation of a water-saving technology called alternate-wetting and drying, for example, enables optimum use of irrigation water and reduces methane emissions by 48% compared to continuous flooding of rice fields. Therefore, the suggested adaptation measures are also aligned and discussed based on their potential to decrease methane emissions from rice fields. This paper highlights the importance of germplasm development and improved agronomic practices as the center piece of climate change adaptation in rice farming systems.

Farmers as well as rural and urban consumers in India are facing water shortages. There is a need to increase efficiency in the supply and use of water. In this context, we consider the potential of a market in water, for improving water management in a small river basin wherein sixteen villages are the primary beneficiaries of a reservoir on the Varaha River.

Using secondary data and observations from a household survey, we estimate the financial implications to farmers of shifting from traditional methods of cultivation, in four different scenarios (shifting to a better technology for cultivation, shifting to a dry land crop, shifting to short term cash crops, or leaving the land fallow).

Our model suggests investing in better technology and less water intensive crops would not only benefit the farmers, adding to their income by selling the “saved” water, but also provide a cost efficient alternative water supply option to the government. Given that informal water markets already exist in the study area, formal transactions in water within the ambit of markets will not require a completely new institution and would be a ‘win-win’ situation for both the Government and the participating farmers.

Flood control and irrigation play a significant role in supporting rice intensification and agricultural diversification in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Arising out of these mandatory policies have exhibited complicated realities surrounding the linkages between flood control schemes (dykes) and rural livelihoods. However, little has been known about how these development processes shape the social and physical landscapes of the delta, and how rural households have transformed their traditional livelihoods to adapt to change. This paper aims to investigate these household-led practices that have occurred in the wake of the scheme operation across three flood-prone areas in the delta. It employs the mixed methods approach that guides data collection using focus group discussions, in-depth interviews with key informants and household surveys. The analysis suggests that the rural communities have witnessed the dramatic transformation of livelihood practices to adapt to emerging social and environmental conditions. Household groups have devised and adopted a variety of livelihood strategies, which consequently gave rise to polarity among household groups. This study highlights the increased recognition of rural households’ role in contributing farming initiatives to the reframing process of local adaptation policies.

The Decentralised Water reform process in Zimbabwe has largely been informed by the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) process based on the 1992 Dublin Principles on Water. The attempt to reform one sector (water), under the IWRM rubric, when other key sectors are in disarray (agriculture, energy) and when social and government institutions, in general, are not functioning as they should, made it more complicated. The decentralised water reform process, with support from a number of donors, was perceived to be a technical process which would result in better water management in Zimbabwe. The research in Zimbabwe, however, shows that instead of establishing order within the water sector, the reform process has largely been disorderly since it downplays the political nature of the water reform process. In attempting to change the water legislation, the reform brought out the different and competing interests on water. The economic crisis, the contested land reform process that ensued, resulted in disorder which benefited those who are politically connected. This paper contributes to the scholarship on the need to have a better political economy approach to development interventions such as water reform as they have to play out in political, social and economic contexts which will impact on human livelihoods.

Access to water in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continues to be a challenge to the extent that there are more people without access to water in 2015 than in 1990. This indicates that current approaches to water provision have been ineffective. Governments have failed to provide a structure, mechanisms or approaches that guarantee water for ALL, resulting in a vacuum which has been ‘filled’ by a number of social actors (NGOs, Faith Based Organisations, Donors). This paper examines the social actors involved in water access and provision in Malawi and Zambia, analysing the existing methods and approaches used by them in the sector. It seeks increased understanding of the contributions and the nature of influence of each social actor group. This was achieved by collecting data on socialactors through a combination of methods: focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and workshops. Social actor analyses of the data shaped the findings. The findings indicate that water provision is multifaceted requiring improved coordination and cooperation among social actors to streamline and focus on the provision of for ALL. It draws attention to the need for Governments to take a leading role by facilitating long term investment in the sector and promoting initiatives which incorporate the right to water access. It concludes that in order to achieve universal access to water, a new perception of rights and responsibilities is vital in communities, donors, NGOs and the public sector as one step towards reducing the number of people without water in the future.

This paper investigates factors underlying the household decision to utilize a variety of water storage devices in the small, poor municipality of San Lorenzo, Guatemala. Seemingly unrelated probit models were estimated to account for potential interdependence among different types of storage devices. Almost all sampled households store water at home in a variety of devices such as buckets, barrels, cisterns, and roof tanks. Estimation results indicate that the decision to use water storage devices is related to household income, and that the direction of income effects varies according to the type of storage device. On the other hand, water service interruptions were found statistically significant only for the household choice of using barrels. Findings also indicate that small devices (e.g. buckets) and barrels are used in a complementary fashion. In contrast, large devices (i.e. roof tanks and cisterns) are deemed substitutes for small devices and barrels.

A large number of small- to medium-sized community ponds exist in most parts of the Terai region in Nepal. Such ponds could be a viable alternative for other forms of surface irrigation. But, with the lack of efficient management, many of these ponds remain underutilized. An effort was made to facilitate the rehabilitation of such a pond in a selected village of Rupandehi District in Western Terai region of Nepal. This paper aims to evaluate the changed water availability situation in post-monsoon seasons after the pond rehabilitation. The paper also evaluates the feasibility of such interventions especially focusing on the potential to provide additional water and improve agricultural productivity. Results showed small increases in quantifiable indicators such as water availability, cropping intensity, productivity and income. The new institutional setup improved water allocation, improved operation and maintenance, and increased social awareness among the people about the importance of underutilized water resources. The intervention has the potential to be replicated in similar contexts.

Bangladesh often suffers from droughts and floods that cause substantial harm to households and communities. The frequency of such events is expected to increase with climate change. Assessing the vulnerability to climate change is a promising evaluation tool that can assist in identifying and improving adaptation strategies at various geographical scales. In this paper, we examine the vulnerability status of two regions in Bangladesh, one in the north, which is frequently impacted by severe droughts, and one in the south, which is exposed to regular flooding, high water, and salinity. We evaluate the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of each region using demographic, agro-economic, infrastructural, and biophysical indicators. We consider information obtained in a literature review, interviews with local experts, household surveys, and field visits in the study areas. We use principal components analysis to assess vulnerability to climate change between and within the north and south regions. The flood-prone, saline region in the south appears less vulnerable to climate change the northern drought prone areas, although further validation is needed.

We assess the willingness to pay for bottled water in rural areas of Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam, where many households are poor, and many rely on rainwater as their primary source of drinking water. Rainwater is abundant during the monsoonal wet season in the Mekong Delta, yet it becomes quite scarce during the dry season. Households with too few containers to collect and store sufficient rainwater must use groundwater or canal water during the dry season, or purchase water from a local vendor. Much of the groundwater and surface water in the region is polluted, yet households with limited income do not have access to a safe and affordable alternative. The potential health and welfare gains made possible by providing access to bottled water during the dry season are compelling, yet many households are too poor to pay for bottled water service. Many residents also prefer the taste of rainwater, and likely would not purchase bottled water, even at a low price, when rainwater is available. Thus, a commercial water bottling enterprise might not be financially viable in the region, due to inadequate ability and willingness to pay among households.