Water Management and Drought Mitigation Strategies: Application of IWMI experience for CAC region

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Water Management and Drought Mitigation
Strategies Application of IWMI experience for
CAC region
Iskandar Abdullaev, Kahramon Jumaboev
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Themes to present

• IWMI- International Water Management Institute
• General info on Droughts and other natural
  disasters
• IWMI activities and its relation to the Drought
  Mitigation
• IWMI Research on drought, IWMI Drought Center
  Initiative, ADAPT project
• Management of Drought In Central Asia Water
  Management Institution
• IWRM Fergana project
• Management of Drought In Central Asia Water and
  Land Conservation practices
• Best practices project on water conservation
• Bright spots project
• Conclusions how to cope drought

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Type Distribution of water-related natural
disasters, 1990-2001

• More than 2,200 major and minor water-related
  disasters occurred in the world between 1990 and
  2001. Asia and Africa were the most affected
  continents, with floods accounting for half of
  these disasters.

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General statistics

• There were 2,200 water-related disasters from
  1990 to 2001.   - Floods 50    - Water-borne
  and vector disease outbreaks 28    - Droughts
  11    - Landslide and avalanche events 9
     - Famine 2

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General statistics

• During the 2000 to 2003 period, droughts in South
  Asia affected more than 100 million people with
  severe impacts felt in Western India, Pakistan,
  Afghanistan and Iran.
• Only in Iran
• Water levels in 36 rivers dropped by 45 during
  this period.
• Of the rural population, 60 were affected.
• 2.8 million tons of wheat were destroyed.
• More than 800,000 animals died from lack of water
  and fodder.
• 8.4 million hectares of orchards and crops were
  lost and 9.6 million hectares of forested land
  endangered.
• Research shows that by 2025, 48 countries will
  face water stress and of these countries, 40 are
  in West Asia, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

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IWMI Research on drought

• IWMI Research at Gerdiz Basin (Turkey), Krindi
  Oya (Sri Lanka), Pakistan, Afghanistan and India
  
• Assessment of drought through RS/GIS and
  Forecasting of drought in Southeast Asia
• Drought coping strategies for Irrigation Systems
• IWMI Regional Center on Drought and Agriculture

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Assessment of drought through RS/GIS and
Forecasting of drought in Southeast
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Drought mitigation strategies for
Irrigation Systems

• Irrigation agencies need a formal water
  allocation policy that includes contingency plans
  for different degrees of water shortage
• Allocation rules under both normal and drought
  conditions should be understood and accepted by
  farmers- water users
• Under water-short conditions, allocation
  decisions should be made at basin and system
  levels rather than at local distribution system
  levels
• To make systems less vulnerable to drought,
  irrigation planning must take into consideration
  changes in the catchment area. Up-to-date data
  should be used to capture development-related
  changes in the watershed and climate changes

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Drought Mitigation strategies for
Irrigation Systems

• Early warning systems that monitor changing
  conditions and trigger contingency plans at the
  first sign of water shortage offer water managers
  and farmers the best chance of avoiding crop
  failure
• Water saving techniques, such as precision
  irrigation, zero tillage, raised bed planting and
  laser leveling of fields, can help farmers make
  the best use of scarce supplies and improve the
  productivity of water, even under normal
  conditions

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IWMI Regional Centeron Drought and Agriculture
(Iran)

• Development, operation and maintenance of a
  regional drought and flood monitoring and
  assessment system (s) and associated tools,
  methods, databases and models
• Research on droughts and floods as related to
  agriculture and the environment, with a special
  view to improving the capacity of natural
  resources managers to deal with droughts and
  floods
• Capacity building and advice on drought and flood
  monitoring and assessment, and their impact on
  agriculture and environment, for the countries in
  the region
• Dissemination of information on droughts and
  floods and the accuracy of drought prediction in
  terms of time and space

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ADAPT project-climate change
Scenario Unmet demands, km3/year Unmet demands, km3/year Unmet demands, km3/year
Scenario Normal year Dry year Wet year
Reference 3.9 11.7 -1.9
Pessimistic scenario (10 application)10 3.8 11.7 -1.9
Optimistic-real scenario 25 3.4 11.3 -2.1
100 2.4 10.1 -2.6

• Forecasting of the Climate change
• Deficit of water resources in Syr Darya basin

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Management of Drought In Central Asia Water
Management Institution

• IWRM Fergana project
• 3 phases supported by SDC, partnership with SIC
  ICWC
• 4 levels and 3 countries of Ferghana Valley (1)
  National, (2) Main Canal , (3) WUAs and (4) below
  WUA Level
• Results
• New water management institutions (principles of
  IWRM)
• Public participation at all levels (UWU, WUA
  Councils and WUGs)
• Better planning, distribution of water for
  different uses
• Water saving methods, efficiency of water use at
  the field level and equip farmers with better
  plane and use of irrigation water

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Management of Drought In Central Asia
Water and Land Conservation practices

• Best practices project on water conservation
  (2001-2003)
• to study water users initiatives in water
  conservation and productive use of irrigation
  water
• to select the best water conservation methods
• to promote and apply them to the practices of
  irrigated agriculture to study water users
  initiatives in water
• Bright spots project (2005- ongoing)
• Identify and promote the expansion of community
  based innovations termed Bright spots that
  prevent further land and water degradation and
  enhance the livelihoods of agrarian communities
  in the target countries.
• (ii) Evaluate plant species and management
  systems that have the potential to increased
  productivity and income generation on saline
  soils through farmer participatory trials in the
  three target countries.
• (iii) Enhance the capacity of national research
  and extension services to develop and promote
  innovative strategies that address land water
  resource degradation.

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Impact of different water conservation
method on crop yields and water supply rates.
Water conservation measures In comparison with pre-conservation period (1996-1999) (Pilot farms) In comparison with pre-conservation period (1996-1999) (Pilot farms) Average means (2001) (All farms) Average means (2001) (All farms)
Water conservation measures Yield (cotton) increase, Water Supply Decrease, Yield (cotton) increase, Water Supply Decrease,
Field Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 10 ha Field Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 10 ha Field Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 10 ha Field Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 10 ha Field Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 10 ha
Shorter furrows 20 20 8 1
Succession of wet and dry furrows 20 30 17 23
Soil surface leveling 10 10 27 15
Reuse of water at the field level 10 20 23 13
Farm Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 1500 ha Farm Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 1500 ha Farm Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 1500 ha Farm Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 1500 ha Farm Level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 1500 ha
Partial rehabilitation of irrigation and collector-drainage network 10 0.15 17 29
Repairing and equipping gauging stations, water accounting in on-farm level 10 0.15 17 31
Avoiding final release of water- containment and minimizing/eliminating drainage from fields - 0.15 24 30
Change of crop pattern (cultivation of drought- tolerant and higher cash crops) 20 0.15 42 25
WMO level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 35000 ha WMO level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 35000 ha WMO level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 35000 ha WMO level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 35000 ha WMO level (average for all reaches of the basin)-up to 35000 ha
Water rotation in irrigation system - 0.13 18 31
Improvement of water use discipline - 0.13 10 38
Assistance to farmers on water use planning 10 0.13 5 26
WUA establishment - 0.13 5 34
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Conclusions How to mitigate Droughts

• Drought is the serous issue for whole Asia and
  particularly for the Central Asia
• Most effective means of coping drought are water
  conservation and water productivity improvments
  at the different levels
• Institutional aspects of coping with drought in
  irrigated areas new water institutions at
  different levels

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Extending the IWMI Drought center to the
Central Asia and Caucasus countries

• Drought Early Warning System (DEWS)
• Availability of Updated Online Spatial
• Data and Knowledge for the Region
• Knowledge Sharing and Dissemination
• Capacity Building

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Thank you!