Legal and other institutional aspects of groundwater governance

This chapter defines the linked concepts of groundwater governance and groundwater management, explaining how they differ from each other. Then, it describes the prevailing legal instruments for, and the institutional aspects of, groundwater management and governance

Irrigation of World Agricultural Lands: Evolution through the Millennia

Many agricultural production areas worldwide are characterized by high variability of water supply conditions, or simply lack of water, creating a dependence on irrigation since Neolithic times. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the evolution of irrigation of agricultural lands worldwide, based on bibliographical research focusing on ancient water management techniques and ingenious irrigation practices and their associated land management practices. In ancient Egypt, regular flooding by the Nile River meant that early agriculture probably consisted of planting seeds in soils that had been recently covered and fertilized with floodwater and silt deposits. On the other hand, in arid and semi-arid regions farmers made use of perennial springs and seasonal runoff under circumstances altogether different from the river civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India,and early dynasties in China. We review irrigation practices in all major irrigation regions through the centuries. Emphasis is given to the Bronze Age civilizations (Minoans, Egyptians, and Indus valley), pre-Columbian, civilizations from the historic times (e.g., Chinese, Hellenic, and Roman), late-Columbians (e.g., Aztecs and Incas) and Byzantines, as well as to Ottomans and Arabs. The implications and impacts of irrigation techniques on modern management of water resources, as well as on irrigated agriculture, are also considered and discussed. Finally, some current major agricultural water management challenges are outlined, concluding that ancient practices could be adapted to cope with present challenges in irrigated agriculture for increasing productivity and sustainability

High Level Meeting on National Drought Policy: Summary and Major Outcomes

Drought is widely recognized as a slow creeping natural hazard that occurs as a consequence of the natural climatic variability. In recent years, concern has grown world-wide that droughts may be increasing in frequency and severity given the changing climatic conditions. Responses to droughts in most parts of the world are generally reactive in terms of crisis management and are known to be untimely, poorly coordinated and disintegrated. Without a coordinated, national drought policy, nations will continue to respond to drought in a reactive, crisis management mode. In order to address the issue of national drought policy, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with a number of partners, organized the High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) in Geneva, Switzerland, from 11 to 15 March 2013. The goal of HMNDP was to provide practical insight into useful, science-based actions to address key drought issues and various strategies to cope with drought. During HMNDP, detailed discussions were held during a scientific segment over 3.5 days, leading to the adoption of a HMNDP Declaration in a High Level Segment, calling on all the governments around the world to develop and implement national drought policies. The major outcomes of the scientific and high level segments are presented

Legal and other institutional aspects of groundwater governance

This chapter defines the linked concepts of groundwater governance and groundwater management, explaining how they differ from each other. Then, it describes the prevailing legal instruments for, and the institutional aspects of, groundwater management and governance

Contribution of Water Scarcity and Sustainability Failures to Disintegration and Conflict in the Arab Region-The Case of Syria and Yemen

Economic growth and demographic change are leading factors that impact the availability of resources such as water and arable land in countries around the globe. The case of Arab countries, where both these resources have been naturally scarce, is illustrative. This chapter outlines the contribution of growing scarcity and historic negligence of sustainability of both resources in encouraging and sustaining political instability in the region. Because of failures of public policies in the area of sustainability, vulnerability to local conflicts and larger-scale instabilities and political disintegration are increasing. This chapter provides a closer look at the case of Syria and Yemen. A growing body of scientific literature now links the current Syrian conflict to climate variability, unsustainable agriculture, and consequent unemployment on the one hand and political instability on the other hand. Evidence from Yemen suggests a link between the rise of the Houthis and groundwater depletion in the North, and a link between the repatriation of Yemenis from the Gulf in the 1990s and past failures in agricultural water management. This chapter advocates the consideration of environmental factors alongside broad regional and local political, social, and economic factors in the study of current and future conflicts