Water-use accounts in CPWF basins: Simple water-use accounting of the São Francisco Basin

This paper applies the principles of water-use accounts, developed in the first of the series, to the São Francisco basin in South America. The São Francisco Basin lies wholly within Brazil. There are several major dams and wetlands in the Basin. Net runoff is about 16% of total precipitation. Grassland is the most extensive land use, covering 59% of the Basin and uses 48% of the water. Rainfed agriculture covers 23% of the basin, but uses 14% of the water in the Basin. Forest and woodland cover 16% of the basin and use about 21% of the precipitation. Grassland covers much of the upper part of the Basin, consuming about 21% of the precipitation. Irrigated agriculture covers just about 2% of the Basin and uses about 2% of the water. Climate change, using an assumed change in increase in rainfall and evapotranspiration distribution, reduces flow at Juazeiro and storage in the Sobradinho reservoir. The transfer of water from the São Francisco Basin to the northeast of Brazil reduces annual average flow by 6% only. However, the combined impact of the planned diversions and drying due to climate change would be greater again. Keywords: Water use accounts, São Francisco basin, top-down modeling, basin water use

Water-use accounts in CPWF basins: Simple water-use accounting of the Niger Basin

This paper applies the principles of water-use accounts, developed in the first of the series, to the Niger River basin in West Africa. The Niger Basin covers 10 countries, and rises in the highlands of southern Guinea near the border with Sierra Leone just 240 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but there are substantial downstream tributaries from Cameroon and Nigeria. A unique feature is the inland delta which forms where its gradient suddenly decreases. Net runoff is about 12% of total precipitation. Grassland is the most extensive vegetation, covering 50% of the Basin, consuming about 39% of the precipitation. Rainfed agriculture covers 26% of the basin and use about 27% of the precipitation. Irrigated agriculture covers less than 1% of the Basin and uses also less than 1% of the water. Climate change, using an assumed change in rainfall distribution, shows that climate change may have a large impact on water availability in the lower Basin, and hence on the River’s wetlands

Water-use accounts in CPWF basins: Simple water-use accounting of the Niger Basin

This paper applies the principles of water-use accounts, developed in the first of the series, to the Niger River basin in West Africa. The Niger Basin covers 10 countries, and rises in the highlands of southern Guinea near the border with Sierra Leone just 240 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but there are substantial downstream tributaries from Cameroon and Nigeria. A unique feature is the inland delta which forms where its gradient suddenly decreases. Net runoff is about 12% of total precipitation. Grassland is the most extensive vegetation, covering 50% of the Basin, consuming about 39% of the precipitation. Rainfed agriculture covers 26% of the basin and use about 27% of the precipitation. Irrigated agriculture covers less than 1% of the Basin and uses also less than 1% of the water. Climate change, using an assumed change in rainfall distribution, shows that climate change may have a large impact on water availability in the lower Basin, and hence on the River’s wetlands

Water-use accounts in CPWF basins: Simple water-use accounting of the Nile Basin

This paper applies the principles of water-use accounts, developed in the first of the series, to the Nile River basin in Northeast Africa. The Nile and its tributaries flow though nine countries. The White Nile flows though Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt. The Blue Nile starts in Ethiopia. Zaire, Kenya, Tanzanian, Rwanda, and Burundi all have tributaries, which flow into the Nile or into Lake Victoria. Unique features are Lake Victoria and the Sudd wetland where White Nile loses about half of its flow by evaporation, and the Aswan Dam which controls flow in the lower part of the Basin and also is where 15-20% of the flow is lost to seepage and further evaporation. Net runoff is minimal in many catchments of the Nile Basin, comprising 6% or less of the water available in 16 catchments of the Basin. In the remaining catchments, net runoff ranges from 9% (Panyango) to 34% (Gambella) of the available water. Water use by grassland is important in all catchments where it comprises 13 to 76% of the water available, except in the Lower Basin, where it comprises only 7% or less of the available water. In upstream catchments, woodlands and forests are the major components of land-use, while in the Lower Basin catchments barren and sparsely vegetated land is the main land-use class. Rainfed agriculture is the most important water use by volume in only four catchments, Kessie, Paraa, Panyango, and the Sennar Dam where it comprises 24%, 27%, 30%, and 38% of the available water. Nevertheless, it is a relatively important use of water in many of the catchments, using 10% or more of the available water in 14 catchments of the Basin. Irrigated agriculture is the least use of water by volume, using 4% or less of the available water in all catchments except the d/s of Jebel Aulia, the Sennar Dam, Thamaniyat, Hudeiba, Atbara, Naga Hammadi, El Ekhsase, and Estuary catchments. It is, however, the most important water use in the Estuary catchment, using 90% of the available water. The effect of climate change on rainfall in the Nile Basin is very uncertain, but temperature is expected increase by about 2°C by mid-century. To show the possible effects, we increased potential evapotranspiration by 5%, and left rainfall unchanged. The flow at Aswan Dam declines by about 6%, and irrigated crop water use in the El- Ekhsase region increases by about 2%. Keywords: Water use accounts, Nile basin, top-down modelling, basin water us

Mekong Basin Focal Project: Synthesis report

The Mekong Basin Focal Project aims were to assess water use, water productivity and water poverty in the basin, and analyse the opportunities and risks of change in water management that influences water poverty. The main issue facing the Lower Mekong is not water availability (except for seasonally in certain areas such as northeast Thailand) but the impact of changed flows (which may result from dam or irrigation development or climate change) on ecology, fish production, access to water and food security. Poverty is generally decreasing in the Mekong, but the poorer people are not sharing in the improvements. Water governance and sharing of benefits is a key challenge for the Mekong

Emphysematous pyelonephritis

Emphysematous pyelonephritis is an acute necrotizing infection of the renal parenchyma, prompt diagnosis and early treatment is crucial because of the high rate of mortality. We report a case of a 55-year-old female patient with ten-year history of diabetes mellitus presented with pain in right flank, fever and malaise. She was diagnosed as a case of emphyse­matous pyelonephritis, and was successfully treated in our department. The case is presented along with a literature review