Searching for Comparative International Water Research: Urban and Rural Water Conservation Research in India and the United States

Comparison is common in water management research: every table, map, and graph invites comparisons of different places and variables. Detailed international comparisons, however, seem infrequent in water resources research. To assess this perceived gap, this paper searched for examples of comparative research between two water sub-sectors in two countries using systematic bibliographic mapping procedures. It focused on rural and urban water conservation research in India and the United States. Search methods built upon procedures initially developed for the FAO Investment Centre and more advanced systematic review methods. The search generally confirmed that there have been few detailed comparative international studies on the subject of this review. Not surprisingly, there are a greater number of comparative studies between rural and urban water conservation within each country. The search also identified different conservation emphases in the two countries, e.g., rainwater harvesting in India compared with stormwater quality management in the United States. It identified unanticipated publications and lines of comparative water conservation (e.g. comparative physiology). Some transnational research goes beyond comparison to address the diffusion of innovations, i.e. research linkages as well as comparisons, although these studies are also few. The more prevalent pattern involves parallel literatures, which indicate substantial opportunities for future comparative and transnational research. This review also identified diffusion of international knowledge paths that are not the product of formal comparative research. The final section focuses on the prospects and priorities for future international and inter-sectoral research, e.g. paired multi-objective river basin research, linkages between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, diffusion of water conservation innovations, and synthesis of research on urban and rural rainwater harvesting in different countries

National rural drinking water monitoring: progress and challenges with India's IMIS database

National drinking water programs seek to address monitoring challenges that include self-reporting, data sampling, data consistency and quality, and sufficient frequency to assess the sustainability of water systems. India stands out for its comprehensive rural water database known as Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), which conducts annual monitoring of drinking water coverage, water quality, and related program components from the habitation level to the district, state, and national levels. The objective of this paper is to evaluate IMIS as a national rural water supply monitoring platform. This is important because IMIS is the official government database for rural water in India, and it is used to allocate resources and track the results of government policies. After putting India's IMIS database in an international context, the paper describes its detailed structure and content. It then illustrates the geographic patterns of water supply and water quality that IMIS can present, as well as data analysis issues that were identified. In particular, the fifth section of the paper identifies limitations on the use of state-level data for explanatory regression analysis. These limitations lead to recommendations for improving data analysis to support national rural water monitoring and evaluation, along with strategic approaches to data quality assurance, data access, and database functionality.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tata Center for Technology and Desig

Western Land Use Trends and Policy: Implications for Water Resources

Under the Western Water Policy Review Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-575, Title XXX), Congress directed the President to undertake a comprehensive review of Federal activities in the 19 Western States that directly or indirectly affect the allocation and use of water resources, whether surface or subsurface, and to submit a report of findings to the congressional committees having jurisdiction over Federal Water Programs

Disaster debris management and recovery for housing stock in San Francisco, CA

In the wake of the next large-scale earthquake in the city of San Francisco, an expected 85,000 households are expected to become uninhabitable and beyond repair, leaving thousands of residents with immediate needs for shelter. Coupled with an overwhelming 6.8 million tons of debris generated, destroyed lifelines and affected livelihoods, recovery planning becomes critical for immediate response and long-term sustainable development of San Francisco. Learning from recent disasters in Haiti, New Zealand and Japan, this research addresses pertinent recovery issues by investigating the effects of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in San Francisco, particularly the implications on the city's residential housing stock and impacts on the construction and demolition waste stream

Future Climate Scenarios for the Indus Basin

Examines the literature and available data on hydroclimatic variability and change on the Indus Basin plains, comparing historical fluctuations in climatic and hydrologic variables and reviewing scenarios of climate change derived from general circulation models (GCMs), including the generation of future scenarios of changing snow and ice melt in the Upper Indus Basin (IUB). Historical trends show statistically significant increasing temperatures and annual precipitation over the last century, and the general findings from a wide range of general circulation model (GCM) outputs show agreement among models regarding continued increases in temperature. Models regarding changes in precipitation (both in magnitude and direction) do not agree, but indicators do show a general trend in increased precipitation during the summer and a decrease during the winter, suggesting the primary impact on the UIB could be a shift in the timing of peak runoff and not a major change in annual volume

Sensitivity and Scenario Results

Presents the results of various scenarios using models used to study water, climate, agriculture and the economy in Pakistan's Indus Basin, and discusses the policy and investment implications. The water allocations per the 1991 Provincial Accord and within provinces remain the most critical constraint. Relaxing the Accord constraint, and allowing optimal economic allocation between and within provinces, would enhance the ability to manage extreme events by more reliably meeting system-wide demands. A plausible range of climate changes within the next 80 years could see gross domestic product (GDP), Ag-GDP, and household income decrease by 1.1, 5.1, and 2.0 percent, respectively, on an annual basis. Improvements to system-wide efficiency, construction of new storage, and investments in agriculture technologies to increase crop yield could increase production, but without specific interventions, environmental considerations, such as flow to the sea, changes in depth to groundwater, and the overall salinity situation, are projected to worsen

The Way Forward

Draws together findings from the chain of analyses on Pakistan's Indus Basin, distinguishing between the relative significance of different scenarios, impacts, and adaptations, and highlighting recommendations for research, planning, and policies that can help expand the range of options for Indus Basin management. Key findings include: (1)The 1991 Provincial Water Allocation Accord (DIVACRD) remains a critical hydrologic constraint; (2) Future climate risks will likely impact the macro-economy and households; (3) Non-farm household incomes will suffer more due to increased crop prices; (4) An increase in basin-wide storage will increase the hydropower generation and minimize the impacts of extreme events; (5) Different adaptation investments show potential to minimize the impacts of future climate risks and meet food security objectives; (6) Climate change will likely impact future food availability nationwide; and (7) Groundwater depletion in the fresh water area and basin-wide salinity issues will grow worse with no policy intervention

The Current Water and Agriculture Context, Challenges, and Policies

Surveys the current policy environment for addressing water and agricultural issues in a changing climate, which is shaped by economic development plans at the national and provincial levels, sector plans for water and agriculture (from long-term, multi-decade plans to medium-term, annual plans), and recent cross-cutting policy documents on climate change. Key challenges include (1) limited water storage, (2) problematic trends in surface water and groundwater use, (3) inflexible and uncertain water allocation institutions, and (4) low water-use efficiencies and productivity. Water and agricultural policy challenges arise as provincial development plans continue to focus on the role of infrastructure in water and food security. Recent policy documents highlight the increasing importance of improving irrigation efficiency, improvement of yields, and the socioeconomic distribution of development opportunities and benefits—including food security—but planning documents and budgets do not always comprehensively address the linkages between water management and productivity of the agriculture sector

IBMR Updating to IBMR 2008

The last version of Indus Basin Model Revised (IBMR) is based on data from 2000 (primarily the Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan and water-related data from the Water and Power Development Authority [WAPDA]) and earlier farm surveys (for example, 1976 XAES Survey of Irrigation Agriculture and the Farm Re-Survey in 1988 as part of the Water Sector Investment Planning Study [WSIPS])

Hydrology and Glaciers in the Upper Indus Basin

Examines the state of the science associated with the snow and ice hydrology in the Upper Indus Basin (IUB), reviewing the literature and data available on the present and projected role of glaciers, snow fields, and stream flow. Considerable speculation but little analysis exists concerning the importance of glaciers in the volume and timing of flow in the Indus River and its tributaries, as well as on the potential impact of climate change on these rivers. A simple model estimates that glacier runoff contributes approximately 18 percent of the total flow, making melt water from the winter snowpack the most probable source for a majority of the remaining 82 percent, and leaving future runoff regimes to be determined primarily by changes in winter precipitation and summer temperatures. To improve the hydrologic predictability of the UIB requires major investment in snow and ice hydrology monitoring stations, further scientific research, and forecasting