South Asia Region

1. Irrigated Agriculture Sector in South Asia Challenges and Potential Soft SolutionsMani ManivasakanPractice Leader Rural Water

2. South Asia Region

3. South Asia’s Key Water Challenges • Revitalizing irrigation • Very complex integrated glacier /mountain/river/land/ groundwater/coastal ecosystems • Impacts of the massive changes, primarily in the form of the irrigation system on ecosystem; • South Asia has the world’s highest concentration of poor people living on less than USD 2 per day, • The region’s underperforming irrigation sector is in need of reform.

4. People Living in Poverty (%)

5. Number of Hungry People (2010)

6. South Asia’s Key Water Challenges • Improving agricultural water productivity • Agriculture uses nearly 70% of all available developed freshwater resources. Given the world’s projected population growth, Asia’s small farmers must somehow learn to produce more food with less water.

7. Water Withdrawal by Sector India Pakistan 761Million ML 183 Million ML

8. Water Withdrawal by Source India Pakistan 761Million ML 183 Million ML

9. India – Irrigation TechniquesIndia Pakistan • No stats for Pakistan but a similar trend to India

10. South Asia’s Key Water Challenges • Transboundary water issues • international • State • Information sharing among countries based on mutual trust, transparency and to ensure the optimal management of water.

11. South Asia’s Key Water Challenges • Groundwater • Overexploitation of groundwater resources is leading to falling water tables • Properly managed, groundwater recharge technologies could make small scale agriculture productive and sustainable.

12. Environmental Flow • Not high priority

13. South Asia’s Key Water Challenges • Climate change and adaptation • Climate change will intensify • existing problems, including reduced rainfall and runoff and increased heat stress. • recurring droughts and floods increasingly result in the loss of lives, loss of rural livelihoods and food insecurity. • Need to plan adaptation technologies for climate change now. • Implementation of these technologies requires new approaches to policy and management.

14. A note on “reforms of service provision” (applicable for both irrigation and water supply services) • The current situation is not sustainable and has resulted in a “build-neglect-rebuild” model which constitutes a major constraint to growth • Bills have to be paid – the question is “how”

15. Financial Requirements Who pays National Water Plans Taxpayers Replacement Users O & M (Efficient) a. A healthy system – (e.g. Australia)

16. Excess workforce Financial Requirements Who pays Financial Requirements Who pays National Water Plans Taxpayers National Water Plans Taxpayers Replacement No one Replacement Users O & M (Inefficient) Users Taxpayers O & M (Efficient) Taxpayers Users a. A healthy system – (e.g. Australia) b. An unhealthy system

17. Water Security

18. Potential Solutions • Reform governance of irrigation sector • Support on-farm water and land management practices • Improve maintenance and operation of irrigation canal system • Promote efficient and conservative use of groundwater • construction of small and mini dams for water storage and for better watershed management. • Private sector involvement • Soft solutions – knowledgebase driven DSS

19. Big picture conclusions

20. Big picture conclusions

21. Big picture conclusions

22. Conclusions • Increasing agricultural production with decreasing water resource is possible • A need for new institutional arrangement • Need for political leadership and greater involvement of farmers organizations and the private sector – to explore new approaches.

23. Intelligent Water Management