Participatory Water Saving Management & Water Cultural Heritage

1. Participatory Water Saving Management & Water Cultural Heritage Lebanon Country Report KAMAL KARAAFADI KARAMNAZIR TARABEY PRESENTED BY KAMAL KARAA SALNIURFA 2003, December 16

2. Existing irrigation

4. Schemed Irrigation • 67 schemes irrigated by surface water only 2 LRA schemes are Pressurized - 65 Schemes Gravity System. • Geographically dispersed around the national territory • Small to medium size and 60 (89.55%) of these schemes have an area smaller than 2000 ha and represent 53.75% of equipped area. • Only 41.65% of irrigation schemes area is fully irrigated in summer season • remaining area (58.35%) water resources permit to irrigate 56.5% in summer, 37.8% in winter spring season and 5.7 stay without irrigation. • SmallFarms :60% of owners have parcels fewer than two ha size. The average farm size for all schemes is 1.8 ha.

5. Schemed Irrigation Management

6. Consequences • Bad Maintenance and efficiency • Rehabilitation Since 1994 • New Organization since 2000

7. Rehabilitated Projects Results • South Bekaa irrigation phase1 Scheme (Operating sine 2002 ): • Saving water Consumption: 9.28% • Total profit increased by 17.51% in the first year for all the project • Benefit by ha increase by 24.17 % in subscripted area for the second year of exploitation. • Farm Size has decrease by : • 60.19% for Qaraaoun : Region with modest underground resources. • 11.80%for Joub Jannine with high number of wells.

8. Rehabilitated Projects Results • It is reflect Decreasing of rent practice mining that direct exploitation by owners is increasing. • Qasmieh scheme it’s a Gravity System scheme operating after rehabilitation since 2000 • Water saving 33% (20 MCM) • Water pricing policy : Differential tarification has been adopted by LRA, reducing 33.33% of fees for farmers using pressurized equipment on farm. As results from this policy, 503 ha are converting to drip irrigation

9. Saving On Farm Level • In small private irrigation, the cost paid by farmers to extract water from wells, pushes them to use adequate equipments making possible saving water • In Bekaa valley all underground water users have adopted: • Sprinkler irrigation for wheat, potatoes, sugar beets and forages. In North Bekaa, where scarcity of water is more important (200 mm / year compared to 800), Potato is irrigated by drip. • Drip irrigation for trees and vegetables. Black mulch is commonly used in vegetables plantation to reduce water losses and economizing weeds control.

10. Role of the research - Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) • Evaluation of sprinkler irrigation systems: establish suggestions for the design and work of these systems. • Characteristics of water distribution studies: Identify the influence of principal factors of irrigation execution, and with this information, give suggestions to the design and management of these systems. • Response of different herbaceous and woody crops to differential treatments of water (deficit and supplemental irrigations. • Developing of a management model of farms to select the crops alternatives and the irrigation management that get the economical optimum of the farm, adjusted to market needs and availability of water, agronomic factors of crops, irrigation systems and cost of product, in addition to risks of climatic variability and desertification.

11. Role of the research - Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute In early ninety’s, a new line of research was started to characterize water distribution with medium size sprinklers and drippers to identify the influence of principal factors that are going to condition the execution of irrigation, and with this information, to give suggestions to the design and management of these systems. The research activities were centered on the response of different herbaceous and woody crops to differential treatments of water (deficit and supplemental irrigations), with analysis of their growth and development, measuring physiological parameters, as well as approximating the water balance in test-plots. LARI developed a management model of farms to select the crops alternatives and the irrigation management that get the economical optimum of the farm, adjusted to market needs and availability of water, agronomic factors of crops, irrigation systems and cost of product, in addition to risks of climatic variability and desertification.

12. Role of the research - Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute • Maximization of on-farm water use efficiency by optimal combinations of new irrigation techniques and water management practices: • Identification and description of major farming systems and client groups in order to define the demand for irrigation and production technologies; • Identification of target groups of farmers and creation of Associations of Water Users (AWU) in the defined Irrigation Operational Units (IOU); • Adaptation and evaluation of technology at farm level for targeted groups of farmers sharing similar production problems; • Promotion of farmer participation as collaborators and evaluators of alternative technologies; • Promotion of collaboration with extension and development agencies for more effective transfer of technologies.