4th SEA-EU-NET Stakeholders Conference 14 - 17 November 2011, Hanoi, Vietnam

1. 4th SEA-EU-NET Stakeholders Conference 14 - 17 November 2011, Hanoi, Vietnam Universität für Bodenkultur Wien Department für Wasser-Atmosphäre-Umwelt Institut für Hydraulik und landes-kulturelle Wasserwirtschaft (IHLW) University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, ViennaDepartment of Water, Atmosphere and EnvironmentInstitute of Hydraulics and Rural Water-Management Pathways to sustainable water security Willibald Loiskandl

2.  How to achieve? • Tools Introduction Sustainable Water security Analyses at catchment scale Management and soil water Economy and soil water Case Study from Thailand Conclusion

3. Introduction Mission statement: Institute of Hydraulics and Rural Water Management The Institute of Hydraulics and Rural Water Management is focusing specifically on the part of the water cycle where the water gets in contact with the soil. Since water is fundamental to all life, it is our mission to maintain its various functions in an optimum and sustainable manner and to safeguard its use and protection.

4. Introduction Megatrends Radical and long-term Climate change, population growth, urbanisation and resource use conflicts are comprehensive, long-term and intertwined transformation processes that change lives and livelihoods of people around the world. cdr | Centre for Development Research

5. Introduction • Megatrends are not neutral: • They cause and contribute to global food price, energy and fiscal crises. • New economic, social and ecological dynamics tremendously increase the hardship of the vulnerable and the poor. • In future we are likely to experience an accelerated global divide, leadingtonew forms of tensions and conflicts affecting us all. cdr | Centre for Development Research

6. Introduction Sustainability innovation Securing our future The challenge ahead is to sustainably manage our common resources, ensure adequate food for all, enable sufficient income and living conditions. A broad and comprehensive sustainabilityinnovation is needed, one that comprises comprehensive thinking and more responsible acting. cdr | Centre for Development Research

7. Introduction IWMI Strategic Plan 2009 – 2013; Water for a food-secure world • Development Challenge 1: Accelerating development through pro-poor agricultural growth. • Development Challenge 2: Improving food security, nutrition and health. • Development Challenge 3: Sustaining the benefits from natural resources and adapting to and mitigating climate change. Physical water scarcity will put increasing pressure on water planners and managers to develop ways to better manage their water resources. IWMI recommends targeted policy and management interventions based on sound scientific and economic evidence.

8. Analyses on a catchment scale • Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is widely adopted as water policy framework. • River basin became the preferred spatial scale for managing water resources. • Irrigation is often the largest use of freshwater in river basins. • Natural systems are not market conform short term oriented and changes occurring over long time periods. • Changes of the environment may be gradually or abrupt by shocks.

9. Analyses on a catchment scale Global water withdrawals increase substantially to 2050 Part of Blue Water Green Water Source: Adapted form IWMI Strategic Plan 2009 – 2013

10. Analyses on a catchment scale Policy Governance, Regulations, Water Allocation Stakeholder Participation Integrated Water Management Natural Conditions Water and land availability Utilization Tools Trajectories Water accounting

11. Analyses on a catchment scale  Tools Water Scarcity & River Basin Development river basin trajectories • „closed basins“ = water resources are fully committed to existing uses. • In closed basins, - all users and uses are interconnected (hydrological cycle) - further supply augmentation is no longer possible without impacting existing uses. • Development • Utilization • Allocation Source: Molle (2003)

12. Analyses on a catchment scale  Tools • Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)- policy framework- river basin (again) preferred spatial scale for managing water resources • Societies develop  higher pressure on water resources • Reponses: - supply augmentation - (re)allocation - conservation Source: Molle (2003)

13. Analyses on a catchment scale  Tools River Basin Trajectories and Water Accounting • Tool to capture the utilization of water resources • degree of utilization of basin water resources. • typology of river basins (common challenges in river basins with comparable degrees of utilization), highlighting available options • historical process of development, increasing number of river basin under significant stress (largely due to human activities) Source: Molden (2003)

14. Management and soil water Soil water management can be defined as active involvement in controlling soil water content at an optimal state for all given purposes, including environmental needs. An optimal state is often a compromise between competing uses and needs to account for long term sustainability of the soil water system. Loiskand W. and G. Kammerer .(2011). SOIL WATER MANAGEMENT in Encyclopedia of Agrophysics, Jan Glin´ski, Horabik Jo´zef & Lipiec Jerzy (eds.), DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-3585-1, Springer Science+BusinessMedia B.V. 2011

15. Management and soil water For soil water Y. Gusev and V. Novak (2007) distinguished three major functions in terrestrial ecosystems: “Soil water is the most active link in the interchange of continental waters Soil water is an element of the global climatic system (owing to its location at the atmosphere-lithosphere interface, soil water notably contributes to the formation of climate) Soil water is the most important factor governing the existence and development of the vegetation cover, which is the basic link in the trophic chain of land ecosystem.” Prerequisite for processes in soil (transport of water, solute and heat and chemical and microbiological activities in soil)

16. Economy and soil water • Two meanings: • Any Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) • Assigning an economic value to waterstorage Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry http://www.connectedwater.gov.au/this_website.html, assessed Nov. 2, 2011

17. Economy and soil water • Advantages of underground storage: not related to land loss and evaporation losses are prevented. • Using the word “banking” indicates that water gets a value in an economic term. Concept of water banking (Pratt, 1994) • Working definition (Singletary, 2009): “Water banking is a tool for leasing water for a limited period of time on a voluntary basis between willing water rights holders and users.” • Temporary transfers of water entitlements based on how much water a user needs and when it is needed  without a permanent change in water rights.

18. Economy and soil water The result is that an individual can decide to lease water, based upon a personal perception of: • Operational needs, • Current market value of the water, • Risk involved in the transaction, • Market value of the crop or product requiring water input, and • Cost of the transaction. Saving or exchanging currency through monetary banks is strictly a choice. Similarly, water banking is strictly a choice. Water banking transactions take place without the threat of outside coercion.

19. Participation Participation Participation • Impact analyses of irrigation investments at a broad national scale • Case studies of irrigation schemes • Synthesis of the results • Developing, testing and refining irrigation impact evaluation methodologies and guidelines IIE:Project realisation

20. Participation ICA-CEDIA-KULeuven Conference; 10 to 13 June 2009 Networking in a Development Cooperation Context • Focus of research activities on knowledge generation • The majority of research is left sitting on the shelf, in papers and journals • Knowledge is not in the right format, language or location • Research does not always responds to a need on the ground Research Challenge ‘bridge the gap between research publication and implementation of research results‘

21. River Basin Trajectories and Water Accounting Case study Chi-Mun River Basin, NE Thailand Irrigation Development, Land use Change and a shifting Waterscape References: Floch P. (2008). Irrigation development, landuse change and a shifting waterscape: The Chi-Mun River Basin, Thailand. Doctorate Dissertation Floch P., F. Molle and W. Loiskandl (2007). Marshalling Water Resources: A Chronology of Irrigation Development in the Chi-Mun River Basin, NE Thailand

22. Case study Chi-Mun River Basin, NE Thailand “What is the status of the Chi-Mun River Basin? Is it an open, a closing or a closed river basin? How did the Chi-Mun River Basin develop, and how has the waterscape of the region been altered. What have been the impacts of landuse change and irrigation development on the hydrology of river basin? What have been the dominant local adjustments to water scarcity and the major alternations to farm level water use, and how have those changes impacted the river basin? What have been the rationales, justifications and paradigms of state-sponsored irrigation development, how do they interact with local strategies of water resources use? What assessment can be made from trajectory of the Chi-Mun River Basin, and how does contemporary water policy discourses recognize or ignore the dynamics in the study area?”

23. Trajectory & Water Accounting Case study Chi-Mun River Basin, NE Thailand • Gross Inflow: ~140 Milliard m³ • Water use fractions (1960  2000) • Rainfed Agriculture: 20%  40% • Forest: 56%  32% • Process Depletion: 0.6%  5% • Total Depleted Fraction increased only slightly from 77,6% to 79,4% • Rainfed Agriculture, irrigation water use, domestic and industrial uses increased from 30,7 Mm³ to 61.3 Mm³.

24. Case study Chi-Mun River Basin, NE Thailand Trajectory & Water Accounting Two main observation • Over last 50 years, the river basin has been subjected to only moderate reductions in runoff;  mostly explained by low increase of dry season irrigated agriculture low Evapotranspiration • Reduction in water consumption by forest was shifted into rainfed agriculture, where water is trapped and stored in bunded fields.

25. Case study Chi-Mun River Basin, NE Thailand Main results of the case study The development of the Chi-Mun River Basin was characterized by two main processes:  Capturing most (if not all) feasible surface storage between 1960 and 1980.  Massive expansion of rainfed cultivation contributed to a reduced discharge out of the river basin.

26. Case study Chi-Mun River Basin, NE Thailand Results continue: Unlike more dramatic cases of basin closure (Yellow or Jordan River), the gradual closure occurred much more quietly. Low development of dry season cultivation (result of low economic returns and significant change in economic structure of the region), has prevented massive over-exploitation of surface water resources in parts of the basin. Water accounting model  potential demand of implemented irrigation infrastructure outstrips (by far) the available supplies within the river basin: basin is overbuilt.

27. Case study Chi-Mun River Basin, NE Thailand Results continue: River basin closure significantly influenced by large-scale adaptation and bunded-field rainfed agriculture. Dual process together with farm-level changes of water use impacts contemporary state-water policy. Local responses are more generally in tunewith the basin hydrology and agro-ecosystem realities, but are often ignored.

28. Conclusions • The process of irrigation infrastructure development, mirrors experiences in other countries: • political drive to benefit the largest possible constituency • and overly optimistic assumptions regarding water availability (including double accounting). • In general, river basin trajectory studies, and water accountings, have been proven as successful tools to better capture the complexities of water use in river basins, and respond to the challenges arising from Integrated Water Resources Management.

29. Conclusions continue • Soil water management important part of catchment resource management. • Sustainability innovations are needed: alternative tillage practises, cover cropping, soil amendments, crop rotation, plant adaptations as well as concepts like water banking are equally important to use the augmented water in an optimal state. • Indispensable for an IWRMis the involvement of all of stakeholders acceptance of challenge to secure a better future and a liveable environment for all. Best analyses will not cumulate in a environmental sound result if the acceptance of an intervention at policy or at farm level is missing.

30. Thank you for your attention Stoa del Sol Contact Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment Institute of Hydraulics and Rural Water Management Department für Wasser – Atmosphäre – Umwelt Institut für Hydraulik und landeskulturelle Wasserwirtschaft Willibald Loiskandl Muthgasse 18, A-1190 Wien, AUSTRIA Tel.: +43 1 47654 5451, Fax: +43 1 47654 5499 Willibald.Loiskandl @boku.ac.at http://www.boku.ac.at/projekt.html