75 research outputs found
Power-Sharing in the English Lowlands? Exploring Farmer Cooperation and Participation in Water Governance
No full textInvolving stakeholders in water governance is becoming an increasingly important
topic in England. In this thesis I consider this ambition from the farming perspective, by
investigating the potential for farmers to cooperate and participate in water
governance. This dynamic is viewed through the conceptual lens of adaptive
comanagement, an approach which its proponents claim can achieve the dual focus of
ecosystem protection and livelihood sustainability under conditions of change and
uncertainty. The relevance of adaptive comanagement is highlighted by the increasing
complexity and uncertainty surrounding water governance in England, amongst other
things because of the effects of climate change and a growing population.
The research adopts an integrated methodological approach that revolves around a
“politicised” version of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework.
Initially, three separate analyses investigate the context surrounding farming and
water governance. The results of the contextual phase are incorporated into a more
focused analysis, involving five farmer irrigator groups in the lowlands of eastern
England. Here the intention is to explore the broader issues the research raises by
investigating the potential for these groups to comanage water resources. Nine factors
of success are identified, from which deeper, more abstract causal mechanisms are
inferred. The relevance of the findings are discussed in relation to farming and water
governance in England going forwards.
Several key outcomes emerge from this research, including: 1) a theoretical and
practical demonstration of the applicability of the politicised IAD Framework to studies
of adaptive comanagement, 2) an understanding of the ways in which power, policy,
and levels of trust influence the ability of lowland farmers to cooperate and participate
in water governance, 3) specific strategies that can be used to develop comanagement
arrangements between farmer groups and water managers
Coping with climate change uncertainty for adaptation planning for local water management
No full textEnvironmental management is plagued with uncertainty, despite this, little
attention has until recently been given to the sensitivity of management decisions
to uncertain environmental projections. Assuming that the future climate is
stationary is no longer considered valid, nor is using a single or small number of
potentially incorrect projections to inform decisions. Instead, it is recommended
that decision makers make use of increasingly available probabilistic projections
of future climate change, such as those from perturbed physics ensembles like
United Kingdom Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09), to gauge the severity and
extent of future impacts and ultimately prepare more robust solutions.
Two case studies focussing on contrasting aspects of local water management;
namely irrigation demand and urban drainage management, were used to
evaluate current approaches and develop recommendations and improved
methods of using probabilistic projections to support decision making for climate
change adaptation. A quantitative understanding of the impact of uncertainty to
decision making for climate change adaptation was obtained from a literature
review; followed by a comparison of using (1) the low medium and high emission
scenarios, (2) 10,000 sample ensemble and 11 Spatially Coherent Projections
(11SCP), (3) deterministic and probabilistic climate change projections, (4) the
complete probabilistic dataset and sub-samples of it using different sampling
techniques, (5) the change factor (or delta change) and stochastic (or UKCP09
weather generator) downscaling techniques and (6) different decision criteria
using two contrasting case studies at three UK sites.
This research provides an insight into the impact of different sources of
uncertainty to real-world adaptation and explores whether having access to more
data and a greater appreciation of uncertainty alters the way we make decisions.
The impact of the “envelope of uncertainty” to decision making is explored in
order to identify those factors and decisions that have the greatest impact on what
we perceive to be the “best” solution. An improved novel decision criterion for use
with probabilistic projections for adaptation planning is presented and tested
using simplified real-world case studies to establish whether it provides a more
attractive tool for decision makers compared to the current decision criteria which
have been advocated for adaptation planning.
This criterion explicitly incorporates the unique risk appetite of the individual into
the decision making process, acknowledging that this source of uncertainty and
not necessarily the climate change projections, had the greatest impact on the
decisions considered by this research. This research found the differences
between emission scenarios, projection datasets, sub-sampling approaches and
downscaling techniques, each contributing a different source of uncertainty,
tended to be small except where the decision maker already exhibited an
extremely risk seeking or risk adverse appetite. This research raises a number of
interesting questions about the “decision significance” of uncertainty through the
systematic analysis of several different sources of uncertainty on two contrasting
local water management case studies. Through this research, decision makers
are encouraged to take a more active role in the climate change adaptation
debate, undertaking their own analysis with the support of the scientific
community in order to highlight those uncertainties that have significant
implications for real world decisions and thereby help direct future efforts to
characterise and reduce them. The findings of this research are of interest to
planners, engineers, stakeholders and adaptation planning generally
Recommended from our members
Observed adaptation to climate change: UK evidence of transition to a well-adapting society
No full textThis paper investigates whether and to what extent a wide range of actors in the UK are adapting to climate change, and whether this is evidence of a social transition. We document evidence of over 300 examples of early adopters of adaptation practice to climate change in the UK. These examples span a range of activities from small adjustments (or coping), to building adaptive capacity, to implementing actions and to creating deeper systemic change in public and private organisations in a range of sectors. We find that adaptation in the UK has been dominated by government initiatives and has principally occurred in the form of research into climate change impacts. These government initiatives have stimulated a further set of actions at other scales in public agencies, regulatory agencies and regional government (and the devolved administrations), though with little real evidence of climate change adaptation initiatives trickling down to local government level. The sectors requiring significant investment in large scale infrastructure have invested more heavily than those that do not in identifying potential impacts and adaptations. Thus we find a higher level of adaptation activity by the water supply and flood defence sectors. Sectors that are not dependent on large scale infrastructure appear to be investing far less effort and resources in preparing for climate change. We conclude that the UK government-driven top-down targeted adaptation approach has generated anticipatory action at low cost in some areas. We also conclude that these actions may have created enough niche activities to allow for diffusion of new adaptation practices in response to real or perceived climate change. These results have significant implications for how climate policy can be developed to support autonomous adaptors in the UK and other countries
Wetland farming and small-scale informal irrigation in Malawi: the case of Shire Valley
No full textHistorically, Malawi has depended on rain-fed agricultural systems. It is reported that the frequent droughts and unreliable rainfall since early 1990s have caused many small-scale farmers to turn to the wetlands as alternative sites for crop production. There they use low-cost farming methods and various forms of ‘informal’ irrigation. This study, to better understand the water management practices and the socioeconomic characteristics of the wetland farmers, was carried out in the Shire Valley, at the southern tip of Malawi. This covers about 600,000ha and supports around 250,000 farming families. More than half is wetland, characterized by a network of small streams, rivers, and swamps, and a mosaic of many very small farms separated by bush.
Phase I mainly documented the agriculture technologies and socioeconomic characteristics of wetland farming and small-scale informal irrigation systems. 200 farmers and other key informants were interviewed. Phase II aimed to define and measure the benefits of the current systems. The major farming systems groups were identified using cluster analysis and focus group discussions were carried out with 7 to 10 members of each. The results were assessed using gross margin analysis.
The results show that flood recession agriculture, river diversion and treadle pumps were the commonest water management technologies among the farmers interviewed. Most preferred flood recession and river diversion to treadle pump, citing capital requirements and running costs as major obstacles. However, the government and NGOs were promoting treadle pump technology (mostly) and river diversion, but not recession agriculture. Motorized pumps, introduced under various schemes, were no longer in use due to farmers’ inability to meet fuel costs and repairs.
Farmer access to land was largely under the control of individual farmers who pass on ownership to their children under traditional custom. This finding is contrary to the documented land policy which describes chiefs as custodians of the land.
Many farmers viewed group farming as a surrender of their land ownership rights. However, team work was seen to be common in river diversion technologies where a committee was usually chosen to manage a main canal traversing several farms. Even under these circumstances, farmers still preferred to manage their plots individually.
The economic analysis showed low farmer-benefits, except where flood recession agriculture was used to grow sweet potatoes, although this receives no attention from government or NGOs. Among the problems were the farmers’ inability to afford inputs, promotion of unsuitable technologies, and government controlled market prices.
The study found that the increased wetland use was partly a livelihood diversification strategy linked to droughts and the worsening of the economic situations caused by structural adjustments in the early 1990s.
This study encourages government or NGOs to promote the technologies that are acceptable to the farmers and seen to benefit them under the local socioeconomic conditions. Locally, these include flood recession agriculture and small river diversions. Reducing production costs and increasing yields through more efficient water use and improved extension services should be encouraged, and subsidizing input costs and freeing market prices would also help
The adoption of low-cost low head drip irrigation in small-scale farms in Kenya
No full textPopulation growth and development will increase the demands on water resources in Africa, and hence there is a need for agriculture to use water efficiently. Drip irrigation is widely promoted for water saving at the farm level. Moreover, it is easily adaptable to small-scale farming common in Africa. The use of low-cost drip irrigation, especially the low-cost medium head (LCMH) drip system, is growing rapidly in some Asian countries. However, the uptake of low-cost drip irrigation in general has been slow in Kenya, which has scarce water for irrigation.
Using the theory of the adoption and diffusion of innovation, this research aimed to identify the factors affecting the rate of adoption and continued use of low-cost low head (LCLH) drip irrigation in Kenya. Following a review of experiences of low-cost drip irrigation from India and sub-Saharan Africa, primary information was obtained using informal interviews in a two-phase survey. A total of eighty-six respondents were interviewed in the two phases. Phase 1 examined the factors influencing the adoption of LCLH drip irrigation. The key respondents in phase 1 were irrigation farmers (drip and non-drip), government officials, irrigation industry representatives, and staff of non¬governmental organisations (NGOs). Phase 2 examined the factors affecting discontinuation of LCLH drip irrigation. In phase 2 only LCLH drip irrigation farmers and those who had discontinued using it were interviewed
While the low-cost medium head drip irrigation was the dominant irrigation in India, the low-cost low head drip irrigation, gravity fed and in a kit form, was found to be the most common system on smallholder farms in Kenya. The results showed that for the rate of appropriate low-cost drip irrigation uptake to increase in Kenya, it was important to remove political and institutional inhibiting factors dominant during the implementation stages of the innovation-decision process. It was necessary for farmers to have a need to save irrigation water, reliable irrigation water resources, effective water user organisations, efficient marketing facilities, efficient technical support services, relevant cultural background, and good security for the kit. The LCLH drip
irrigation kit appeared to have more maintenance problems than the alternative irrigation methods. Furthermore, government policies and extension services as well as irrigation industry efforts appeared limited. It appeared that the technology would most likely be adopted where farmers have a reliable but limited (in volume) water supply.In some situations, the LCLH drip technology, and particularly the smaller (bucket) kits, did not appear to be appropriate and should not be promoted. For other conditions, recommendations were made for helping to overcome the problems identified in the study.The Rogers innovation-decision model was shown to lack sufficient consideration of external factors. A revised model was proposed to suit the conditions of small-scale irrigation technology adoption in less developed countries
Climate change and the performance of pressurized irrigation water distribution networks under mediterranean conditions: Impacts and adaptations
No full textNumerous previous studies have modelled the impact of climate change on crop
water requirements and hence future water resource needs for irrigated
agriculture. Fewer have considered the impacts on the performance of irrigation
systems and the required engineering and managerial adaptations. This study
considers the impacts and adaptations for a typical pressurized pipe irrigation
system. The dry years of the baseline period (1970-90) in the southern part of
Italy are expected to become the average or even wet year by the 2050s,
according to HadCM3 projections. Under these conditions, the large water
distribution systems designed to satisfy the baseline dry years will fail unless
appropriate engineering or managerial adaptations are made. The resilience of
District 8 of the Sinistra Ofanto to the possible future increase in irrigation
demand has been assessed. A stochastic weather generator was used to generate
future weather under the IPCC A1 and B1 emissions scenarios, taking into
consideration the outputs of the HadCM3 model. A daily water balance model was
used to quantify the actual and future peak water demand of the district. The
reliability of each hydrant under baseline and future demand was calculated
using a stochastic hydraulic model and the failure zones identified. Under the
current design, the system can tolerate a peak demand discharge up to 1,500 l.s
(-1), which is below the 2050s' average (1,720 l.s(-1)). Above that value, the
performance of the system will fall drastically as the number of unreliable
hydrants will increase. In the future, assuming the same cropping pattern, the
threshold discharge (1,500 l.s(-1)) will be exceeded 80% of the time and, as an
average, 20% of the system's hydrants will be failing during the peak demand
periods. The adaptation options available to farmers and system managers in
response to the increasing demand are discussed
Improving the performance of water delivery systems in the Dez and Moghan irrigation schemes in Iran
No full textEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Climate proofing water and sanitation services and applying integrated water resource management in slums
No full textThis thesis assesses how climate change impacts water resources and communities and reviews how
the resource can be managed in an integrated manner for small water and sanitation providers. This
thesis was based upon a 10 month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Cranfield
University and Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP). The aim of the project was to assess
the opportunities and vulnerabilities presented by climate change and how Integrated Water Resource
Management (IWRM) is relevant to water and sanitation services for the urban poor. This thesis is
based on two papers prepared following the KTP. The research was based upon a literature review
and field work to WSUP projects in Lusaka (Zambia), Naivasha (Kenya) and Antananarivo
(Madagascar). During the field work 11 focus groups and 97 stakeholder interviews were completed,
in addition direct observation was undertaken throughout. To assess the impact of climate change a
vulnerability assessment methodology was developed consisting of a vulnerability assessment,
reviewing climate predictions, preparing hydrology scenairios and identify adaptations. In the three
cities assessed, eleven communities were visited of which eight were vulnerable to flooding and four
to water shortages. The research indicated that for water and sanitation providers climate change will
tend to exacerbate or relieve existing vulnerabilities rather than create new issues and to adapt, water
and sanitation providers need to increase the robustness of their systems by assessing the impacts
across multiple scenarios. To assess the relevance of IWRM a literature review was undertaken and a
benchmarking process developed based around the main principles of IWRM and fieldwork in
Zambia. The IWRM assessment found that IWRM is generally irrelevant to water and sanitation
suppliers to the urban poor
Managing water locally: an inquiry into community- based water resources management in fragile states
No full textWater resources in many parts of the world, but particularly in Africa, face
multiple pressures. These growing pressures, along with rainfall variability, pose
significant risks to water resources and livelihoods. Over the past two decades
the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has been
presented as a panacea, but subscription to this model has not delivered the
results expected. Despite a massive endeavour there is extensive evidence that
IWRM remains difficult to implement, particularly in fragile states. In contrast, at
local level the responsibility of communities to manage water supply systems
forms a central component of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector
policy. But WASH programmes are focused primarily on the supply of services,
and not enough on water resources. Consequently, remarkably little has been
written about the role of communities in monitoring and managing water
resources. Also, few studies have examined the transitions fragile government
institutions need to undertake to move from one (inferior) situation, to a much
better one. This study used Action Research (AR) to investigate the role
community-based institutions can play in monitoring water resources, alongside
government authorities. Initial field research was conducted in Darfur and Niger
before further work in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone. It found that communities
could monitor water resources with high degrees of success; however,
continued external support is also required from responsible government
institutions. Community-Based Water Resources Management (CBWRM) is
considered a realistic and plausible approach for strengthening the water
component in WASH programmes. This research argues that in fragile states
there is greater potential to develop national water security plans from local-
level initiatives. Adopting a “localised” approach is particularly important for
countries that face the pervasive obstacles of short rainfall seasons: negligible
hydrometeorological monitoring, limited water infrastructure and weak
institutions. CBWRM warrants greater attention from the WASH sector and
further research is needed to identify how effectively communities can manage
water resources and scale up this approach once Water Resource
Assessments (WRAs) have been conducted
Modelling of a humidification-dehumidification greenhouse in Oman
No full textThe humidification-dehumidification (HD) greenhouse is a relatively new
technology. In addition to the humidification process and cultivation normally
present in greenhouses in arid countries, the HD greenhouse also integrates a
dehumidification process. In these greenhouses, saline or brackish water is
evaporated in the ordinary evaporative cooling pads (i.e. 1st humidifier) before
passing through the main crop growing section. The air is further loaded with
more moisture by passing it through a 2nd humidifier. This humidification
process is then followed by a dehumidification process to condense as much
water vapour as possible. The main purpose of the HD greenhouses is to find a
cheap means of desalinating saline water for the sake of using the condensate
for irrigation.
Most of previous attempts to improve the performance of the HD
greenhouses have used a trial-and-error approach. An alternative approach is
to use simulation models. Due to the absence of such models, this research
study aims at developing a simulation model capable of simulating the
significant processes of the HD greenhouses. The developed model is an
integration of three sub-models each of which simulates one element of the HD
greenhouse. The simulated elements are humidifiers, cultivation area (i.e.
microclimate) and dehumidifiers. The integrated model can be used for design
and optimisation purposes.
Because it was difficult to find an HD greenhouse where the accuracy of the
integrated model can be tested, the three sub-models were tested separately.
When the simulation results were confronted against the experimental results, a
good accuracy was obtained for the three sub-models. It was found that the HD
greenhouse model was able to predict the humidification rate with a good
accuracy within the range of conditions used for calibration. The model was,
then, used to simulate a hypothetical Quonset-type cucumber-cultivated
greenhouse using weather data obtained from the site of the HD greenhouse in
Oman. The simulation results were similar to the expected results.The applications and limitations of the HD greenhouse model are discussed
in this study. Future investigations to further study and, if necessary, improve
the accuracy of the HD greenhouse are highly recommended
- …
