Irrigation and poverty: The case of the Office du Niger in MaliSurveys were carried out in 2004 in the Office du Niger in Mali, to assess the contribution of irrigation schemes to poverty reduction. Results show that the situation is better in the Office du Niger than in any of the other rural areas in Mali, including the Ségou region. The investments in irrigation schemes have contributed to strong agricultural growth and a reduction in poverty amongst smallholder farmers. However, this positive effect is eroding because of the deterioration of production conditions, and a reduction in average size of fields due to a combination of population growth and a decrease in the area allocated to smallholders. New attributions are being granted to the private sector.
This study aims to evaluate the vulnerability of shallow aquifer in irrigated and coastal regions of Sindh province, Pakistan by applying DRASTIC method in geographical information system (GIS) environment. Vulnerability index values ranging from 119 to 200 were categorized into three contamination risk zones. Results illustrated that 28.03% of the total area that was distributed in the upper northern and southernmost coastal area of the province was very highly vulnerable to contamination, 56.76% of the area was highly vulnerable, while the remaining 15.21% area was in medium vulnerable zone. Single and multi-parameter sensitivity analysis evaluated the relative importance of each DRASTIC parameter and illustrated that depth to water table and net recharge caused the highest variation in the vulnerability index. Two water quality indicators parameters, i.e., electrical conductivity (EC) and nitrate ion (NO3−) were used to validate the DRASTIC index. The spatial distribution map of both parameters showed a certain level of similarity with the vulnerability map and both parameters illustrated significant correlation with the DRASTIC vulnerability index (p < 0.01). This signified that vulnerable zones are particularly more prone to EC and NO3− contamination. Findings of this study will assist local authorities in contamination prevention in the groundwater of the lower Indus Plain.
Abstract. Vulnerability to groundwater pollution in the Senegal River basin was studied by two different but complementary methods: the DRASTIC method (which evaluates the intrinsic vulnerability) and the fuzzy method (which assesses the specific vulnerability by taking into account the continuity of the parameters). The validation of this application has been tested by comparing the connection in groundwater and distribution of different established classes of vulnerabilities as well as the nitrate distribution in the study area. Three vulnerability classes (low, medium and high) have been identified by both the DRASTIC method and the fuzzy method (between which the normalized model was used). An integrated analysis reveals that high classes with 14.64 % (for the DRASTIC method), 21.68 % (for the normalized DRAS-TIC method) and 18.92 % (for the fuzzy method) are not the most dominant. In addition, a new method for sensitivity analysis was used to identify (and confirm) the main parameters which impact the vulnerability to pollution with fuzzy membership. The results showed that the vadose zone is the main parameter which impacts groundwater vulnerability to pollution while net recharge contributes least to pollution in the study area. It was also found that the fuzzy method better assesses the vulnerability to pollution with a coincidence rate of 81.13 % versus that of 77.35 % for the DRASTIC method. These results serve as a guide for policymakers to identify areas sensitive to pollution before such sites are used for socioeconomic infrastructures.
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