Economic Efficiency and Irrigation Water Policy with an Example from Egypt

Wichelns, Dennis

doi:10.1080/07900629948754

Cited by 32 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The cultivation of considerable areas within the dryland closed drainage basins have developed widespread waterlogging particularly in the areas underlain by shallow soil and buried fluvial channels. The planning for the Saharan new projects appears not to be preceded by sufficient multi-disciplinary integrated Wichelns, 1999). It is of utmost importance to consider the context of catchment hydrological processes in planning for new cultivation projects in the Saharan soil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of waterlogging in agricultural megaprojects in the closed drainage basins of the Western Desert of Egypt

Bastawesy

Ali

Faid

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. This paper investigates the development of waterlogging in the cultivated and arable areas within typical dryland closed drainage basins (e.g. the Farafra and Baharia Oases), which are located in the Western Desert of Egypt. Multi-temporal remote sensing data of the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) were collected and processed to detect the land cover changes; cultivations, and the extent of water ponds and seepage channels. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) has been processed to delineate the catchment morphometrical parameters (i.e. drainage networks, catchment divides and surface areas of different basins) and to examine the spatial distribution of cultivated fields and their relation to the extracted drainage networks. The soil of these closed drainage basins is mainly shallow and lithic with high calcium carbonate content; therefore, the downward percolation of excess irrigation water is limited by the development of subsurface hardpan, which also saturates the upper layer of soil with water. The subsurface seepage from the newly cultivated areas in the Farafra Oasis has revealed the pattern of buried alluvial channels, which are waterlogged and outlined by the growth of diagnostic saline shrubs. Furthermore, the courses of these waterlogged channels are coinciding with their counterparts of the SRTM DEM, and the recent satellite images show that the surface playas in the downstream of these channels are partially occupied by water ponds. On the other hand, a large water pond has occupied the main playa and submerged the surrounding fields, as a large area has been cultivated within a relatively small closed drainage basin in the Baharia Oasis. The geomorphology of closed drainage basins has to be considered when planning for a new cultivation in dryland catchments to better control waterlogging hazards. The "drydrainage" concept can be implemented as the drainage and seepage water can be conveyed through the inactive alluvial channels into certain abandoned playas for evaporation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of waterlogging in agricultural megaprojects in the closed drainage basins of the Western Desert of Egypt

Bastawesy

Ali

Faid

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…Equally distributed water quotas can also achieve the environmental objective of the aquifer's conservation by reducing groundwater consumption and inequity among farmers. Molle (2009) and Wichelns (1999) state that quantity-based restrictions may induce land use changes in the same way as explicit water prices do. In addition, Shiferaw et al (2008) demónstrate that the use of water quotas increase the feeling of equity among farmers and encourage groundwater users to cooperate and to act in the interest of the collective.…”

Section: Discussion Of the Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water use quota systems are likely the most widely employed regulatory instruments in controlling groundwater pumping and water consumption for irrigation (Koundouri, 2004). These mechanisms allow equity issues to be taken into consideration and promote transparent reallocation of water (Johansson et al, 2002;Wichelns, 1999). Nevertheless, some authors (such as Molle, 2009;Rogers et al, 2002; among others) cast doubts on the establishment of quota allotments or water use rights as being too inflexible to adapt to changing conditions.…”

Section: Theoretical Background: Policy Instruments For Groundwater Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost-effectiveness of groundwater conservation measures: A multi-level analysis with policy implications

Ferrer¹,

Varela‐Ortega²,

Flichman³

2011

Agricultural Water Management

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Keywords:Groundwater resources Irrigation Wetlands conservation Multi-scale economic modeling Water policies Cost-effectiveness analysisGroundwater in Spain, as in other arid and semiarid countries worldwide, has been widely used in the expansión of irrigated agriculture. In the Spanish Mancha Occidental aquifer, the excessive, and sometimes ¡Ilegal, water abstraction for irrigation has promoted outstanding socioeconomic development in the área, but it has also resulted in exploitation of the aquifer and degradation of valuable wetlands. Water policies implemented in the región ha ve not yet managed to restore the aquifer and face strong social opposition. This paper uses a multi-scale modeling approach to explore the environmental and socio-economic impacts of alternative water conservation measures at the farm and basin levéis. It also analyzes their comparative cost-effectiveness to help policy makers identify the least costly policy option for achieving the goal of the Mancha Occidental aquifer's sustainability. To conduct this analysis, a Mathematical Programming Model has been developed to simúlate: the closing-up and taxed-legalization of unlicensed wells, uniform volumetric and block-rate water prices, water quotas, and water markets. Aggregate results show that net social costs are not substantially different across policy option, so none of the considered policy options will be clearly more cost-effective than the others. However, there are significant differences between prívate and public costs (at the farm and sub-basin levéis), which will be critical for determining the application in practice of these policies. Results show that controlling ¡Ilegal water mining (through the legalization of unlicensed wells) is necessary, but is not sufficient to recover the aquifer. Rather, effective water management in this área will require the implementation of other water management policies as well. Among them, uniform volumetric and block-rate water pricing policies will entail the lowest net social cost, but will produce important income losses in the smallest and most water-intensive farms, which might put at risk the viability of these farms and the social acceptance of the policies. Further investigations on social costs, policy enforcement capacity and public participation in water management are highly recommended.

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“…As stressed by Wichelns (1999), farmers respond to water rationing or changes in water allotments "by modifying crop choices and input decisions, just as they would respond to changes in explicit water prices:" since quotas fulfill the goal of curtailing demand and provide incentives to intensify agriculture, the additional benefits they provide in terms of formal equity and lesser economic impact on users help explain the prevalence of this regulation mechanism.…”

Section: Quotas Vs Regulation Through Pricesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Water scarcity, prices and quotas: a review of evidence on irrigation volumetric pricing

Molle

2009

Irrig Drainage Syst

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Underpricing of irrigation water is frequently identified as a primary cause of excessive use of water for irrigation. Higher prices are believed to have the potential to promote conservation. Changes in user behavior are predicated on a quantitative relationship between water charges and the volume use, but volumetric management is quite rare in practice. This paper reviews irrigation schemes that combine conditions of water scarcity and volumetric pricing, either at the bulk or individual level, and provides clear evidence that scarcity is almost invariably dealt with through the definition of quotas. In contrast to the large theoretical literature that has promoted price-based regulation as a key instrument of water demand management, it appears that prices are mostly used to regulate use at the margin, beyond the quota, rather than for rationing scarce water. This is an important role but one that falls short of efficiency pricing. The advantages and drawbacks of quotas are discussed, and an interpretation of why they are selected in practice is given

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Economic Efficiency and Irrigation Water Policy with an Example from Egypt

Cited by 32 publications

References 37 publications

Assessment of waterlogging in agricultural megaprojects in the closed drainage basins of the Western Desert of Egypt

Assessment of waterlogging in agricultural megaprojects in the closed drainage basins of the Western Desert of Egypt

Cost-effectiveness of groundwater conservation measures: A multi-level analysis with policy implications

Water scarcity, prices and quotas: a review of evidence on irrigation volumetric pricing

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