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Land and water: the rights divergence

Land Tenure Journal 2-22











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    Book (series)
    Land and water – the rights interface 2004
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    This publication explores various aspects of the interface between water rights and land tenure. It is intended to synthetize and assess current learning on this topic, to define salient issues and to propose fruitful approaches for further investigation.
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    Land and water rights in the Sahel
    Tenure challenges of improving access to water for agriculture
    2006
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    Water for agriculture draws on a range of sources - from naturally available water bodies to water supply infrastructure. In sub-Saharan Africa, only a very small percentage of arable land is irrigated. Most farmers produce food under rainfed conditions. In 1995, for instance, 89 percent of cereal production in sub-Saharan Africa was delivered from rainfed agriculture, compared to 58 percent in the West Asia and Northern Africa region (InterAcademy Council, 2004). The situation in the Sahel is v ery much in line with this trend. Here, the past few decades have witnessed considerable efforts to improve the water infrastructure in rural areas. As a result, there has been a multiplication of pastoral water points and of irrigation schemes - from large, state-owned schemes like the Office du Niger in Mali (which dates back to the 1930s) to village-level irrigation schemes. Irrigation has enabled the cultivation of a range of crops - from rice to fruit and vegetables. However, rainfed farmin g (millet, sorghum, etc) and pastoralism are - and are likely to remain - the dominant forms of agricultural production and the pillars of rural livelihoods in much of the Sahel.
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    Book (series)
    Land and water: the rights interface 2004
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    This paper is concerned with the interface between land tenure rights and water rights. Such rights relate to what are arguably the most important natural resources of the modern nation-state. Land, in the form of territory, is a pre-requisite for a state’s existence while freshwater is a pre-requisite for life. The relationship between these two resources is of equal significance. Water is necessary for most productive uses of land. In a growing number of countries with arid climates the main constraint to agricultural growth is the availability of water rather than land. To ensure sustainability, the need for an integrated approach to the use and management of these resources is increasingly recognised.

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