Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
-
Book (stand-alone)Modernizing irrigation management - the MASSCOTE approach
Mapping System and Services for Canal Operation Techniques
2007Also available in:
The performance of many canal irrigation delivery systems is unsatisfactory in terms of: (i) water resources management; (ii) service to irrigated agriculture; and (iii) costeffectiveness of infrastructure management. In recent years, participatory approaches and management transfer reforms have been promoted as part of the solution for more cost-effective and sustainable irrigation services. Large agency-managed systems have been turned over partially or completely to various types of management bodies. However, the results have usually been disappointing. Common findings have been: (i) the new management bodies are not up to the task; and (ii) these bodies have inherited dilapidated systems and severe financial constraints. This FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper presents a step-by-step methodology for water engineering professionals, managers and practitioners involved in the modernization of medium-scale to large-scale canal irrigation systems from the perspe ctive of improving performance of conjunctive water supplies for multiple stakeholders. While the focus is on canal operation, the scope concerns the modernization of management. The approach consists of a series of steps for diagnosing performance and mapping the way forward in order to improve the service to users and the cost-effectiveness of canal operation techniques. This paper presents a proposed comprehensive methodology for analysing canal operation modernization, which is based on Mapping System and Services for Canal Operation Techniques (MASSCOTE). It discusses the main elements of canal operation and organization before describing the steps of the MASSCOTE approach in detail. These steps are grouped into two main parts: (i) baseline information; and (ii) a vision of water services and modernization plan for canal operation. -
Brochure, flyer, fact-sheetRehabilitation and waste management of El-Bared canal irrigation system to reduce source-to-sea pollution and improve livelihoods in the Akkar Region of Lebanon
Image-based analysis for damage assessment of irrigation canal lining
2022Also available in:
No results found.In Lebanon, like in many places in the world, adequate and reliable management and collection of waste have become increasingly complex and problematic. This issue anticipates cascading and spill-over effect on livelihood, environment, and agriculture. The main-occurring scenario is mostly correlated to the involuntarily waste disposal into irrigation canal and their consequent accumulation through villages and ultimately the sea. The enhancement of the environmental performance of the irrigation systems in Lebanon, therefore, urgently requires the rehabilitation of the irrigation canals and the proper removal of solid waste that they contain. In this context, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the North Lebanon Water Establishment (NLWE), which represents the Ministry of Water and Energy, is implementing a project titled “Rehabilitation and waste management of El-Bared canal irrigation system to reduce source-to-sea pollution and improve livelihoods in the Akkar Region of Lebanon”, financed by the Government of Norway. The objective of the project is to determine a direct impact in terms of minimizing the discharge of waste from El-Bared system in Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea, so to improve the livelihoods of the people depending on the system through rehabilitation of irrigation canal system, solid waste disposal, and improved agricultural output and job creation. -
Book (stand-alone)An ecosystem approach to promote the integration and coexistence of fisheries within irrigation systems 2018
Also available in:
No results found.This technical document has been developed in recognition of the increasingly diverse demands for water from irrigation systems and the need to introduce more holistic land uses into conventional irrigation management. Despite historical precedents and efforts in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the potential for the integration of fish production (capture fisheries and aquaculture) and irrigation systems has yet to be fully realized. Capturing these underutilized opportunities for the integration of fisheries and aquaculture could significantly increase local economies, food security, household incomes and livelihood diversity within irrigated agriculture systems. To re-examine the potential of fisheries in irrigation systems, the concept of the extended command area (ECA) is used, expanding the conventional definition of an agriculture irrigation command area. The reason for this expanded definition is because all elements of an irrigation system, from upstream dam storage to downstream drainage areas, offer opportunities for increasing fish production. Many of these opportunities may be realized at no additional cost to the main irrigated crop. This document provides an introduction to the ways fisheries and aquaculture already co-exist with irrigation and explores the threats and opportunities that arise from this. A key concept for sustaining and enhancing inland capture fisheries is “connectivity”– a fundamental basis for ensuring adequate environmental conditions to allow fish to flourish within an aquatic ecosystem such as a river, lake, or wetland. Improving connectivity within an ECA can restore elements of ecological services that may have been compromised or degraded through irrigation, water management or through other rural infrastructure development such as road construction. Practical application of the integration of fisheries and irrigation systems is explored through the use of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) in the context of irrigation systems. The proposed process links the development of an EAF management plan for fisheries to irrigation system operation and is given the acronym EAFm-i. A key part of this linkage is an assessment of water resources in the system and the management of water for delivery to fisheries. Additional tools to support the EAFm-i process are also described. Although the experience and approach are drawn largely from irrigation systems and inland capture fisheries in Southeast Asia, the application of the ECA concept and approach will be relevant to any irrigation or water management system where there is potential for the closer integration and harmonization of fisheries and irrigation systems and where water users are interested in realizing this potential. This short paper is intended to encourage fisheries and irrigation specialists to engage in greater dialogue and cooperation over the integration of fisheries into irrigation planning and to support piloting of an EAFm-i process, which can be the basis for further development.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
No results found.