The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits
For decades, millions of farmers in Bangladesh have been capturing more water than even the world’s largest dams. They did so simply by irrigating intensively in the summer dry season using water from shallow wells. The ability to use groundwater to irrigate rice paddies during the dry seasons (Janu...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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American Association for the Advancement of Science
2022
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/121912 |
| _version_ | 1855527552987168768 |
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| author | Mukherji, Aditi |
| author_browse | Mukherji, Aditi |
| author_facet | Mukherji, Aditi |
| author_sort | Mukherji, Aditi |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | For decades, millions of farmers in Bangladesh have been capturing more water than even the world’s largest dams. They did so simply by irrigating intensively in the summer dry season using water from shallow wells. The ability to use groundwater to irrigate rice paddies during the dry seasons (January to May) helped Bangladesh become food self-sufficient by the 1990s, which was no small feat for one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Researchers proposed that lowering of the groundwater table as a result of intensive irrigation practices in the dry season created conditions for recharge from monsoon rains (June to September), which then replenishes the groundwater (1). On page 1315 of this issue, Shamsudduha et al. (2) present a quantitative analysis of this depletion-replenish process and show that this recharge has indeed been happening at a large scale, in a process they call the Bengal Water Machine (BWM). |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace121912 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| publisherStr | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1219122024-11-07T09:56:16Z The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits Mukherji, Aditi groundwater irrigation water use aquifers groundwater recharge groundwater table shallow water irrigated farming pumps policies farmers For decades, millions of farmers in Bangladesh have been capturing more water than even the world’s largest dams. They did so simply by irrigating intensively in the summer dry season using water from shallow wells. The ability to use groundwater to irrigate rice paddies during the dry seasons (January to May) helped Bangladesh become food self-sufficient by the 1990s, which was no small feat for one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Researchers proposed that lowering of the groundwater table as a result of intensive irrigation practices in the dry season created conditions for recharge from monsoon rains (June to September), which then replenishes the groundwater (1). On page 1315 of this issue, Shamsudduha et al. (2) present a quantitative analysis of this depletion-replenish process and show that this recharge has indeed been happening at a large scale, in a process they call the Bengal Water Machine (BWM). 2022-09-16 2022-09-21T02:41:35Z 2022-09-21T02:41:35Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/121912 en Limited Access American Association for the Advancement of Science Mukherji, Aditi. 2022. The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits. Science, 377(6612):1258-1259. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade0393] |
| spellingShingle | groundwater irrigation water use aquifers groundwater recharge groundwater table shallow water irrigated farming pumps policies farmers Mukherji, Aditi The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits |
| title | The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits |
| title_full | The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits |
| title_fullStr | The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits |
| title_full_unstemmed | The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits |
| title_short | The “water machine” of Bengal: a data-driven and policy-supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits |
| title_sort | water machine of bengal a data driven and policy supported strategic use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to maximize their benefits |
| topic | groundwater irrigation water use aquifers groundwater recharge groundwater table shallow water irrigated farming pumps policies farmers |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/121912 |
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