Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India

This paper assesses the potential loss of irrigation benefits in reallocating water from irrigation to meet requirements for environmental flows (e-flows) in the Upper Ganga Basin (UGB) in northern India. The minimum requirement for e-flows in the UGB is 32 billion cubic meters (BCM), or 42 % of the...

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Main Authors: Amarasinghe, Upali A., Smakhtin, Vladimir U., Bharati, Luna, Malik, Ravinder Paul Singh
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34590
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author Amarasinghe, Upali A.
Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
Bharati, Luna
Malik, Ravinder Paul Singh
author_browse Amarasinghe, Upali A.
Bharati, Luna
Malik, Ravinder Paul Singh
Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
author_facet Amarasinghe, Upali A.
Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
Bharati, Luna
Malik, Ravinder Paul Singh
author_sort Amarasinghe, Upali A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper assesses the potential loss of irrigation benefits in reallocating water from irrigation to meet requirements for environmental flows (e-flows) in the Upper Ganga Basin (UGB) in northern India. The minimum requirement for e-flows in the UGB is 32 billion cubic meters (BCM), or 42 % of the mean annual runoff. The current runoff during the low-flow months falls below the minimum requirement for e-flows by 5.1 BCM. Depending on irrigation efficiency, reallocation of 41?51 % of the water from canal irrigation withdrawals can meet this deficit in minimum e-flows. The marginal productivity of canal irrigation consumptive water use (CWU), estimated from a panel regression with data from 32 districts from 1991 to 2004, assesses the potential loss of benefits in diverting water away from crop production. In the UGB, canal irrigation contributes to only 8 % of the total CWU of 56 BCM, and the marginal productivity of canal irrigation CWU across districts is also very low, with a median of 0.03 USD/m3. Therefore, at present, the loss of benefits is only 1.2?1.6 % of the gross value of crop production. This loss of benefits can be overcome with an increase in irrigation efficiency or marginal productivity.
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spelling CGSpace345902025-03-11T09:50:20Z Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India Amarasinghe, Upali A. Smakhtin, Vladimir U. Bharati, Luna Malik, Ravinder Paul Singh water resources resource allocation irrigation water use water allocation canal irrigation irrigation efficiency environmental flows river basins simulation models This paper assesses the potential loss of irrigation benefits in reallocating water from irrigation to meet requirements for environmental flows (e-flows) in the Upper Ganga Basin (UGB) in northern India. The minimum requirement for e-flows in the UGB is 32 billion cubic meters (BCM), or 42 % of the mean annual runoff. The current runoff during the low-flow months falls below the minimum requirement for e-flows by 5.1 BCM. Depending on irrigation efficiency, reallocation of 41?51 % of the water from canal irrigation withdrawals can meet this deficit in minimum e-flows. The marginal productivity of canal irrigation consumptive water use (CWU), estimated from a panel regression with data from 32 districts from 1991 to 2004, assesses the potential loss of benefits in diverting water away from crop production. In the UGB, canal irrigation contributes to only 8 % of the total CWU of 56 BCM, and the marginal productivity of canal irrigation CWU across districts is also very low, with a median of 0.03 USD/m3. Therefore, at present, the loss of benefits is only 1.2?1.6 % of the gross value of crop production. This loss of benefits can be overcome with an increase in irrigation efficiency or marginal productivity. 2013-04 2013-11-21T05:04:47Z 2014-02-02T16:39:50Z 2013-11-21T05:04:47Z 2014-02-02T16:39:50Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34590 en Limited Access Springer Amarasinghe, U.A., Smakhtin, V., Bharati, L. et al. Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India. Environ Dev Sustain 15, 385–405 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9385-1
spellingShingle water resources
resource allocation
irrigation
water use
water allocation
canal irrigation
irrigation efficiency
environmental flows
river basins
simulation models
Amarasinghe, Upali A.
Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
Bharati, Luna
Malik, Ravinder Paul Singh
Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India
title Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India
title_full Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India
title_fullStr Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India
title_full_unstemmed Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India
title_short Reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows: benefits forgone in the Upper Ganga Basin in India
title_sort reallocating water from canal irrigation for environmental flows benefits forgone in the upper ganga basin in india
topic water resources
resource allocation
irrigation
water use
water allocation
canal irrigation
irrigation efficiency
environmental flows
river basins
simulation models
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34590
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