Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka

Although hydropower does not directly consume water, its generation frequently conflicts with other uses, notably irrigation, because its release schedule does not always correspond to the timing of water use by other activities. This article analyses a case from the Walawe river basin, Sri Lanka, w...

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Autores principales: Molle, Francois, Jayakody, Priyantha, Ariyaratne, Badugodahewa Ranjith, Somatilake, H.S.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: IWA Publishing 2008
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40749
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author Molle, Francois
Jayakody, Priyantha
Ariyaratne, Badugodahewa Ranjith
Somatilake, H.S.
author_browse Ariyaratne, Badugodahewa Ranjith
Jayakody, Priyantha
Molle, Francois
Somatilake, H.S.
author_facet Molle, Francois
Jayakody, Priyantha
Ariyaratne, Badugodahewa Ranjith
Somatilake, H.S.
author_sort Molle, Francois
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Although hydropower does not directly consume water, its generation frequently conflicts with other uses, notably irrigation, because its release schedule does not always correspond to the timing of water use by other activities. This article analyses a case from the Walawe river basin, Sri Lanka, where economic efficiency can be raised by reducing releases from the dam for irrigation for the benefit of hydropower generation. The tradeoff is analysed in financial and managerial terms and different options for reducing irrigation diversions are reviewed. Although the high level of current diversions for irrigation warrants the possibility of improvement in management, it is shown that finding ways to reduce supply faces technical and socio-political constraints that make the realization of economic benefits costly and difficult.
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publishDate 2008
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spelling CGSpace407492025-06-17T08:23:21Z Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka Molle, Francois Jayakody, Priyantha Ariyaratne, Badugodahewa Ranjith Somatilake, H.S. water power conflict hydroelectric schemes irrigation water river basins dams reservoirs irrigation scheduling water rights economic evaluation Although hydropower does not directly consume water, its generation frequently conflicts with other uses, notably irrigation, because its release schedule does not always correspond to the timing of water use by other activities. This article analyses a case from the Walawe river basin, Sri Lanka, where economic efficiency can be raised by reducing releases from the dam for irrigation for the benefit of hydropower generation. The tradeoff is analysed in financial and managerial terms and different options for reducing irrigation diversions are reviewed. Although the high level of current diversions for irrigation warrants the possibility of improvement in management, it is shown that finding ways to reduce supply faces technical and socio-political constraints that make the realization of economic benefits costly and difficult. 2008-03-01 2014-06-13T14:48:19Z 2014-06-13T14:48:19Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40749 en Limited Access IWA Publishing Molle, Francois; Jayakody, Priyantha; Ariyaratne, B. Ranjith; Somatilake, H. S. 2008. Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka. Water Policy, 10(Suppl.1):37-50. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2008.051
spellingShingle water power
conflict
hydroelectric schemes
irrigation water
river basins
dams
reservoirs
irrigation scheduling
water rights
economic evaluation
Molle, Francois
Jayakody, Priyantha
Ariyaratne, Badugodahewa Ranjith
Somatilake, H.S.
Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka
title Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka
title_full Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka
title_fullStr Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka
title_full_unstemmed Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka
title_short Irrigation versus hydropower: sectoral conflicts in southern Sri Lanka
title_sort irrigation versus hydropower sectoral conflicts in southern sri lanka
topic water power
conflict
hydroelectric schemes
irrigation water
river basins
dams
reservoirs
irrigation scheduling
water rights
economic evaluation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40749
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AT somatilakehs irrigationversushydropowersectoralconflictsinsouthernsrilanka