Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos

As hydropower dam construction in rapidly growing economies dislodges communities, rural development experts must help the displaced make their livelihoods in new lacustrine environments. One question is whether the dam infrastructure can directly benefit those who remain within the vicinity of the...

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Main Authors: Reis, J., Culver, T.B., Lacombe, Guillaume, Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: American Society of Civil Engineers 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58414
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author Reis, J.
Culver, T.B.
Lacombe, Guillaume
Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali
author_browse Culver, T.B.
Lacombe, Guillaume
Reis, J.
Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali
author_facet Reis, J.
Culver, T.B.
Lacombe, Guillaume
Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali
author_sort Reis, J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description As hydropower dam construction in rapidly growing economies dislodges communities, rural development experts must help the displaced make their livelihoods in new lacustrine environments. One question is whether the dam infrastructure can directly benefit those who remain within the vicinity of the reservoir. Integrated water resource management seeks to concurrently consider hydrological, socioeconomic, and ecological factors, yet water managers lack the information needed to include livelihoods in their analyses. The objective of this paper is to develop tools and plans for coordinating hydropower reservoir operation and management for rural livelihoods. Specifically, this study investigates how dam management may accommodate vegetable farming on the banks of a reservoir. The intervention investigated is to lower water levels during the cultivation period in order to expose shoreline gardens. Based on the recession agriculture rule, evaluated through simulation of a dam in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the average annual hydropower production was reduced by between 0.4 and 8.1%, depending on the agricultural goal, with the loss to power occurring mainly in the months April to June. By focusing on hydropower reservoir systems, the techniques developed in this study have the potential to be applied to support communities throughout the world that farm on the shorelines of water reservoirs.
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spelling CGSpace584142025-06-17T08:24:00Z Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos Reis, J. Culver, T.B. Lacombe, Guillaume Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali agriculture reservoirs water resources water management water levels water power dams rural areas living standards vegetable growing river basins case studies As hydropower dam construction in rapidly growing economies dislodges communities, rural development experts must help the displaced make their livelihoods in new lacustrine environments. One question is whether the dam infrastructure can directly benefit those who remain within the vicinity of the reservoir. Integrated water resource management seeks to concurrently consider hydrological, socioeconomic, and ecological factors, yet water managers lack the information needed to include livelihoods in their analyses. The objective of this paper is to develop tools and plans for coordinating hydropower reservoir operation and management for rural livelihoods. Specifically, this study investigates how dam management may accommodate vegetable farming on the banks of a reservoir. The intervention investigated is to lower water levels during the cultivation period in order to expose shoreline gardens. Based on the recession agriculture rule, evaluated through simulation of a dam in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the average annual hydropower production was reduced by between 0.4 and 8.1%, depending on the agricultural goal, with the loss to power occurring mainly in the months April to June. By focusing on hydropower reservoir systems, the techniques developed in this study have the potential to be applied to support communities throughout the world that farm on the shorelines of water reservoirs. 2015-07 2015-03-17T14:39:56Z 2015-03-17T14:39:56Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58414 en Limited Access American Society of Civil Engineers Reis, J.; Culver, T. B.; Lacombe, Guillaume; Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali. 2014. Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 9p. (Online first) doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000485
spellingShingle agriculture
reservoirs
water resources
water management
water levels
water power
dams
rural areas
living standards
vegetable growing
river basins
case studies
Reis, J.
Culver, T.B.
Lacombe, Guillaume
Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali
Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos
title Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos
title_full Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos
title_fullStr Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos
title_full_unstemmed Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos
title_short Reservoir operation for recession agriculture in Mekong basin, Laos
title_sort reservoir operation for recession agriculture in mekong basin laos
topic agriculture
reservoirs
water resources
water management
water levels
water power
dams
rural areas
living standards
vegetable growing
river basins
case studies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58414
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AT culvertb reservoiroperationforrecessionagricultureinmekongbasinlaos
AT lacombeguillaume reservoiroperationforrecessionagricultureinmekongbasinlaos
AT senaratnasellamuttusonali reservoiroperationforrecessionagricultureinmekongbasinlaos