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Inside this Issue: Youth Cafeteria Campaign, Latest Update The Way Forward: Open, Unscripted and Interactive NGO Input at the Ministerial Dialogue with Representatives of the Major Groups Is your suitcase heavier upon return? IISD's Climate Knowledge Management Project Cracking the Peanuts or the Coconuts? Macro Impact from the Local Level |
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Friday, May 16, 2008Issues at El FaroEfficient Use of Water for IrrigationAt El Faro, citizen’s initiatives Pavilion at the Expo Zaragoza 2008 , we will show visitors water related cases denouncing negative situations to raise awareness about them. But civil society is not only linked to denounces, it also promotes “good practices”, and we will present some that can be thought of as alternatives to persistent water related problems.By: Guido Smith, WWF/Adena Irrigation in Spain covers 3.3 million hectares, some 15% of the total area under cultivation, representing nearly 80% of demand for water and consuming 88% of our water resources. While irrigation of crops may increase production, it often merely serves to produce surpluses which cannot be sold. Water is increasingly being used to irrigate typical dryland crops such as grapes or olives, turning them into large-scale users of water resources. If we want to manage water sustainably, using it well in irrigation is essential. The efficiency of irrigation in Spain is under 50%, according to data provided by the Environment Ministry in 2007, and farmers often find they lack the help they need to decide when, how and how much to irrigate. Sometimes irrigation leads to irreparable damage to the environment. The existence of over 500,000 illegal wells, mostly used for irrigation, cause serious environmental problems such as the exhaustion of rivers and wetlands and increasing social and economic problems. The proliferation of agricultural land, mainly strawberries and citrus fruit, is endangering the water supply of the Marismas (wetlands) of Doñana, on the Guadalquivir estuary. The great profit to be made in these lands, the lack of planning and the illegal extraction of water with patent inaction by authorities, have led to overexploitation. We must improve the efficiency of irrigation. But to save water, having modern irrigation systems is not enough. We have to go a step further and help farmers decide the exact dose of water for their crops, especially in areas where water is scarce and the aquifers are overexploited, as in the river basins of the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. The pilot project Hidrostrawberry uses the latest irrigation technologies to determine the exact amount of water needed by crops. This is the continuation of the Hagar project (2002-2005), enabling an average saving of 14% in the overexploited aquifers of the Upper Guadiana Basin. With Hidrostrawberry, a system was installed for the efficient use of water in the strawberry farm Guaperal, near Doñana, using innovative technology. Its radio sensors detect the degree of moisture in the soil, the plant and the atmosphere in real time, and give a precise knowledge of the water needs of the crops: fruit trees, citrus, olive groves and strawberries. The application of this technology is complemented with training courses for technicians and farmers, in order to improve management. |