Water Node: RRA

Year 1: REVIEW

Rainfall – ET plot for drylands

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RainfallEpEto

Date

ETo

/ Ep

(mm

/day

)

Rain

fall

in m

m

Potential SM Deficit is 5-10 mm /day

Potential SM Deficit is 2-3 mm /day

Groundwater exploitation: long-term desaturation of aquifers…

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1

Annual rainfall

Aquifer base

Overview of projectObjectives• Document – practices and gaps

• Significance of supply and demand side measures wrt rainfed productivity

• Strategise protective irrigation across diverse settings – drought buffering

• Improving access for all – SM + PI – collectives

• Research – data, analysis and synthesis (documentation)

• Advocacy – water, agriculture and rural development

Location and resources• Locations: mainly in areas (but

not limited to) where CPs are on

• Geographies: Mainly drylands; diverse geology; one arid location

• Time: 3 years (present contract for one year)

• Resources: EUR 44676

• HR: 2 + 1 staff + student intern

Moisturemanagement

Protective irrigation

Moisture management/water balance in root zone

Rationale for water management under RRA

• Current water crisis is mired in the race to the pumphouse – for irrigated crops.

• The importance of water in RFA is not even recognised as a challenge.

• Moisture management and critical ‘protective’ irrigation are important to improving RFA. These two aspects emerge as priorities in the use of water as a common pool resource –THE BASIS FOR WATER MANAGEMENT PILOTS IN RRA EFFORTS…

Principle and operationRa

infa

ll us

e effi

cienc

y

Soil moisture management

Protective irrigation (for all)

Water management in RFAs as water for protection versus water for exploitation

ACWADAM, Pune

Progress – activities (year 1)

• Design of work and integrating RRA work with ACWADAM’s core work on hydrogeology and groundwater management

• Understanding the macro-picture through a situation analysis in a few locations• Instrumentation and data• Kharif planning – in at least three locations

Progress - results• Water: controls –

establishing arguments regarding soils, aquifers and water sources

• Data collection, including data on weather parameters

• Synthesis of data into a GIS frame

• Diversity in controls – geology, soil, water inputs, degree of water use

• Inequitous water access even on local scales

• Scales – watersheds, aquifers, land-parcels

Soil moisture variability in adjoining villages tapping one watershed and one aquifer…

Improving soil moisture and prioritizing areas for protective irrigation

Risks & assumptions• Data collection

• Interface with CPs and other nodes

• Sufficiency and capacities of available Human Resources

• Steady but clearly evolving

• Good progress in about 4 CPs, need to pick up in the others

• Some limitation due to stretched HR but filling gaps with available resources possible

Shorter term…first year+

Basic parameters Completed/ongoing activities• Reconnaissance visits to all the CP sites

completed, with emphasis on understanding argo-hydro-geological setting

• Hydrogeological understanding in terms of the access to irrigation and soil-moisture status plus some understanding between soil –cropping pattern –water utilization understood in case of 3-4 sites

• Developing protocols for polling of water resources/grouping water –users to facilitate protective irrigation in upcoming kharif – under process

• Materials and models being compiled to conduct training and capacity building sessions specifically on water in RFA

• Characterising agro-eco-hydro elements of core CP area

• Situation analysis wrt to some CPs where implementing the interventions regarding protective irrigation are possible

• Developing action plan to facilitate protective irrigation for the maximum coverage of area which area more prone to droughts

Institutional arrangement and support systems

InputsKey results (achieved/expected)• Integration of inputs by water

node and kharif planning – 2-3 locations

• Key inputs to analysis of groundwater and weather-related data, including installation of weather stations in 4 CP locations

• Support in co-ordination of meetings, skypes and in interface with other nodes

• Strong interface in data collections, field support and in development of the framework for baselines, including interface with ResRA

• Project

• Organisation

• Network (Secretariat)

• Other nodes/CPs

Analysis and reflections - 1• Strengthening the

argument of water as protection in RFA

• Layering at a certain scale achieved; convergence easier on some counts

Jawadhu hills – topography & watershed drainage

Rainfall Analysis

Drainage & Groundwater Analysis

01/06/

2011

11/06/

2011

21/06/

2011

01/07/

2011

11/07/

2011

21/07/

2011

31/07/

2011

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2011

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2011

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2011

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2011

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2011

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2011

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2011

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2012

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2012

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2012

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2012

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2012

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90Drought Index and rainfall for Randullabad (June 2011 to May

2012)

Drought Index (DI)RF

Is groundwater only about

mainstream irrigation??

Analysis and reflections - 2• Given the complex, but

compelling nature of the collaborative framework of RRA, things are moving, albeit slower than expected.

• Key takeaway: development of a specialised pool of HR must be taken up for RRA on a priority basis.

Way forwardWater node• Proposed activities to continue,

into 2nd year with strong interface of research and application component (including data synthesis)

• Rebudgeting for second year, using balance of budget from 1st year

• HR, including interns, will be mobilised to cover more locations – possibly all the 9-10 locations by the end of year 2

Network• Need a plan for conducting

comprehensive capacity building – cutting across thematic nodes and CPs and including a research component

Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management Email: acwadam@vsnl.netWebsite: www.acwadam.org