IRRIGATION DECISIONS AND USE OF GROUNDWATER IN BANGLADESH: PERSPECTIVES ON SOME EVOLVING CRISIS
Keywords:
Dry Season, Environmental Externalities, Rice, Volumetric Payment, Water Pricing.
Abstract
Groundwater is one of the vital rechargeable natural capitals, which serves as the main water source around the globe. In Bangladesh, about 79% of the cultivated area relies on groundwater irrigation. The perspective piece is intended to scrutinize the irrigation decisions and groundwater use in Bangladesh from published sources. The paper points that the reason behind the excessive groundwater mining is imbedded in the heavy dependence of Bangladesh on irrigated dry season rice to feed its huge populaces. Bangladesh has obtained rice self-sufficiency by foregoing environmental costs. The farming communities as a whole rarely adopted water-saving modern technologies and keep paddy fields abundantly irrigated as the marginal cost of irrigation is near zero. The irrigation water price is commonly pre-negotiated on the basis of per unit area for the whole crop season without considering the volume of water. The perspective suggests that the ignorance about the importance of groundwater and the consequent over-extraction cannot be stopped without thorough policy reforms. Bangladesh should move toward institutionalizing irrigation, design a participatory framework involving all the stakeholders in a water management network and piloting efficient water models across the country.
References
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Ahmed, N., Hoque, M.A.A., Pradhan, B. and Arabameri, A., 2021. Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Groundwater Potential Zone in the Drought-Prone Area of Bangladesh Using GIS-Based Bivariate Models. Natural Resources Research, pp.1-23.
Alamgir, M., Shahid, S., Hazarika, M.K., Nashrrullah, S., Harun, S.B. & Shamsudin, S. (2015). Analysis of meteorological drought pattern during different climatic and cropping seasons in Bangladesh. J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 51, 794–806.
Alauddin, M., Sarker, M.A.R., Islam, Z., & Tisdell, C. (2020). Adoption of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) as a water-saving technology in Bangladesh: Economic and environmental considerations. Land Use Policy, 91, 104430.
Anim-Gyampo, M., Anornu, G., Agodzo, S., & Appiah-Adjei, E. (2019). Groundwater risk assessment of shallow aquifers within the Atankwidi Basin of Northeastern Ghana. Earth Systems and Environment, 3(1), 59–72.
Arabameri, A., Lee, S., Tiefenbacher, J. P., & Ngo, P. T. T. (2020). Novel ensemble of MCDM-artificial intelligence techniques for groundwater-potential mapping in arid and semi-arid regions (Iran). Remote Sensing, 12(3), 490.
Arulbalaji, P., Padmalal, D., & Sreelash, K. (2019). GIS and AHP techniques-based delineation of groundwater potential zones: A case study from southern Western Ghats, India. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–17.
Basak, R. (2016). Benefits and costs of climate change mitigation technologies in paddy rice: Focus on Bangladesh and Vietnam. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS): Copenhagen, Denmark.
Bell, A. R., Bryan, E., Ringler, C., & Ahmed, A. (2015). Rice productivity in Bangladesh: What are the benefits of irrigation?. Land Use Policy, 48, 1-12.
Campisi-Pinto, S., Adamowski, J., & Oron, G. (2012). Forecasting urban water demand via wavelet-denoising and neural network models Case study: City of Syracuse, Italy. Water Resources Management, 26(12), 3539–3558.
Dey, N.C., Bala, S.K., Islam, A.K.M.S., Rashid, M.A. & Hossain, M. (2013). Sustainability of Groundwater Use for Irrigation in Northwest Bangladesh; National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme (NFPCSP): Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Fitts, C. R. (2002). Groundwater science. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
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Hossain, M. (2009). The impact of shallow tubewells and boro rice on food security in Bangladesh (Vol. 917). Intl Food Policy Res Inst.
Jakeman, A. J., Barreteau, O., Hunt, R. J., Rinaudo, J.-D., & Ross, A. (2016). Integrated groundwater management. Berlin: Springer.
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Mainuddin, M.K.M., Walker, G., & Connors, J. (2004). Sustaining Water Resources for Food Security in Bangladesh. CSIRO Sustainable Development Investment Project; CSIRO Land Water Flagship: Canberra, Australia, 1100.
Mojid, M. A., Parvez, M. F., Mainuddin, M., & Hodgson, G. (2019). Water table trend—a sustainability status of groundwater development in North-West Bangladesh. Water, 11(6), 1182.
Mottaleb, K. A., Krupnik, T. J., Keil, A., & Erenstein, O. (2019). Understanding clients, providers and the institutional dimensions of irrigation services in developing countries: A study of water markets in Bangladesh. Agricultural water management, 222, 242-253.
Nampak, H., Pradhan, B., & Abd Manap, M. (2014). Application of GIS based data driven evidential belief function model to predict groundwater potential zonation. Journal of Hydrology, 513, 283-300.
Neshat, A., Pradhan, B., Pirasteh, S., & Shafri, H. Z. M. (2014). Estimating groundwater vulnerability to pollution using a modified DRASTIC model in the Kerman agricultural area, Iran. Environmental earth sciences, 71(7), 3119-3131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2690-7.
Neumann, R. B., Polizzotto, M. L., Badruzzaman, A. B. M., Ali, M. A., Zhang, Z., & Harvey, C. F. (2009). Hydrology of a groundwater-irrigated rice field in Bangladesh: Seasonal and daily mechanisms of infiltration. Water Resources Research, 45(9), 1–14.
Pandey, S., Yadav, S., Hellin, J., Balié, J., Bhandari, H., Kumar, A., & Mondal, M. K. (2020). Why technologies often fail to scale: Policy and market failures behind limited scaling of alternate wetting and drying in rice in Bangladesh. Water, 12(5), 1510. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051510
Qureshi, A. S., Ahmed, Z., & Krupnik, T. J. (2014). Groundwater management in Bangladesh: an analysis of problems and opportunities. Research Report No. 2, Dhaka, Bangladesh: CIMMYT.
Rahman, M.S. (2016). Determinants of Water Price, Contract Choice and Rice Production Inefficiency in Groundwater Irrigation Markets in Bangladesh; Bangladesh Agricultural University: Mymensingh, Bangladesh, 2016.
Rahmati, O., Pourghasemi, H. R., & Melesse, A. M. (2016). Application of GIS-based data driven random forest and maximum entropy models for groundwater potential mapping: a case study at Mehran Region, Iran. CATENA, 137, 360–372.
Sharma, S., & Mahajan, A. K. (2018). Comparative evaluation of GIS-based landslide susceptibility mapping using statistical and heuristic approach for Dharamshala region of Kangra Valley, India. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 5(1), 4.
Shew, A. M., Durand-Morat, A., Putman, B., Nalley, L. L., & Ghosh, A. (2019). Rice intensification in Bangladesh improves economic and environmental welfare. Environmental Science & Policy, 95, 46-57.
Uddin, M. T., & Dhar, A. R. (2018). Government input support on Aus rice production in Bangladesh: impact on farmers’ food security and poverty situation. Agriculture & Food Security, 7(1), 1-15.
Zimmermann, M., Glombitza, K. F., & Rothenberger, B. (2010). Disaster risk reduction Programme for Bangladesh. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Directorate of Humanitarian Aid and SHA: Bern, Switzerland.
Ahmed, N., Hoque, M.A.A., Pradhan, B. and Arabameri, A., 2021. Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Groundwater Potential Zone in the Drought-Prone Area of Bangladesh Using GIS-Based Bivariate Models. Natural Resources Research, pp.1-23.
Alamgir, M., Shahid, S., Hazarika, M.K., Nashrrullah, S., Harun, S.B. & Shamsudin, S. (2015). Analysis of meteorological drought pattern during different climatic and cropping seasons in Bangladesh. J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 51, 794–806.
Alauddin, M., Sarker, M.A.R., Islam, Z., & Tisdell, C. (2020). Adoption of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) as a water-saving technology in Bangladesh: Economic and environmental considerations. Land Use Policy, 91, 104430.
Anim-Gyampo, M., Anornu, G., Agodzo, S., & Appiah-Adjei, E. (2019). Groundwater risk assessment of shallow aquifers within the Atankwidi Basin of Northeastern Ghana. Earth Systems and Environment, 3(1), 59–72.
Arabameri, A., Lee, S., Tiefenbacher, J. P., & Ngo, P. T. T. (2020). Novel ensemble of MCDM-artificial intelligence techniques for groundwater-potential mapping in arid and semi-arid regions (Iran). Remote Sensing, 12(3), 490.
Arulbalaji, P., Padmalal, D., & Sreelash, K. (2019). GIS and AHP techniques-based delineation of groundwater potential zones: A case study from southern Western Ghats, India. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–17.
Basak, R. (2016). Benefits and costs of climate change mitigation technologies in paddy rice: Focus on Bangladesh and Vietnam. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS): Copenhagen, Denmark.
Bell, A. R., Bryan, E., Ringler, C., & Ahmed, A. (2015). Rice productivity in Bangladesh: What are the benefits of irrigation?. Land Use Policy, 48, 1-12.
Campisi-Pinto, S., Adamowski, J., & Oron, G. (2012). Forecasting urban water demand via wavelet-denoising and neural network models Case study: City of Syracuse, Italy. Water Resources Management, 26(12), 3539–3558.
Dey, N.C., Bala, S.K., Islam, A.K.M.S., Rashid, M.A. & Hossain, M. (2013). Sustainability of Groundwater Use for Irrigation in Northwest Bangladesh; National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme (NFPCSP): Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Fitts, C. R. (2002). Groundwater science. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Hodgson, G., Ali, R., Turner, J., Ahmed, M., Dawes,W., Masud, M.S., Hossain, M.J., Alam, S., Islam, M.M., & Saha, G.K. (2014). Bangladesh Integrated Water Resources Assessment Supplementary Report: Water Table Trends and Associated Vertical Water Balance in Bangladesh; CSIRO: Canberra, Australia.
Hossain, M. B., Maniruzzaman, M., Islam, A. K. M. S., Salam, M. U., & Kabir, M. S. (2021). Management and utilization strategy of water resources for rice production. Bangladesh Rice Journal, 25(1), 37-50. https://doi.org/10.3329/brj.v25i1.55178
Hossain, M. B., Roy, D., Paul, P. L. C., & Islam, M. T. (2016). Water productivity improvement using water saving technologies in Boro rice cultivation. Bangladesh Rice Journal, 20(1), 17-22.
Hossain, M. (2009). The impact of shallow tubewells and boro rice on food security in Bangladesh (Vol. 917). Intl Food Policy Res Inst.
Jakeman, A. J., Barreteau, O., Hunt, R. J., Rinaudo, J.-D., & Ross, A. (2016). Integrated groundwater management. Berlin: Springer.
Kirby, M., Ahmad, M.D., Poulton, P., Zhu, Z., Lee, G., & Mainuddin, M. Review of Water, Crop Production and System Modelling Approaches for Food Security Studies in the Eastern Gangetic Plains; CSIRO: Canberra, Australia, 2013.
Krupnik, T.J., Valle, S.S., Islam, S., Hossain, A., Gathala, M.K., Qureshi, A.S. (2015). Energetic, hydraulic and economic efficiency of axial flow and centrifugal pumps for surface water irrigation in Bangladesh. Irrig. Drain, 64, 683–693. https://doi.org/10. 1002/ird.1940
Mainuddin, M.K.M., Walker, G., & Connors, J. (2004). Sustaining Water Resources for Food Security in Bangladesh. CSIRO Sustainable Development Investment Project; CSIRO Land Water Flagship: Canberra, Australia, 1100.
Mojid, M. A., Parvez, M. F., Mainuddin, M., & Hodgson, G. (2019). Water table trend—a sustainability status of groundwater development in North-West Bangladesh. Water, 11(6), 1182.
Mottaleb, K. A., Krupnik, T. J., Keil, A., & Erenstein, O. (2019). Understanding clients, providers and the institutional dimensions of irrigation services in developing countries: A study of water markets in Bangladesh. Agricultural water management, 222, 242-253.
Nampak, H., Pradhan, B., & Abd Manap, M. (2014). Application of GIS based data driven evidential belief function model to predict groundwater potential zonation. Journal of Hydrology, 513, 283-300.
Neshat, A., Pradhan, B., Pirasteh, S., & Shafri, H. Z. M. (2014). Estimating groundwater vulnerability to pollution using a modified DRASTIC model in the Kerman agricultural area, Iran. Environmental earth sciences, 71(7), 3119-3131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2690-7.
Neumann, R. B., Polizzotto, M. L., Badruzzaman, A. B. M., Ali, M. A., Zhang, Z., & Harvey, C. F. (2009). Hydrology of a groundwater-irrigated rice field in Bangladesh: Seasonal and daily mechanisms of infiltration. Water Resources Research, 45(9), 1–14.
Pandey, S., Yadav, S., Hellin, J., Balié, J., Bhandari, H., Kumar, A., & Mondal, M. K. (2020). Why technologies often fail to scale: Policy and market failures behind limited scaling of alternate wetting and drying in rice in Bangladesh. Water, 12(5), 1510. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051510
Qureshi, A. S., Ahmed, Z., & Krupnik, T. J. (2014). Groundwater management in Bangladesh: an analysis of problems and opportunities. Research Report No. 2, Dhaka, Bangladesh: CIMMYT.
Rahman, M.S. (2016). Determinants of Water Price, Contract Choice and Rice Production Inefficiency in Groundwater Irrigation Markets in Bangladesh; Bangladesh Agricultural University: Mymensingh, Bangladesh, 2016.
Rahmati, O., Pourghasemi, H. R., & Melesse, A. M. (2016). Application of GIS-based data driven random forest and maximum entropy models for groundwater potential mapping: a case study at Mehran Region, Iran. CATENA, 137, 360–372.
Sharma, S., & Mahajan, A. K. (2018). Comparative evaluation of GIS-based landslide susceptibility mapping using statistical and heuristic approach for Dharamshala region of Kangra Valley, India. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 5(1), 4.
Shew, A. M., Durand-Morat, A., Putman, B., Nalley, L. L., & Ghosh, A. (2019). Rice intensification in Bangladesh improves economic and environmental welfare. Environmental Science & Policy, 95, 46-57.
Uddin, M. T., & Dhar, A. R. (2018). Government input support on Aus rice production in Bangladesh: impact on farmers’ food security and poverty situation. Agriculture & Food Security, 7(1), 1-15.
Zimmermann, M., Glombitza, K. F., & Rothenberger, B. (2010). Disaster risk reduction Programme for Bangladesh. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Directorate of Humanitarian Aid and SHA: Bern, Switzerland.
Published
2021-10-23
How to Cite
Chowdhury, A. (2021). IRRIGATION DECISIONS AND USE OF GROUNDWATER IN BANGLADESH: PERSPECTIVES ON SOME EVOLVING CRISIS. American International Journal of Multidisciplinary Scientific Research, 11(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijmsr.v11i1.1400
Issue
Section
Original Articles/Review Articles/Case Reports/Short Communications
Copyright (c) 2021 Afroza Chowdhury
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
