International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage Commission Interationale des Irrigation et du Drainage

WORKING GROUP ON ENVIRONMENT (WG-ENV)

Environmental sustainability is a moving target which evolves as the knowledge of nature increases. There was a time when environment just meant surroundings. It was used to describe the physical world surrounding us including soil, rocks, water and air. Gradually it was realized that the enormous variety of plants, animals and micro-organisms on this earth, including human beings are an integral part of the environment. More recently, it is further recognized that all types of social, cultural and technological activities carried out by human beings also have a profound influence on various components of the environment.

 

The three pillars of ‘Green Revolution’, - high yielding varieties, chemical inputs like fertilizer and pesticides, and irrigation – have had a definite positive outcome in terms of increased food production, which obviated hunger in many parts of the world. But it also had negative impacts on the environment. Similarly, for years, groundwater has served as the resource for supplemental and intensive irrigation. However, in many basins worldwide groundwater is now mined rapidly and quality is deteriorating. The way water in general and water for agriculture in particular is managed, has harmed the environment in a variety of ways: groundwater depletion; land degradation and contamination of water; depletion of forest resources; and loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity. ICID has long been concerned with the environmental impacts of irrigation and has been addressing the issues from time to time. The Working Group on Environment (WG-ENV) provides guidance on the environmental aspects of drainage and irrigation to policy makers, planners, designers, and managers including its effects on climate and human health. The Group aims at the management of sustainable environment, maximizing positive and minimizing adverse effects of irrigation and drainage systems.
Mandate:

To provide guidance to policy makers, planners, designers, and managers in the irrigation and drainage sector on the following environmental aspects of irrigation and drainage systems: (i) physical; (ii) chemical, ; (iii) ecological, (iv) socio-economic, and (v) cultural. To address concerns to the effects on local, regional and global common goods, such as climate, biodiversity and human health. To work towards the management of a sustainable environment, through adapted practices, adequate policies and institutions, maximizing positive and minimizing adverse effects of irrigation and drainage systems.


Established : 2015

Chairman Message

Activities

Announcement

Membership
Sl. No. Name Email Country Position
1 Dr. Michael van der Laan va************* South Africa Vice Chair
2 Dr. (Ms.) Seija Virtanen se************* Finland Secretary
3 Dr. Aynur Fayrap ay************* Turkey Member
4 Mr. Carl Walters ca************* Australia Member
5 Prof. Feng Qian xi************* China Member
6 Dr. Fuqiang Tian ti************* China Member
7 Dr. Giulio Castelli gi************* Italy Member
8 Dr. Hao-Che Ho ha************* Chinese Taipei Committee Member
9 Ir. Hj. Mohd   Azmi bin Ismail az************* Malaysia Member
10 Prof. (Ms.) HONG Eun Mi eu************* South Korea Member
11 Dr. Javaid Hussain ja************* Pakistan Member
12 Dr. Yang Shihong - Young Professional ys************* China Member
13 Dr. Yury Anatolyevich Mozhaiskii ma************* Russia Member
14 Prof. Dr. Yutaka MATSUNO ma************* Japan Member
15 Dr. Zha Yuanyuan - Young Professional zh************* China Member
16 Mr. Melih Kayal me************* Turkey Provisional Member
17 Mr. Ragip Balatli ra************* Turkey Provisional Member
18 Mr. shweta tyagi sh************* India Provisional Member
19 Dr. Sasha Koo-Oshima (FAO) Sa************* Italy Permanent Observer

ARCHIVES

Work Team on Environmental Impacts of Reclamation Projects (1986) Renamed Working Group on Environmental Impacts of Irrigation, Drainage and Flood Control Projects (WG-ENV) (1986).  WG on Environmental Impacts of Irrigation, Drainage and Flood Control Projects (1986-2008) changed its name WG on Environment (2008-2015) and *re-constituted WG on Environment in 2015 with a new mandate.

WG-ENV [2008-2015] - Closure Report

AGENDA/ MINUTES/ REPORTS/ PUBLICATIONS

| AGENDA (Previous) | MINUTES (Previous) |

Reports / Articles / Documents

  1. Report on Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Irrigation and Drainage Systems with Life Cycle Analysis
  2. Salinisation Impacts in Life Cycle Assessment: a Review of Challenges and Options Towards their Consistent Integration by Sandra Payen, Claudine Basset-Mens, Montserrat Núñez, Stéphane Follain, Olivier Grünberger, Serge Marlet, Sylvain Perret, and Philippe Roux - Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016
  3. Eco-efficiency of Cotton-cropping Systems in Pakistan: an Integrated Approach of Life Cycle Assessment and Data Envelopment Analysis by Asmat Ulla, Sylvain R. Perret, Shabbir H. Gheewala, and Peeyush Soni - Journal of Cleaner Production 2015
  4. Evaluation of groundwater-based irrigation systems using a water–energy–food nexus approach: a case study from Southeast Nepal ( Sangam Shrestha, Saroj Adhikari, Mukand S. Babel, Sylvain R. Perret and Shobhakar Dhakal)
  5. LCA of Local and Imported Tomato: An Energy and Water Trade-Off (Sandra Payen, Claudine Basset-Mens and Sylvain Perret
  6. Analysis of the implementation of Environmental Flows in the wider context of the River Basin Management Plans
  7. Modernisation of an Irrigation Business (Ian Moorhouse)
  8. Life cycle assessment of irrigation systems: Assessing regional and global potential environmental impacts (Sylvain R. Perret)

Long-Term Groundwater Quality and Saline Intrusion Assessment in an Irrigated Environment: A Case Study of the Aquifer under the LBDC Irrigation System
Muhammad Basharat and Ata-Ur-Rehman Tariq

PRESENTATIONS

Montpellier, France 2015: Stakeholders, Multi-Functionality, and Governance: How to Manage Competing Water Uses and Improve Decision-Making Processes in three Southern European Irrigation Systems by Sandra Ricart Casadevall

Gwangju, Rep. of Korea, 2014: 6th meeting of the WG on Environment (WG-ENV) - Dr. Sylvain R. Perret, Prof. N. Hatcho, Dr M. Van der Laan

Environmental aspects of irrigation and drainage projects - Case studies received from members

  1. Mullicka, M.R.A, Perret, S.R., Mukand, Babelb, S. (2014): Benefit functions for instream water uses – a case of the Teesta River, Bangladesh
  2. Ullah, A., Perret, S.R. (2014) Technical- and environmental-efficiency analysis of irrigated cotton-cropping systems in Punjab, Pakistan using data envelopment analysis
  3. Gheewala, Shabbir H., Thapat Silalertruksa, Pariyapat Nilsalab, Rattanawan Mungkung, Sylvain R. Perret and Nuttapon Chaiyawannakarn (2014): Water Footprint and Impact of Water Consumption for Food, Feed, Fuel Crops Production in Thailand
  4. Zhang Zhi, Hongchang Hua,Fuqiang Tian, Heping Hua, Xinhua Yao, Ruisen Zhong (2014): Soil salt distribution under mulched drip irrigation in an arid area of northwestern China
  5. Thanawong, K., Perret, S.R., Basset-Mens, C. (2014). Eco-efficiency of paddy rice production in Northeastern Thailand: A comparison of rainfed and irrigated cropping systems.
  6. Perret, S.R., Thanawong, K., Basset-Mens, C., Mungkung, R. (2013).The environmental impacts of lowland paddy rice: A case study comparison between rainfed and irrigated rice in Thailand
  7. Shabbir H., Thapat Silalertruksa, Pariyapat Nilsalab, Rattanawan Mungkung, Sylvain R. Perret, Nuttapon Chaiyawannakarn (2013): Implications of the biofuels policy mandate in Thailand on water
  8. Babel, M.S., Shrestha, B., Perret, S.R.  (2011): Hydrological impact of biofuel production - A case study of the Khlong Phlo Watershed in Thailand

Mardin, Turkey, 2013: The potential contribution of Life Cycle Assessment to analyzing the environmental impacts and the sustainability of irrigation and drainage systems
SR Perret, M Van der Laan, N Hatcho

Adelaide, Australia, 2012

  1. Assessment of Environment-friendly Rice Farming through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by N. Hatcho, Y. Matsuno, K. Kochi, K. Nishishita Faculty of Agriculture, Kinki University
  2. The Murray-Darling Basin, Australia - Environmental flows or irrigation production? by Clarke Ballard, June 2012
  3. Environmental impacts of rice cropping in Thailand: Combining techno-economic analysis and LCA, towards eco-efficiency analysis by Sylvain Roger Perret, Kwansirinapa Thanawong
  4. LCA for irrigated sugarcane produced in Pongola, South Africa by M van der Laan, A Jumman, SR Perret

2011 :An overview of irrigation mosaics. Irrigation and Drainage, 60(4), 454-463. by Paydar, Z., Cook, F., Xevi, E., & Bristow, K. (2011).

2010: Ecosystem services and agriculture: tradeoffs and synergies. Philosophical transactions of the royal society B: biological sciences, 365(1554), 2959-2971. by Power, A. G. (2010).

GALLERY

CONCLUDED WORKBODIES/ TECHNICAL GROUPS

AWARDS

INTERESTING LINKS

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