Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: A Multi-Disciplinary and Cross-Country Perspective

ISBN-13: 9789400766358 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 507 str.

Kurt Schwabe; Jose Albiac; Jeffery Connor

Opis

This book shows how scientists, water managers and policy makers approach drought and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid areas of Spain, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and the US. Covers irrigation, ecological impacts, economic considerations and more.

Recenzje

From the reviews:

"This book takes a comparative approach to examine water management in five countries with a significant portion of arid landmass ... . This is an excellent resource for graduate students, academics, managers, and policy makers who are interested in or who deal with arid and semi-arid regions, as well as those who simply wish to deepen their understanding of these important ecosystems. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and above." (R. L. Wallace, Choice, Vol. 51 (8), April, 2014)

Spis treści

1. Introduction

 

PART I: Agronomy, Irrigation Technology, and Water Supply

 

2. Adapting Irrigated Agriculture to Drought in the San Joaquin Valley of California

3. Impact of Drought on Adelaide’s Water Supply System: Past, Present and Future

4. Living with Drought in the Irrigated Agriculture of the Ebro Basin (Spain): Structural and Water Management Actions

5. Irrigation and Drought in a Southern Australian Climate that is Arid, Variable, and Changing

6. Irrigation Associations Coping with Drought: The Case of Four Irrigation Districts in Eastern Spain

7. Crop Choices with Limiting Water Supplies: Deficit Irrigation and Sensitive Crop Growth Stages

8. Drought Adaptation Measures and Risk Tolerance of Commercial, Small-Scale and Subsistence Maize Farmers in the Free State and Northwest Province of South Africa

PART II: Ecological Impacts of Drought

 

9. Impacts of Water Scarcity and Drought on Iberian Aquatic Ecosystems

10. Ecological Responses and Interactions with Drought in the Southwestern United States

11. Agriculture, Water Mismanagement and Ecosystem Transformations in the Cuatrociénegas Valley in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico

12. The Murray-Darling Basin:  Ecosystem Response to Drought and Climate Change

 

PART III: Hydrology and Water Resource Systems

 

13. Drought Planning and Management in the Júcar River Basin, Spain

14. Drought as a Catalyst for Change: A Case Study of the Steenkoppies Dolomitic Aquifer

15. Evaluation of Groundwater Flow System Functioning in Mexico to Reduce Drought Impacts

 

16. Drought and Climate Change in the Murray-Darling Basin: A Hydrological Perspective

17. Climate Change Impacts on California’s Water Resources

PART IV: Economic Considerations and Drought

 

18. Water Scarcity and Droughts in Spain: Impacts and Policy Measures

19. Modeling Economic-Engineering Responses to Drought – The California Case

20. Principles for Economically Efficient and Environmentally Sustainable Water Markets: The Australian Experience

21. Drought Management Strategies in South Africa and the Potential for Economic Policy Instruments

PART V: Water Management and Policy

 

22. Some Considerations Regarding Water Management in Mexico:  Towards an Integrated Management System

23. Water Scarcity and Drought Management in the Ebro Basin

 

24. Responding to Extreme Drought in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia

25. Potential Political Impacts in Southern California of Drought-Related Water Availability and Rate Increases

26. Drought and its Role in Shaping Water Policy in Australia

PART VI: Conclusion

 

27. Summaries and Considerations

Blurb

Offering a cross-country examination and comparison of drought awareness and experience, this book shows how scientists, water managers, and policy makers approach drought and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions of Spain, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and the United States.

 

Efficiently mitigating or coping with the effects of drought requires an understanding of the biophysical aspects of drought, including the hydrologic and ecologic elements, as well as the technical, economic, and policy aspects.  Therefore, the editors have gathered an international group of expert contributors from a wide span of disciplines, including agronomy, ecology, economics, hydrology and irrigation technology. The book arises from a 2010 conference entitled International Drought Symposium: Integrating Science and Policy, which was organized by the Water Science and Policy Center at the University of California-Riverside.

 

The contents are organized in broad sections: Agronomy, Irrigation Technology, and Water Supply; Ecological Impacts of Drought; Hydrology and Water Resource Systems; Economic Considerations and Drought and Water Management and Policy. The concluding section provides an in-depth comparison of drought experiences, descriptions and methods highlighting different approaches and experiences from integral disciplines across a multitude of countries. It is the editors’ intention to enhance our understanding of the ways that physical, institutional and economic factors impact the effectiveness of one policy instrument relative to another.

 

Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: A Multi-Disciplinary and Cross-Country Perspective goes a long way toward improving our fundamental understanding of the interactions between physical impacts of drought, and the effectiveness of mitigation policies on the economic consequences of droughts.