Socio-hydrological assessment of water security in canal irrigation systems: A conjoint quantitative analysis of equity and reliability

This paper offers a socio-hydrological assessment of water security that compares canal irrigation entitlements with water deliveries using a conjoint analysis of system reliability and equity. We develop a set of definitions and metrics to quantitatively characterize reliability and equity using ne...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Siddiqi, Afreen, Wescoat, James, Muhammad, Abubakr
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sociotechnical Systems Research Center
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier BV 2019
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122919
Description
Summary:This paper offers a socio-hydrological assessment of water security that compares canal irrigation entitlements with water deliveries using a conjoint analysis of system reliability and equity. We develop a set of definitions and metrics to quantitatively characterize reliability and equity using newly available datasets of 10-daily canal deliveries from 2007–2017 in the Punjab canal command areas in the Indus Basin Irrigation System of Pakistan, where emphasis has shifted from distributing historically-defined volumetric supplies to improving irrigation efficiencies and crop yields in order to achieve greater aggregate water and food security. Our analysis reveals stagnation and oscillation over time in system-level equity and reliability. We reflect on the potential to positively affect canal irrigation performance and water security through a socio-hydrological approach. Keywords: irrigation system; irrigation performance; equity; reliability; Indus basin; socio-hydrology