Parametric Assessment of Pre-Monsoon Agricultural Water Scarcity in Bangladesh

Sumaiya Ahammed,Shamsuddin Shahid,Eun-Sung Chung

doi:10.3390/su10030819

Sumaiya Ahammed, Shamsuddin Shahid + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030819

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Abstract

This study assesses the geographical distribution of agricultural water scarcity in Bangladesh in order to streamline the adaptation measures. The agricultural water scarcity was assumed to be a system with five subsystems, namely, groundwater depth, surface water availability, rainfall availability, groundwater salinity for irrigation, and surface water salinity for irrigation. The catastrophe-theory-based multi-criteria decision making approach was used for the estimation of agricultural water scarcity index from five subsystem indices. The obtained results showed that agriculture in about 6.3% of the area of the country is experiencing very high-risk water scarcity, 19.1% with high water scarcity, 37.2% with moderate water risk, and the rest is low or no risk of water scarcity for agriculture. Results showed that the western part of Bangladesh was more vulnerable to agricultural water scarcity. The analysis of the results showed that higher agriculture water scarcity in the northwest region resulted from water unavailability, and in the southwest region it was closely related to poor water quality. The severe areas of water scarcity are very similar to those that are usually regarded as water-scarce. The approach presented in this study can be used for rapid but fair assessment of water scarcity with readily available data, which can be further improved by incorporating other factors related to water scarcity.

Highlights

Growing water demand due to population growth, economic development, and declining water supply have caused water scarcity in many countries across the world [1]
This study aims to assess agricultural water scarcity in Bangladesh using the catastrophe theory by considering availability and quality of water resources during the pre-monsoon crop growing season
To identify agricultural water scarcity, the maps of groundwater depth, pre-monsoon drought, surface water availability, groundwater salinity, and surface water salinity were prepared in ArcGIS

Summary

Introduction

Growing water demand due to population growth, economic development, and declining water supply have caused water scarcity in many countries across the world [1]. The global water demand will continue to grow with population growth and economic development [3]. A rapid growth in agricultural activities for supplemental food production will cause 55% increase in global water demand by 2050 [6]. The greatest increases will be observed in the developing countries that are already experiencing water stress conditions [3]. This will make water resources scarcer in the developing regions, especially those are located in Asia [7]

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