Water Resources Assessment and Management in Drylands

Magaly Koch,Thomas Missimer

doi:10.3390/w8060239

Abstract

Drylands regions of the world face difficult issues in maintaining water resources to meet current demands which will intensify in the future with population increases, infrastructure development, increased agricultural water demands, and climate change impacts on the hydrologic system. New water resources evaluation and management methods will be needed to assure that water resources in drylands are optimally managed in a sustainable manner. Development of water management and conservation methods is a multi-disciplinary endeavor. Scientists and engineers must collaborate and cooperate with water managers, planners, and politicians to successfully adopt new strategies to manage water not only for humans, but to maintain all aspects of the environment. This particularly applies to drylands regions where resources are already limited and conflicts over water are occurring. Every aspect of the hydrologic cycle needs to be assessed to be able to quantify the available water resources, to monitor natural and anthropogenic changes, and to develop flexible policies and management strategies that can change as conditions dictate. Optimal, sustainable water management is achieved by cooperation and not conflict, thereby necessitating the need for high quality scientific research and input into the process.

Highlights

Population and water demand are rapidly growing in the drylands regions of the world
The papers contained within this Special Issue of Water, entitled “Water Resources Assessment and Management in Drylands”, describe new methods of water resources assessment and evaluation of drylands hydrology, use of new tools in the implementation of water policies and management strategies, and strategies used to manage agricultural water use which accounts for the largest global water use at over 70% [1]
The papers cover different areas of geography and climatic conditions that highlight a variety of techniques tailored to the unique conditions occurring within regions with differing water use rates and management problems

Summary

Introduction

Population and water demand are rapidly growing in the drylands regions of the world. Arid and semi-arid regions occur in about 30% of the total land area of the Earth and with intensification of desertification caused by global warming and poor land management practices, this percentage is increasing [1]. The future health and well-being of the populations occupying these areas are dependent upon being able to assess the status of the available water resources in real time and to develop and implement policies and management strategies to maintain and grow water supplies. The papers contained within this Special Issue of Water, entitled “Water Resources Assessment and Management in Drylands”, describe new methods of water resources assessment and evaluation of drylands hydrology, use of new tools in the implementation of water policies and management strategies, and strategies used to manage agricultural water use which accounts for the largest global water use at over 70% [1]. The papers cover different areas of geography and climatic conditions that highlight a variety of techniques tailored to the unique conditions occurring within regions with differing water use rates and management problems

Contributors

Findings

Conclusions