Agricultural Water Management
Proceedings of a Workshop in Tunisia
Laura Holliday, Editor
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This workshop was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), the U.S. Department of State, and the American Chemistry Council. This summary is funded in part by the EPA via contract number X-83086001and by the Department of State under grant number S-LMAQM-05-GR-047. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
STEERING COMMITTEE ON STRENGTHENING SCIENCE-BASED DECISION-MAKING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Michael Clegg (Chair) Distinguished Professor of Genetics,
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside
Thomas Lovejoy President,
H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
Whitney MacMillan Director Emeritus,
Cargill, Inc.
Perry McCarty Silas H. Palmer Professor Emeritus,
Stanford University
Roger McClellan President Emeritus,
Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology
F. Sherwood Rowland Donald Bren Research Professor of Chemistry and Earth System Science,
University of California, Irvine
Staff:
John Boright Deputy Executive Director,
Policy and Global Affairs
Pat Koshel Senior Staff Officer,
Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Laura Holliday Senior Program Associate,
Science and Technology for Sustainability Program (through 4/28/2006)
Derek Vollmer Program Associate,
Policy and Global Affairs Division
Kathleen McAllister Program Assistant,
Policy and Global Affairs Division
PREFACE
During the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the U.S. National Academies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Chemistry Council announced a new initiative to facilitate better communication among scientists, policymakers, and other decision-makers so that scientific knowledge more effectively informs public policy and private sector decisions relating to sustainability in developing countries. More specifically, the goals of the initiative are:
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Foster improved understanding of the science and decision-making process, including national and local policy, industrial design and planning, and public choices;
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Establish dialogue in which decision-makers use science to inform their decisions and scientists consider the needs of decision-makers in their choice of research;
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Identify gaps between the needs of decision-makers and scientific research priorities and strategies for bridging these gaps, including ways to increase the professional connection between scientists and decision-makers, and;
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Share workshop results, via summaries and briefings, with a broader audience of scientists and decision-makers in the host country and internationally.
To achieve these objectives, the organizations involved (see list below) provided support for a series of "science in decision-making workshops" in developing countries on key issues of particular concern to the host country such as water and sanitation, persistent organic pollutants, and biodiversity. The workshops convene representatives from host country and U.S. scientific institutions, government, industry, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and other relevant organizations. Crosscutting themes addressed in the workshops include monitoring and data evaluation; elements of good science advice; facilitating the flow of scientific information; and the roles of institutions that link scientists and decision-makers.
Workshop topics are proposed by science organizations in developing countries. A steering committee established by the U.S. National Academies reviewed proposals and provided general oversight for the series. The workshop co-chairs– one from the respective developing country and one from the United States – designed each workshop, which were organized in a collaborative process involving the U.S. National Academies and one or more science organization from the partnering country.
The initiative involved the following organizations:
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The initiative’s first workshop, “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making for Sustainable Management of Ground Water in Mexico,” was a joint workshop between the U.S. National Academies and the Mexican Academy of Sciences. It was held February 8-10, 2004, in Mérida, Mexico. The second workshop, “Strengthening Science-Based Decision Making –Implementing the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants” was held June 8-10, 2004, in Beijing, China. The third workshop titled “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making for Agricultural Water Management.” took place June 4-9, 2005, in Tunisia and is featured in this report.
The Tunisia workshop was co-chaired by Dr. Henry Vaux, Jr. of the University of California, Berkeley, and Dr. Sihem Benabdallah, of the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique et Technique in Tunisia. The meeting involved approximately 30 attendees from Tunisia, other Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) countries, and the United States, including decision-makers from both the public and private sectors, and scientists from relevant disciplines, such as agronomy, economics, and natural resource management. The overarching question considered at the workshop was: How can Tunisia and other countries in the region marshal their considerable bodies of scientific talent to address the problem of insufficient agricultural production caused by water scarcity? The workshop also addressed two major sub-issues related to food production. First, how can existing water supplies, including recycled waste water, be managed so as to optimize the domestic production of food and fiber? Second, what can the public and private sectors do to optimize production of high value agricultural products? Discussions of these issues included: information about scientific advances in irrigation; suggestions regarding communicating this information to the appropriate decision-makers; consideration of additional information that decision-makers need; and comments regarding what organizations are or should be involved in facilitating the flow of such information.
The workshop began in Tozeur with a field trip to observe Tunisian agriculture and agricultural management practices. The field trip participants, including almost all of the international and U.S. participants and several Tunisians, observed groundwater mining to produce dates, mangos, and other high-value crops; wastewater reuse experiments; oasis agriculture practices; erosion prevention systems; hothouse agriculture; and other agriculture and water management systems. Discussions at various sites revealed concerns about salinity, sustainability of the system (with groundwater levels declining rapidly), security implications of drawing down a shared aquifer, and the vulnerability to drought of the populations in the region.
The papers included in this volume were submitted by the participants to help frame these discussions. As such, many of the papers do not include the technical detail or exhaustive citations found in a scientific journal. The opinions expressed in the papers do not necessarily reflect the views of all workshop participants, their affiliated organizations, or the National Academies. The report does not contain consensus findings or recommendations from the workshop participants as a whole.
More information about the program “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making in Developing Countries” and about the Science and Technology for Sustainability Program is available online at www.nationalacademies.org/sustainability. This workshop proceedings is available online at www.nap.edu.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We wish to express sincere thanks to the many individuals who played significant roles in guiding the initiative “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making in Developing Countries.” The steering committee provided guidance on the initiative’s goals; identified appropriate modes of operation; and reviewed all workshop proposals. Steering committee members include: Chairman Michael Clegg, University of California, Riverside; Thomas Lovejoy, H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment; Whitney MacMillan, Cargill, Inc.; Perry McCarty, Stanford University; Roger McClellan, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology; and F. Sherwood Rowland, University of California, Irvine.
For the workshop featured in this proceedings “Strengthening Science-Based Decision Making for Agricultural Water Management” workshop co-chairs Dr. Sihem Benabdallah, Professor of Geochemistry Physics and Chemistry of Water at the National Institute of Scientific and Technical Research and Dr. Henry Vaux, Professor of Resource Economics and Associate Vice President Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley were instrumental in designing the workshop agenda and ensuring productive discussions.
This publication was made possible by grants from the U.S. Department of State (State Department) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the positions of the State Department, the US EPA, the U.S. National Academies, the National Institute of Scientific and Technical Research, or other organizations where the authors are employed.
This volume has been reviewed in draft form by several individuals chosen for their technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in ensuring that the report is as sound as possible and meets institutional standards for quality. The review comments and original draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this volume: Randa Aboul-Hosn, United Nations Development Programme; Bernard Engel, Purdue University; Rita Maguire, ThinkAZ; Ayman Rabi, Palestinian Hydrology Group; and Moneef Zou'bi, Islamic-World Academy of Sciences.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the individual papers. Responsibility for the final content of the papers rests with the individual authors.
Special thanks are extended in recognition of the important contributions of the following National Academies staff: John Boright, Executive Director of the Office of International Affairs, who provided oversight for the initiative, and Derek Vollmer, who contributed to planning the workshop, as well as Kathleen McAllister and Laila Parker, who assisted in editing the report.
Laura Holliday, Editor
Contents
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Chairman’s Overview |
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Reaching out to Decision-Makers on Science Matters: Islamic World Academy of Sciences as an Example |
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The Elements of Scientific Advice |
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How can scientific research be more effectively integrated into public policy making? |
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The Academy of Science and Technology of Senegal : an instrument of action and advice to decison-makers for the progress of the Nation |
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The Role of Science in Agricultural Water Management |
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Optimizing Irrigation for Agricultural Water Management: Scientific Principles |
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Linking Agricultural Water Management and Scientifically-Based Decision Making |
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Regulated Deficit Irrigation in Trees and Vines |
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The Water Resources and Water Management Regimes in Tunisia |
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Water in Tunisia: A National Perspective |
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Participatory Irrigation Management: A Case Study from Turkey |
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Putting Science Into Action: From Washington State Community-based Outreach To National Programming In Washington DC |
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Protecting the Dead Sea Basin: Perspective of Friends of the Earth Middle East on the Red Dead Conduit and the protection of River Jordan |
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Training and Research Ideas for Water Management in the West Bank and Gaza |
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Web-Based Ecological Decision Support System |
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Regional Initiative for Dryland Management in Tunisia |
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