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HS5.9

Irrigation, water and society
Convener: Jimmy O'Keeffe  | Co-Conveners: Simon Moulds , Ana Mijic , Wouter Buytaert , Nicholas Brozovic 

This session is part of the Panta Rhei research initiative of the IAHS under the Working Group “Energy and Food Impacts on Water”, and the “Hydroflux India” NERC UK/MoES India funded Changing Water Cycle project.

Irrigation accounts for approximately 70% of all freshwater abstractions and 90% of freshwater consumption. Rapid population growth in recent decades has led to a dramatic increase in the area used for irrigation, facilitated by large scale engineering projects and technological advances. Furthermore, widespread land use change from natural vegetation to intensively managed agriculture in recent decades has contributed significantly to anthropogenic carbon emissions, loss of biodiversity and, in many regions, a reduction in soil quality. While irrigation has undoubtedly improved global food security, particularly in developing countries, unmanaged abstractions from aquifers and rivers have resulted in a severe decline in water resources.

In this session we welcome submissions from all parts of the scientific community that aim to improve our understanding of regional, global and transboundary irrigation practices and quantify the impact of large-scale irrigation on water resources and food security. Papers may focus on data collection methods, the processing or modelling of this information, or a combination of these. Studies that focus on the development and application of policies for improved irrigation and/or water management practices are also welcome. Case studies may be from regions where information is abundant or from data scarce regions where novel approaches to data collection are required.