Mutual Sustainability of Tubewell Farming and Aquifers


Book Description

This book develops and presents a conceptual model for sustainable-groundwater irrigated agriculture. The model is based on the general principles of the economic theories of cost-benefit relations and behavioral models of resource use. The study has evaluated the advances in tubewell farming and the aquifer potential in arid Balochistan over a period of three decades. It has analyzed the booms and busts of the farming over time taking into consideration the local aquifer limitations and the socio-political considerations and policy framework. Three data sets – farmers, expert officials and satellite images - have been used to aid validation. By observing the most vital parameters, the study has concluded that the local aquifer has been falling at a rate directly proportional to the growth rate of irrigated farming, suggesting the current development process is unsustainable. For instance, the research finds that tubewell bores have reached down to depths where the term “aquifer mining” applies; as a result, irrigation costs have become too high to allow farming to be economically viable. In addition, desertification is steadily encroaching and the cropping pattern being changed from high-value horticulture to subsistence cropping. The study has also set parameters for assessing the willingness of farmers to accept modern, sustainable strategies and interventions.




The Plant Family Brassicaceae


Book Description

With the advent of the industrial revolution , the biosphere has been continuously polluted with a myriad of contaminants that urgently need global attention. In this perspective, most of the genera of the plant family Brassicaceae (Crucifereae or the mustard family) are a significant part of the plants- and associated microbes-based strategies adopted for the cleanup of varied contaminants from environmental compartments. Important genus such as Alyssum, Arabidopsis, Brassica and Thlaspi from Brassicaceae which, besides acting as an attractive genetic model, well-represent the metal hyperaccumulation among approximately 0.2% of all angiosperms and thus, play a key role in the phytoremediation technology. This book i) provides an exhaustive evaluation of the current status of contaminants (metals/metalloids)-addition to varied environmental compartments and its consequences, ii) offers comprehensive and state-of-the-art information on the significance of the plants from the family Brassicaceae in solving environmental pollution issues, iii) examines the physiological, biochemical and molecular-genetic strategies adopted by the plants from Brassicaceae for the remediation of and tolerance to varied environmental contaminants, and iv) supplies a broad reference to the field of environmental science and related disciplines. As a pioneer work and significant addition to the Environmental Pollution book series, the current volume promises to be a useful asset for researchers, students, other academicians and policy makers involved in sustainable remediation of varied environmental compartments.










The United Nations world water development report 2015: water for a sustainable world


Book Description

The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) is hosted and led by UNESCO. WWAP brings together the work of 31 UN-Water Members as well as 37 Partners to publish the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) series. Under the theme Water for Sustainable Development, the WWDR 2015 has been prepared as a contribution from UN-Water to the discussions surrounding the post-2015 framework for global sustainable development. Highlighting water's unique and often complex role in achieving various sustainable development objectives, the WWDR 2015 is addressed to policy- and decision-makers inside and outside the water community, as well as to anyone with an interest in freshwater and its many life-giving benefits. The report sets an aspirational yet achievable vision for the future of water towards 2050 by describing how water supports healthy and prosperous human communities, maintains well functioning ecosystems and ecological services, and provides a cornerstone for short and long-term economic development. It provides an overview of the challenges, issues and trends in terms of water resources, their use and water-related services like water supply and sanitation. The report also offers, in a rigorous yet accessible manner, guidance about how to address these challenges and to seize the opportunities that sound water management provides in order to achieve and maintain economic, social and environmental sustainability.




The Indus Basin of Pakistan


Book Description

This study, Indus basin of Pakistan: the impacts of climate risks on water and agriculture was undertaken at a pivotal time in the region. The weak summer monsoon in 2009 created drought conditions throughout the country. This followed an already tenuous situation for many rural households faced with high fuel and fertilizer costs and the impacts of rising global food prices. Then catastrophic monsoon flooding in 2010 affected over 20 million people, devastating their housing, infrastructure, and crops. Damages from this single flood event were estimated at US dollar 10 billion, half of which were losses in the agriculture sector. Notwithstanding the debate as to whether these observed extremes are evidence of climate change, an investigation is needed regarding the extent to which the country is resilient to these shocks. It is thus timely, if not critical, to focus on climate risks for water, agriculture, and food security in the Indus basin of Pakistan.




Cleaning Pakistan’s Air


Book Description

The harm to Pakistanis’ health, economy, and environment from urban air pollution is among the highest in South Asia, exceeding several high-profile causes of mortality and morbidity in Pakistan. This report details a broad spectrum of research on Pakistan’s air quality management challenges and presents concrete steps to achieve improvements.




Pakistan's Water Economy


Book Description

Water sustenance and management are central development challenges facing Pakistan today. This report argues for dramatic changes in policy and approach to enable Pakistan to maintain and build new infrastructure, besides securing the water required for future generations. Focusing on two basic issuesthe countrys major water-related challenges, and ways of addressing themthe report calls for reinvigorated public water policies and institutions to sustain water development and management in the future by: Exploring the evolution of water management in Pakistan Describing past achievements and their relevance in the current context Analyzing existing challenges Suggesting ways of evolving a sustainable water management system The report draws heavily on a set of companion reports by Pakistan water experts and policy analysts. These reports are presented in the accompanying CD and provide in-depth analyses of: The interface between water and agriculture, energy, environment, growth, and poverty Drinking water, sanitation, drainage and salinity, flood, dams, groundwater, and water balance management Water-related rights and entitlements, reforms, and resources and institutions




Groundwater around the World


Book Description

This book presents a unique and up-to-date summary of what is known about groundwater on our planet, from a global perspective and in terms of area-specific factual information. Unlike most textbooks on groundwater, it does not deal with theoretical principles, but rather with the overall picture that emerges as a result of countless observations,