Until recently, aquifers located in hard rock formations (granite, gneiss, schist) were considered as a highly heterogeneous media, and no adequate methodology for groundwater management was available. Recent research studies have shown that when hard rocks are exposed to regional and deep‐weathering processes and when the geology is relatively homogenous, a typical hard rock aquifer is made of two main superimposed hydrogeological layers each characterized by quite homogeneous specific hydrodynamic properties: namely the saprolite and the fissured layers. Therefore, for these cases, hard rock aquifers can be considered as a multi‐layered system. Based on these works, an operational decision support tool (DST‐GW) designed for the management of groundwater resources in hard rock area under variable agro‐climatic conditions has been developed. The tool focuses on the impact of changing cropping pattern, artificial recharge and rainfall conditions on groundwater levels at the scale of small watersheds (10 to about 100 km2 in case well‐developed weathering profile). DST‐GW is based on the groundwater balance and the ‘water table fluctuation method’, which are well‐adapted methods in hard rock and semi‐arid contexts. Based on field data from an overexploited South Indian watershed (58 km2), the model allows calibrating, at watershed scale, the variation in specific yield of the aquifer with depth, as well as the rainfall‐aquifer recharge relationship. Seasonal basin‐scale piezometric levels are computed with an average deviation of ± 0·56 m compared to measurements from 2001 to 2005. The model shows that, if no measure is taken, the water table depletion will induce the drying‐up of most of the exploited borewells by the year 2012. Scenarios of mitigation measures elaborated with the tool show that change in cropping patterns could rapidly reverse the tendency and lead to a sustainable management of the resource. This work presents the developed tool and particularly the hydraulic model involved in and its application to a case study. However, the purpose tool is applicable at watershed scale but not design for the groundwater management of a very small area or for a single borewell. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SUMMARYProjections suggest that annual per capita water availability in the Indo-Ganga Basin (IGB) will reduce to a level typical for water-stressed areas. Producing more crop and livestock products, per unit of agricultural water invested, is advocated as a key strategy for future food production and environmental security in the basin. The objective of this study was to understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of water requirements for livestock feed production, attendant livestock water productivity (LWP) and implications for the future sustainable use of water resources. We focused on three districts in the IGB representing intensive (higher external inputs, e.g. fertilizer, water) and semi-intensive (limited external input) crop-livestock systems. LWP is estimated based on principles of water accounting and is defined as the ratio of livestock beneficial outputs and services to the water depleted and degraded in producing these. In calculating LWP and crop water productivity (CWP), livestock, land use, land productivity and climatic data were required. We used secondary data sources from the study districts, field observations and discussions with key informants to generate those data sets. Our result showed that the volume of water depleted for livestock feed production varied among the study systems and was highly affected by the type of feed and the attendant agronomic factors (e.g. cropping pattern, yield). LWP value was higher for intensive systems and affected by agricultural water partitioning approaches (harvest index, metaolizable energy). LWP tended to decrease between 1992 and 2003. This can be accounted for by the shift to a feeding regime that depletes more water despite its positive impacts on animal productivity. This is a challenging trend with the advent of and advocacy for producing more agricultural products using the same or lower volume of water input and evokes a need for balanced feeding, by considering the nutritive value, costs and water productivity of feed, and better livestock management to improve LWP.

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The paper discusses the contribution of crop residues (CR) to feed resources in the context of the water productivity of CR in livestock feeding, using India as an example. It is argued that crop residues are already the single most important feed resource in many livestock production systems in developing countries and that increasing their contribution to livestock feeding needs to be linked to improving their fodder quality. Using examples from multi-dimensional crop improvement, it is shown that CR fodder quality of key crops such as sorghum, rice and groundnut can be improved by genetic enhancement without detriment to grain and pod yields. Improving crop residue quality through genetic enhancement, agronomic and management interventions and strategic supplementation could improve water productivity of farms and systems considerably. The draw-backs of CR based feeding regimes are also pointed out, namely that they result in only moderate levels of livestock productivity and produce higher greenhouse gas emissions than are observed under feeding regimes that are based on high quality forages and concentrates. It is argued that feed metabolisable energy (ME) content should be used as an important determinant of livestock productivity; water requirement for feed and fodder production should be related to a unit of feed ME rather than feed bulk. The paper also revisits data from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) work on livestock–water productivity in the Indian state of Gujarat, showing that water input per unit ME can vary several-fold in the same feed depending on where the feed is produced. Thus, the production of one mega joule of ME from alfalfa required 12.9 L of irrigation-derived water in south Gujarat but 50.7 L of irrigation-derived water in north Gujarat. Wheat straw in south Gujarat required 20.9 L of irrigation-derived water for 1 MJ ME and was in this instance less water use efficient than alfalfa. We conclude that water use efficiency across feed and fodder classes (for example crop residue v. planted forages) and within a feed is highly variable. Feeding recommendations should be made according to specific water use requirement per unit ME in a defined production system.

This paper reviews water institutional reforms in Sri Lanka by contrasting those observed during the 1980s with those proposed during the 1990s. While the earlier reforms focused on the irrigation sector that yielded quicker benefits and low political risks, recent reforms have covered macro institutions and the whole water sector where the benefits are gradual and less visible but with high political risks. As the earlier reforms were packaged as part of larger investment programs, they had in-built incentives and strong proponents. But recent reforms not only lacked such conditions but also faced an ideologically charged hostile environment. Despite the current failure of the reforms, their future prospect is not that bleak in view of the emerging consensus on most issues and the continuing government commitment to reform. The Sri Lankan case also provides evidence for the effects of transaction cost and political economy factors, the tactical benefits of reform packaging, sequencing and timing, and the role of stakeholders' perception, learning and information in articulating the demand for change.