Reducing Agricultural Water Use While Conserving Ecosystems

Abstract

The aim of water managers in Korea is to assess the degree to which agricultural water use can be reduced while maintaining rural societies and conserving sound ecosystems. Toward this aim, a new irrigation management system for the Korea Rural Community and Agricultural Corporation (KRC) has been implemented in Korea to resolve the issues and to reduce wastage of agricultural water. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recommended that farmers should be charged for irrigation water and that they participate in the operation and maintenance of irrigation systems. In addition, the Vitalization of Rural Improvement Act was enacted to develop water resources for rural communities and amenities. However, there are still questions as to how much of the country's rural water supply should be devoted to irrigation and ecosystem conservation. A practical strategy has been devised in which farmers receive incentives for voluntarily reducing agricultural water use. In addition, new eco-farming tourist programs could be developed to utilize the year-round circulation of water through reservoirs, irrigation canals, paddy fields, fish-ways, regulating ponds, drainage canals, and pumping stations; this would provide a boom to rural tourism in Korea.