The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is the government agency in the Philippines mandated to develop water resources for irrigation purposes. It is classified as a government-owned and controlled corporation. A major strategy implemented by NIA is the application of the so-called “participatory approach program” (PAP) concept in the irrigation environment. This approach enables all stakeholders to be involved in practically all phases of the irrigation endeavor. The concept was introduced in the early ‘70s and with its positive results was institutionalized in all projects implemented by NIA. Before the introduction of PAP, the agency was doing all the planning, designing, construction and operation functions with almost no participation from the project beneficiaries -- the farmers. Central to PAP is the organization of irrigation beneficiaries into formal groups called Irrigators Associations (IA). Through a professional NIA staff member called an Institutional Development Officer (IDO) deployed to the irrigation area, the IAs are trained in various aspects of basic leadership, financial management and irrigation system management to equip them with the capability to manage their associations. Eventually, the IAs are granted legal recognition by the government allowing them to enter into contracting arrangements in the management of the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the irrigation systems. The formal organization and legal recognition of the IAs have empowered the irrigation beneficiaries to become self-reliant and independent organizations. The contracting agreements, collectively called O&M contracting, are canal maintenance, irrigation service fee (ISF) collection and complete management take over of small irrigation systems. In the canal maintenance agreement (called Type 1) an IA receives approximately Phillipine pesos 1,400 (US $26) per month while under ISF collection agreement (called Type 2), the IA gets a commission ranging from 2 to 15% of the collected amount. Under complete management takeover (Type 3), the IA assumes complete management of the system and pays, through annual amortization, the construction or rehabilitation costs. An expanded version of the O&M management turnover program called Irrigation Management (IMT) was later introduced. IMT affords IA and NIA the option for a joint system management of canal systems or complete management takeover of relatively small systems. One salient feature of IMT is negotiation between the two parties regarding the sharing of the collected ISF and responsibilities for the repair and maintenance of facilities and structures. Contracting provides an opportunity for the IAs to generate funds that are in turn used to finance some projects and activities. Overall, participatory management has generated optimistic gains in the improvement of NIA and IA operations. But some refinements to the program still have to be instituted in order to upgrade these initial gains. Areas needing more attention include: (a) the issue of delayed payment of IA remuneration in both the O&M contracting and IMT agreements as these affect the ability of IAs to finance projects and activities; (b) pulling-out of the IDO in the service area just one year after the IA has been organized may be pre-mature as the association still needs assistance including additional training and capability building during its infancy stage; and (c) the redundancy of IMT displaced NIA staff must be remedied if acceleration of the program is seriously desired.

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The sustainable utilization of water resources has become an important national agendum in Korea. Great temporal and spatial variations of precipitation and stream flow cause frequent water shortages and floods. The water quality of rivers and lakes has been degraded significantly despite continuing investments for water quality improvement. Rapidly increasing water use has placed serious constraints on reliable water supplies because one-third of stream flow is now diverted to agricultural, domestic and industrial uses. A national survey reported that water supplies will be 1.8 million m³ short of meeting the demands by 2011. Additional water resources have to be developed and water demand controls and efficient water use need to be more extensively implemented. Basin-wide integrated flood controls are also important for sustainable development. The concept of sustainability has been incorporated into on-going efforts concerned with water related issues and policies. Presently, three-quarters of paddy fields are provided with water from irrigation systems. The Korean government has placed a high priority on sustainable water use for paddy irrigation. The concept of ‘sustainable development’ has been incorporated into many on-going national projects such as the reinforcement of existing irrigation dams, transboundary water use, automatic water management, telemetering/telecontrol systems and water quality improvement projects. Drainage improvement projects for agricultural lands have also been implemented to mitigate flood damages in paddy fields. The sustainable agriculture promotion act has improved water quality of paddy fields as well as preservation of the agricultural ecosystems. This paper presents an overview of the geography, agriculture, water resources and water uses for agricultural production in Korea. The National agenda concerned with sustainable water use is presented. The on-going efforts for sustainable use of agricultural water resources are introduced. A review of case studies on integrated water management for more efficient water use and on an irrigation reservoir water quality improvement project is given. Results of wastewater reuse for irrigation that may help restore the natural hydrologic cycle by reducing the over-exploitation of water from rivers are also presented. The roles of agro-environmental education, which include capacity building for the interdisciplinary aspects of sustainable water utilization in harmony with natural ecosystems are also discussed. The importance of accredited curricula development is stressed for future agro-environmental education. Finally, interdisciplinary research and development needs to be explored for sustainable water use in agricultural production.

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Australia is a continent of extremes with respect to water resources; relative abundance in the tropical north where few people live and relative scarcity in the more populated, temperate south. In addition, both south and north are affected by wet/dry seasonal climatic conditions and the south, in particular, by increasing climate variability marked generally by declining rainfall. In the south, previous poor governance systems have led to the over allocation of surface and groundwater supplies and there is increasing competition for water from irrigators, urban/domestic, industrial and mining users. As a consequence, there has been a major deleterious impact on the health of many rivers and their associated environments. Therefore, Australia is confronted with a major question; can water productivity and water governance be improved to ensure environmentally sustainable and productive river systems? This paper examines how this may be achieved. It concludes that economic reforms coupled with scientific and management innovation may alleviate many of the water scarcity issues.

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This paper highlights a brief profile of the water resources, management and policies of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). The report is based on secondary information from the RGC, Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM), Cambodian Development Committee (CDC), Mekong River Commission (MRC), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) and other related sources. The total land area of Cambodia is 181,035km² while the population is approximately 13.8 million. Cambodia currently has a very high potential for water and water resources with limited capability to adopt water for both agricultural production and daily usage. Water resources are being promoted by various developmental policies from the RGC under the support of the government itself and international agencies and organizations. There are 207 Farmer Water User Communities (FWUC) that have been established and are functioning. In the rainy and dry seasons, the FWUC can irrigate 76,720 ha and 59,770 ha, respectively. Only 15% of the populations in 19 of 24 provincial towns have access to piped water. Agriculture in Cambodia is mostly rain fed. Only a small percentage of total cultivated land is irrigated year-round. Irrigation is only available for 4.5% of the total usable land. Of that amount, 1.4% is by surface water irrigation and 3.1% by groundwater irrigation. On the other hand, total irrigated land is approximately 20% of the total cultivated land. A legal framework, water policies and duties to support sustainable and effective uses of Cambodian water have been established. The FWUC has been designed to accomplish many objectives aiming to attain sustainable water use. There are very few courses provided through higher educational institutions such as the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) and Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), most courses available are not fully related to agricultural production or livelihood. RUA offers courses directly related to water for agriculture and rural development, but few courses with expertise and support. Academic research focuses on irrigation systems, water contamination and pollution, and water supply with limited concepts for application. Cambodia needs to develop new crops, rice varieties, and other breeding species, to determine the water potential throughout the country, to disseminate maintenance techniques, skills and sustainable use of irrigation facilities, and to introduce specific courses and programs at educational institutions that play a role in the related fields.

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Tank irrigation systems of India are a century old. Most of the tanks have, over time, degraded into open access resources due to weak property relations. Encroachment, privatization and government appropriation of the tanks have been the main outcomes of the failure of local authority systems to enforce the institutional arrangements under the common property resources management regime. About 2% of the tanks in the tankless intensive region and 67% of the tanks in the intensive region have become defunct. Wells that are supposed to be security against late season tank water scarcity have of late become a major threat to the very survival of the tanks. Taxes from multiple uses of the tanks, if collected by a single agency are sufficient to meet the operation and maintenance expenditures of the tanks both in the short run and in the long run. The modernization options derived from a simulation model indicate that software strategies such as sluice management will have a higher pay-off than hardware strategies such as canal lining and additional wells. Policy interventions include physical investments, management and legal aspects.

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In Japan, the main source of irrigation is not ground water but river water, which is allocated among water users such as irrigation associations, mayor to supply domestic water, and CEOs of manufacturing companies to use water by water right systems or by the permission of the Minister. The amount of river water administratively available to water users is “Normal” low flow discharge with a risk of 10% probability exceeding “River Maintenance” flow. The Irrigation Associations or (farmers') Water Users Associations, called “Land Improvement Districts” in Japan, are managed to satisfy the requirements of PIM, 1) to establish democratic farmers' irrigation associations, 2) to collect water charge from farmers. In principle, the construction costs of the projects are subsidized, but the operation and maintenance costs are not subsidized.

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Since People's or Muang Fai Irrigation Systems have been important to the life of “Muang Fai Communities” in Northern Thailand or Lanna areas for longer than 700 years, water users or farmers should maintain their experiences and wisdom in irrigation system management. At the same time, they should also try to use their potential or expertise to understand problems and then develop and improve their practices to finally achieve the most efficient water management. This will help them to become more efficient in intensively practicing agro-business and using natural resources and the environment wisely throughout the year in order to upgrade their socio-economic status.

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Water is a precious natural resource because it plays a significant role in maintaining human health; fulfilling the human food requirements and boosting industrial development and above all, keeping the natural heritages and beauties. An ever-increasing world population imposes quantitative pressure on water resources from one side (for provision of safe drinking water, agricultural and industrial needs). While from the other side, the quality of this natural resource is becoming deteriorated by the uncontrolled amounts of residential wastes generated by humans, discharges from agricultural fields and effluents of industrial plants. Ignorance of these realities not only confines the present human environment but also puts the future creatures to undesirable consequences. Therefore, it is crucial to deal with the issues challenging sustainable water resource management and globally embark on sound and constructive strategies to overcome these catastrophes. Among these strategies, raising public awareness on efficient water usage, natural resources preservation and a shift to renewable water sources needs to be prioritized. On the local scale, the water resources in Afghanistan have encountered significant and irreversible negative consequences because of the past two and half decades of armed conflict. There are numerous confrontations to be dealt with here, sustainable management of water resources as the most important one. The raising of qualified human resources can strengthen this. It is also the moral responsibility of countries not to benefit from the present inabilities of their neighbors and build their infrastructure by utilizing others resources including water rights.

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