Water Security and Management : Ecological Imperatives and Policy Options

The proposed book is an attempt towards an integrated approach for water security and management in the backdrop of irrigation reforms in Andhra Pradesh. In the absence of an integrated approach, `water security' would remain a distant dream. Water security ensures equity and sustainability. In the context of scarcity, allocation of water should be governed by optimality rather than productivity. For, optimality combines economic as well as social benefits. Water security is indispensable for addressing inter and intra-regional as well as inter-household inequalities in growth and development and sustaining the ecological balance. In fragile resource regions, environ-mental degradation is seen as a cause of household food insecurity and as a consequence of water insecurity. That is food security is linked to water security through environmental degradation in these regions. The book is based on the author's work on four important aspects of irrigation management, namely, canals, tanks, wells and water pollution. The study emanates from intensive field research covering different agro-climatic locations in Andhra Pradesh. The study highlights the inter-linkages between different sources of irrigation as well as approaches to irrigation management and argues for an integrated approach for achieving water security.