Managing agricultural water resources: Addressing the complexity of innovation, social perspectives, and water governance in Sri Lanka

Jayasiri, Maveekumbure Manthreethilaka Jayasiri Gamaralalage Chathuri Nish; Yadav, Sudhir; Dayawansa, Nandani Dhammika Kumari; Ingold, Karin (2022). Managing agricultural water resources: Addressing the complexity of innovation, social perspectives, and water governance in Sri Lanka. Irrigation and drainage, 71(S1), pp. 71-85. Wiley 10.1002/ird.2693

[img] Text
Irrigation_and_Drainage_-_2022_-_Jayasiri_-_Managing_agricultural_water_resources_Addressing_the_complexity_of_innovation_.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to registered users only
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (1MB) | Request a copy

Irrigation plays a vital role in world food security. Agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals worldwide, and the figure is even higher in developing countries like Sri Lanka. The rapid expansion of anthropogenic activities, together with the anticipated climatic risks associated with them, is exacerbating the problem of increasing agricultural water demand. Although it has been recognized for decades, improving irrigation water-use efficiency and water productivity is still considered the most realistic option for addressing the challenge of sustainable management of water resources. However, adoption of recommended water-efficient technologies and concepts remains elusive in practice, highlighting the gaps created by failing to consider social perspectives in developing water management strategies. As a result, the effectiveness of water governance has often been questioned in terms of performance and adoption of innovative technologies. This paper reviews and discusses the complexity of innovation through a technical, social, and institutional lens by reviewing available research on Sri Lanka's river basins and presents a perspective on opportunities for improving irrigation water management.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Institute of Political Science
10 Strategic Research Centers > Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)

UniBE Contributor:

Ingold, Karin Mirjam

Subjects:

300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 320 Political science

ISSN:

1531-0361

Publisher:

Wiley

Language:

English

Submitter:

Jack Kessel Baker

Date Deposited:

04 Apr 2022 15:10

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 16:12

Publisher DOI:

10.1002/ird.2693

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/166616

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/166616

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback