Sustainable Irrigation Management in Paddy Rice Agriculture: A Comparative Case Study of Karangasem Indonesia and Kunisaki Japan

Matthew Scott Jansing, Faezeh Mahichi and Ranahansa Dasanayake
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Matthew Scott Jansing: 829 Palmers Drive, Silverthorne, CO 80498, USA
Faezeh Mahichi: Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, 1-1 Jumonjibaru, Beppu 874-8577, Japan
Ranahansa Dasanayake: Environmental Campus Birkenfeld, Institute for Applied Material Flow Management, Trier University of Applied Sciences, Bldg.-9926/Office-127, P.O.Box. 1380, 55761 Birkenfeld, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Irrigated paddy rice agriculture accounts for a major share of Asia Pacific’s total water withdrawal. Furthermore, climate change induced water scarcity in the Asia-Pacific region is projected to intensify in the near future. Therefore, methods to reduce water consumption through efficiency measures are needed to ensure the long-term (water) sustainability. The irrigation systems, subak of Karangasem, Indonesia, and the tameike of Kunisaki, Japan, are two examples of sustainable paddy rice irrigation. This research, through interviews and an extensive survey, comparatively assessed the socio-environmental sustainability of the two irrigation management systems with special reference to the intensity and nature of social capital, equity of water distribution, water demand, water footprint, and water quality, etc. The prevailing social capital paradigm of each system was also compared to its overall managerial outcomes to analyze how cooperative action contributes to sustainable irrigation management. Both systems show a comparable degree of sustainable irrigation management, ensuring an equitable use of water, and maintain relatively fair water quality due to the land-use practices adapted. However, the systems differ in water demand and water efficiency principally because of the differences in the irrigation management strategies: human and structural. These findings could help devise mechanisms for transitioning to sustainable irrigation management in the commercially-oriented paddy rice agricultural systems across the Asia-Pacific region.

Keywords: sustainable irrigated agriculture; irrigation efficiency; social capital; traditional agriculture; GIAHS; sustainable water resource management; water footprint (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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