Water Management, Actors, Territories - UMR G-EAU

Joint Research Unit (UMR) ES Department
Water is a crucial natural resource that is central to the functioning of natural and cultivated ecosystems and has prompted a range of installations, uses and organizational methods that vary from place to place. Given the current climatic uncertainty and changing public policies, competition for water resources is now a priority for research.
Açudes dans le nordeste du Brésil © M. Küper, Cirad

Açudes in north-east Brazil © M. Küper, CIRAD

UMR G-Eau’s work aims to provide a clearer understanding of water management systems and the social dynamics at play, propose water management methods and tools on various scales (catchment area, irrigation scheme, farm, plot), and design irrigated cropping systems that are less susceptible to hazards, hence reducing the environmental risks and optimizing water use. The objective is also to ensure more coordinated land planning and water management policies in the face of a multiplicity of demands and players. The solutions proposed have to be socially and economically acceptable to farmers, and respond to the more general question of territorial resilience.

Regulatory bodies: