Water Resource Management, Actors and Uses
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.
The unit works along three lines: water, territories and societies; water service operations and management; and water practices and usage. The aim is to provide a clearer understanding of water management systems and the social dynamics at play and propose water management methods and tools on various scales (catchment area, irrigation scheme, farm, plot). The unit is also looking into irrigated cropping systems, which 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 unit includes the Water Management Internal Research Unit (Territories, Environment and People Department).
- La recherche agronomique pour le développement (Cirad), France
- Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et des forêts (CEMAGREF), France
- École Nationale du Génie Rural des Eaux et des Forêts (ENGREF), France
- Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France
- Montpellier SupAgro, France
- Institut agronomique méditerranéen de Montpellier (IAMM), France