Agricultural Research Management Information System

Home
Research Summary
Search
About Us
- ARMIS
- Brochure
Contact Us
Report
User Request
Data Input
Help
- Operation Manual
  - PDF
  - Video
- Program Area & Commodity
We have reached 37600 number of research entries at this moment.

- Logout

Research Detail

Home
Research
Detail

Initiating Rain Water Harvest Technology for Climate Change Induced Drought Resilient Agriculture: Scopes and Challenges in Bangladesh

HASAN MUHAMMAD ABDULLAH*
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Bangladesh.

MD MEZANUR RAHMAN
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Bangladesh is primarily an agrarian economy. Agriculture is the single largest producing sector of the economy since it comprises about 18.6% of the country’s GDP and employs around 45% of the total labor force. The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic indicators like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resource development and food security. The agriculture sector is extremely vulnerable to disaster and climate-induced risks. Climate change is anticipated to aggravate the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in Bangladesh. Drought is one of the major setbacks for agriculture and its development. Therefore, disaster and climatic risk, especially drought management in agriculture is a major challenge for Bangladesh in achieving sustainable agricultural development. There are some regions in Bangladesh where every step of agricultural activities from field preparation to harvesting of crops depends on rainfall. Consequently, drought affects annually 2.5 million ha in wet season and 1.2 million ha in dry season. Another 1 million ha is saline affected. Water is a natural resource with spatial scarcity and availability. Additionally, cross-country anthropogenic activities caused a severe negative impact on water resources and eco-systems of Bangladesh in recent years. The rivers and channels dry up during the dry season and make the people completely dependent on groundwater. Accordingly, the contribution of groundwater as a source of irrigation has increased and surface water has declined. It is now inevitable to look for an alternate water source for agriculture. Water harvest technologies (WHTs) can play an important role in this regard. What's can provide an additional source of water for crop production at the most critical stages of the growing season, thereby increasing yields and food security. The study is consists of drought scenario analysis, GIS-based drought mapping and systematic literature review on RWHTs as drought mitigation option in Bangladesh. Locations of twenty-eight (28) weather station of Bangladesh Metrology Department (BMD) were considered for the analysis and mapping of drought. Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) data were classified for severe and extreme drought event. The inverse Distance Weight (IDW) method was used to interpolate the point data for spatial mapping of drought severity using standard GIS procedure. There are potentials for conserving and utilizing rainwater for agriculture use but it is still far from being utilized as unresolved challenges including the absence of business model for the upscaling of WHTs for wide-scale adoption are persists.

Keywords: Drought, Resilience, Rain Water Harvest, SPEI, Climate Change, Bangladesh

Location: In Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Crop-Soil-Water Management

Commodity: Water management, Climate change, Rain water

Objectives:

But scopes and challenges of RWHTs in climate change-induced drought adaptation/mitigation is not clear and less documented particularly in the Bangladesh situation. Hence, the objective of the study is to understand the drought scenarios and scopes, challenges of RWHTs for drought resilience in affected areas of Bangladesh.

Methodology:

The study is based on a combination of drought scenario analysis, GIS based drought mapping and systematic literature review on RWHTs as drought mitigation option in Bangladesh. In the study drought scenario was analyzed for the whole of Bangladesh but detailed drought assessment was done for the Mymensingh district only due to its vulnerability. However, RWHT as a drought mitigation option was considered for the whole country. A new drought index, the Standardized Precipitation– Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), developed by (Vicente-Serrano et al., 2010) was used for drought mapping and scenario analysis. The SPEI is based on a monthly climatic water balance (i.e., precipitation minus evapotranspiration). It can be calculated for different time scales to monitor droughts. The SPEI is based on monthly precipitation totals and temperature means and follows a simple approach to calculate the PET-based on a normalization of the simple water balance (Thornthwaite, 1948). In developing the SPEI, Vicente-Serrano et al. (2010) followed the same conceptual approach that McKee et al. (1993) devised to develop the SPI. Mathematically, the SPEI is similar to the SPI, but it includes the role of temperature. The SPEI combines the sensitivity of the PDSI to changes in evaporative demand (related to temperature fluctuations and trends) with the multi-temporal nature of the SPI. The SPEI’s main advantage over other widely used drought indices lies in its ability to identify the role of evapotranspiration and temperature variability with regard to drought assessments in the context of global warming. Twenty-eight (28) weather station locations of the Bangladesh Metrology Department (BMD) were considered for the analysis and mapping of drought. SPEI data were classified for severe and extreme drought event. The inverse Distance Weight (IDW) method was used to interpolate the point data for spatial mapping of drought severity. The IDW interpolation is a method that is largely a reflection of Waldo Tobler’s first law in geography which state that “everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things” (Tomislav, 2009). In this study IDW was utilized as a mapping technique which is an exact, convex interpolation method that fits only the continuous model of spatial variation. The IDW derives the value of a variable at some new location using values obtained from known locations (ESRI, 2005). Bar graph of SPEI data were prepared to understand the evolution of drought at different lag (3, 6, 24 and 48 month). All the graphs were prepared using R statistical software. SPEI graph and its spatial mapping were done to identify drought-prone area, severity, duration, onset, extent and end. Scopes on rainwater harvesting for crop production that are currently unfolding within multiple challenges were also discussed. This study, therefore, complements existing research on RWHTs in Bangladesh. The analytical approach further offers greater scope for understanding the institutional, political and policy pre-conditions for connecting agricultural innovations e.g. RWHTs. RWH used for decades in Bangladesh, but it is still far from being utilized to its full potential as unresolved challenges prevent its wide-scale adoption.

Source of Information: Journal of Agriculture and Environment for International Development - JAEID 2015, 109 (2): 189-208

Article Link (Online Journal): DOI: 10.12895/jaeid.20152.334

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Introducing water harvesting to improve soil health, productivity in crop production promises large social, economic, and environmental paybacks, principally in poverty reduction, economic development and environmental conservation in Bangladesh. WHTs present a low-cost approach for mediating dry spell impacts in rainfed agriculture. WHTs are a traditional practice in certain regions, but the transferability of these models and practices has so far been very limited. There are some barriers/drivers to upscale WHTs. In this regard, rainwater harvesting in rainfed agricultural systems has the potential to strengthen climate adaptation and resilience, while contributing to the production of adequate food for growing population in Bangladesh. An important research priority that emerges from this study, therefore, is the need to adopt a system perspective and to consolidate processes of change at different spatial and temporal scales. Such a perspective can enable better-targeted investments and a deeper understanding of the opportunity context for facilitating accelerated adoption of rainwater harvesting. Rainwater harvesting seems to be a beneficial method for minimizing water scarcity in developing countries.It is essential that local materials and man- power is to be used to spot catchment areas and build up harvesting systems. Nevertheless, RWH is used for centuries in Bangladesh, but it is still far from being utilized to its full potential therefore awareness on RWH should be increased by technocrats, practitioners and policymakers, to appreciate its potential and ecosystem benefits for human well-being.

Knowledge Management: Journal