Following the project idea of the International Women's University, the project area Water focused on environmental topics. The goal was to create awareness of the problems faced and seek solutions cutting across scientific disciplines and national borders. Selection of the topics in this project area was based on resolutions adopted at international conferences such as UNCED - United Nations Conference on Environments and Development, Rio de Janeiro 1992 (in line with the Agenda 21). The idea was to pursue a holistic approach to the subject-matter with a view to developing the women junior scientists' knowledge and skills. At the beginning of the project, an introductory study was conducted covering a variety of fields and disciplines including biology, chemistry, biochemistry, geology, geography, physics, agronomy economics, agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, civil engineering and educational science. This is briefly summarised in the following chapters. And to provide guidelines for further environmental studies, a manual for the analysis of soils and related materials has been compiled.
Analyse der Moeglichkeiten, mit Hilfe von traditionellen und weiterentwickelten Methoden der Regenwassernutzung die Agrarproduktion zu steigern und Duerrekrisen zu vermeiden; Analyse der institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen; Aufzeigen von Wasserkonflikten und Konfliktloesungsmoeglichkeiten; entwicklungspolitische Empfehlungen. Vorgehensweise: Dorfstudien auf der Grundlage quantitativer und qualitativer Sozialforschung.
The principal aim of this cooperative research is the development of practical and effective methods for the management of water, a scarce resource in arid and semiarid regions, by conjunctive use. The storage of water surplus of rainy seasons is vital for regions with extrem dry seasons. Surface reservoirs suffer under great evaporation losses in such areas. Moreover, they are relative expensive and their storage capacities decrease in the long-term due to accumulation of sediments in the reservoirs. Through optimal conjunctive operation of surface and groundwater reservoirs it is possible, to assure a greater amount of water for irrigation purposes. The proposers have already developed conceptual models for optimal management under quantity aspects. In the proposed project it should be investigated the optimal management of conjunctive use under quality aspects: Salinization and anrichment of other solutes can lead in the longterm to changes of the groundwater quality, reduction of agricultural yields, reduction of available water, degradation of soils, and loss of arable land. Therefore, it is aimed to consider the water quality by: modelling the solute transport process in groundwater, simulating long-term processes, and developing optimal management strategies. The general purpose models should be applicated to two different conjunctive use systems: 1) The irrigation area of San Juan, Argentina, an intensively used agricultural region, a system of surface reservoir, natural unterground reservoir and artificial recharge sites, and 2) the irrigation area of Morada Nova, Ceara, Brazil, with a surface reservoir and an artificial underground dam...
Es wird ein Modell erarbeitet, mit welchem man Grundlagen fuer die Ausarbeitung einer Strategie zur Verbesserung des Gebietswasserhaushaltes entwickeln kann. Das Modell beschraenkt sich auf kleine, landwirtschaftlich genutzte Einzugsgebiete bei etwa 300 ha.