Water management: a tool to combat desertification

In a planet where over 90% is salty, and arid

and semi-arid areas represent about third of the Earths land surface, the management, distribution and care of freshwater are essential; especially in Argentina, which is the Latin American country with the highest arid, semiarid and sub-humid dry land surface (75% of the national territory).

Irrigation Risks The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) points out how easy it is to commit the mistake of suggesting irrigation as the solution for the problems in arid and semi-arid lands. This is related to its side effects, which cause serious issues in the long term. Although irrigation can improve food production, it can be risky if inefficiently implemented. One of the potential problems is salinization, which can lead to the alkanization of soils, as well as to even more serious problems. History has given proof of this problem; otherwise, lets recall the Sumerians irrigations practices which have been previously mentioned in the issue N 33 of the Digital Newsletter which salinized soils. However, bad practices are still rendering soils useless all around the world. In fact, about 10 percent of the worlds irrigated land has been damaged by salt. This has become a profound threat to food. Salinization is considered by the United Nations as one of the serious factors of desertification. It is very hard to recover salinized soils and, as they cannot be used for sustenance, they are usually abandoned. In general, soil salinization occurs in arid and semi-arid regions, where rainfalls are low or scant. Many saline soils are formed as a result of the capillary rise of waters from the groundwater table. This often takes place in areas subject to intensive gravity irrigation with low application efficiency and restricted or no drainage at all. This situation takes place in the lowest area of most agricultural valleys (for example, in the Departments of Lavalle and Alvear, as well as in the North region of San Martn, in Mendoza province). The rational use of the water resource, both superficial and underground, is one of the basic premises of oasis management, as there is neither life nor development without water. Appreciation of millennial techniques of water management Water management was included among the Incas knowledge. This Civilization developed an irrigation system based on the Andean environment where they lived. Such environment was characterized by steep mountainsides and inappropriate lands for agriculture. For this reason, they developed terrace farming all along the steep sides of the mountains. The Incan farming system is still in use today. They also changed the course of rivers to carry the water to their terraces and thus, water their harvest. Furthermore, the Incas used a technique called waru waru, an agriculture system to create arable land areas by means of raised platforms of soil surrounded by ditches. Thus, this system also known as camellones collected and conserved water, leached out salts and created a warm microclimate favourable to crops. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) considered this technique as GIAHS (Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems), that is to say, a system that takes advantage of natural ecological processes instead of opposing them. During the last decade, both development personnel and rural people from the Department of Puno, Peru, have begun to re-establish this 3000-year-old indigenous culture system. Thus, it is intended to improve the inhabitants food security, while, at the same time, an efficient agroecosystem to manage soils is restored. Water collection techniques were also used in local lands. Thus, the Huarpe people benefited from geological faults to divert water by means of irrigation ditches. They also used the flood irrigation method, which consisted of flooding lands with land gates from a branch drain or a small irrigation ditch, which provided water. Irrigation ditches are historically part of Mendoza physiognomy.

Oases under irrigation Chapter 4 of NAPs Basis Document points out that, throughout the country, oases under irrigation add up to 1,500,000 hectares, which use the resources of both surface and underground waters. These oases are characterized by the intensive use of lands for fruit and vegetable production. In all cases, urban settlements are placed just over these spaces and this causes a competition for the use of land and acts against agricultural uses; apart from affecting local economies in a negative way. The most significant examples are the oases located in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan, and in the Patagonian valleys. The NAP document also points out the problems existing in oases, such as flaws in the irrigation and drainage system, improper systematization, the contamination of irrigation waters, obsolete practices and customs, and the lack of technical assistance to producers. All these issues cause that almost 40% of the irrigated surface suffers problems related to salinization an issue that has been already dealt with and phreatic slump. Salinization, together with soil sodification, is a sign of the desertification process. This results in soil impoverishment, the decrease in productivity rates, the loss of product competitiveness and health problems for production. In certain regions of the country (Valles, Bolsones y Travesas, and the North of Patagonia), agriculture under irrigation is the main economic driving force. Systems under gravity irrigation prevail in those places, although there is a trend towards a higher use of systems under pressurized irrigation, such as drip and spray irrigation, especially in the new plantations of fruit and horticultural crops, through the use of modern technologies. However, faults in the traditional systems under irrigation or drainage cause salinization processes and water erosion.

In Mendoza, there is a culture for water, which led to name a Water Councilman in 1603. This province, characterized by arid climate, water shortage and the unsuitable soil features, required the anthropic action for collecting water for human consumption, as well as for agriculture.

The city of Mendoza was originally settled in a territorial space which had been systematized for irrigation by the Huarpe Indians who lived in the area and, as it is told, had been improved by Incan engineers. This indigenous legacy was used, modernized and optimized, so that, nowadays, most part of the provincial economic activities can be carried out based on oases under irrigation.

Oasis industrialization also brings about conflicts. An irrigated oasis covers 350,000 hectares, out of which 60% shows land degradation processes to a higher or lower extent. Man is quite involved in all these processes, as he participates actively in soil deterioration; whether through farming, soil removal, mechanization, single-crop farming, and inadequate irrigation, among others. In addition to this, there is the competition for the use of water in the oasis-unirrigated land interaction. That is how the depressed areas of deserts are not longer receiving superficial water contributions, as river flows are being used for irrigating cultivated areas, as well as for consumption in urban settlements. Water regulation and information The exploitation of certain rivers is essential to maintain the natural, social and economic balance of many Argentine provinces. Even more when this river meanders through several Northern provinces, as it is the case of the Bermejo River, part of the Del Plata River Basin and main supply source for different water uses. Thus, during the eighties, the provinces of Chaco, Formosa, Jujuy and Salta signed an agreement on water quotas of the Bermejo River. This implied not only the building of water regulation Works, but also the decision making process for controlling erosion and improving the basin. The Bermejo River Regional Commission (COREBE, for its name in Spanish) was created in order to adopt the political decisions and assume responsibility in the management of the actions necessary for the comprehensive, rational and multiple development of water resources in Bermejo river basin. COREBE is a regional development corporation was formed due to the Agreement signed by the State and the provinces of Chaco, Formosa, Jujuy, Salta, Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero. Another regulated river is the Colorado River, which is born in the Andean Region, in the South of the province of Mendoza. It is a water resource shared by the provinces of Mendoza, Neuqun, La Pampa, Ro Negro and Buenos Aires. The Colorado River Bonaerense Valley Development Corporation (CORFO Ro Colorado, for its name in Spanish), an autarchic entity under public and private law created on 3 February, 1960, is in charge of regulating the use and the management of its waters for agriculture practices, as a resource for livestock; as well as for domestic consumption in the Districts of Villarino and Patagones (province of Buenos Aires). CORFO carries out multiple activities, among which it is worth pointing out those of conducting the research, the execution and the exploitation of canalization and drainage works that allow a better use of the Colorado River flow in its course through Buenos Aires territory; and of deciding how to make proper use of agricultural land and water. Furthermore, it is intended to take the necessary measures to prevent and combat land erosion, degradation and exhaustion, so as to preserve its fertility.

Information is required to manage water resources rationally and draw up projects to make it possible. The National Hydrological Network is in charge of collecting such information. Data are an important part of the national heritage and their value is inestimable, as their use is the irreplaceable starting point for every hydrological, hydraulic and environmental research. Furthermore, the degree of reliability of this information increases directly with the growth of the registration period. The National Hydrological Network currently has 369 rate points, in many of which both hydrological and meteorological parameters are observed.

This coding is used in the Hydrological Statistics published by the Undersecretariat of Water Resources. The latter carries out actions related to those activities which belong to the digital cartography generation of superficial water resources in the national territory. In relation to this, the Digital Surface Water Resources Atlas of Argentina was developed. This Atlas is part of the Geographic Information System of the Surface Water Resources of the Argentine Territory, which has a geographic data structure with their related databases coming from the cartography of origin.

The sources of water that quench the thirst of drylands are quite few. Due to this reason, they require detailed research to use them in a sustainable way, apart from efficient regulation to develop projects to make those lands continue to be the place of belonging of all their inhabitants.

SOURCES: * BARDINI, LORENA SILVANA, CULTURE FOR WATER IN THE PROVINCE OF MENDOZA. DESERT VERSUS OASIS. * COLORADO RIVER BONAERENSE VALLEY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (CORFO RO COLORADO). * Department of Land Conservation and Combat Desertification, of the National Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development, Manual on Desertification. * FAO. * UNESCO, Development of arid and semi-arid lands, Obstacles and perspectives.. * NATIONAL SYSTEM OF WATER INFORMATION

Photography Contest: Argentina, a Mountain Country

On 5 September, 2011, the opening ceremony and the opening exhibition Argentina, a Country Mountain,
where the photographs submitted in the contest of the same name were exhibited. This contest was promoted by the Committee for the Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions of the Argentine Republic, headed by the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development. Furthermore, this event was organized by the Undersecretariat of Provincial Development and Promotion, of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They jury chose 140 works out of the 560 that had been submitted by authors from all over the country. The first prize was awarded to the photograph Exploring new blues, by Silvia Quevedo, who works in the Department of Land Use Planning of the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development. The second prize was won by Marcelo Carriedo, for his work Pink Flamingos; the third prize was awarded to Marcela Fibiger, for her work Indiscreet Look. Finally, the winner of the fourth prize was Alfredo Clerici, for his photograph From the other size.

Retama tree forests

Bulnesia retama is the scientific name for this endemic species from South America, which preferably grows in
arid regions. In Argentina, it is distributed within the phytogeographical areas of the Mount and Arid Chaco. This kind of tree adapts very well to dry environments, as it is able to regulate water loss by transpiration. In turn, it endures wide temperature ranges and soil conditions. Although the retama tree can grow up to five metres high in very humid environments, it usually takes the form of a bush in intermediate areas or of a low-rise shrub in arid zones. Its physical characteristic are quite related to what it has been mentioned before: its balloon-shaped and branched top has no leaves; that is why the process of photosynthesis takes place in either its stems or in its pale green branches, which are covered with a thin layer of wax. Due to its characteristics, the retama tree plays a very important role in the protection of environments, as it is used to form windbreakers and to fix dunes. The surface covered by retama trees in Argentina has diminished significantly, due to the fact that retama wood is used for making vineyard posts, rods and coal. Furthermore, it is also used in turnery and for the extraction of wax by the intensive pruning of its youngest branches. Due to this reason, the retama tree is included in the list of the species which are most vulnerable and in an uncertain situation. This indicates that both its management and preservation have not received proper attention. In fact, this type of tree is one of the vegetable species which are endangered in the region of the Arid Valleys (LADA report, 2005). This species is one of the more characteristic of the Cuyo Region, as it can be found throughout the territory, from the hills to the valley. And, in its appearances, it forms native forest of great value for dryland areas. The retama flower, which has a cloying scent and blooms from December to February, are also highly appreciated. Consequently, it has been declared the provincial flower of San Juan, an idea that promotes the protection and the increase in value of this species, which can be found in 90% of the territory of the province, in its wild lands, in its rural zones, in its culture and in its beauty.

SOURCES: * CUYO NEWSPAPER. * LADA REPORT, LAND DEGRADATION ASSESSMENT IN DRYLANDS, PUNA REGION AND ARID VALLEYS: STAGE II DEFINITION AND PRIORIZATION OF PROBLEMS, PURPOSES, IMPACT AND ACTION HYPOTHESIS, MARCH, 2005. * PUBLIC LAW N 7643 * PHYTON MAGAZINE.