IWRA Proceedings

AbstractIntroduction Spatial water management consists in coordinating water fluxes management with the management of land areas which generate or regulate these fluxes (Narcy et Mermet, 2003). Agricultural lands and activities are of major importance in this spatial water management since they represent a large proportion of the overall territories and they have a large impact on water withdrawals and water pollution. It is then essential to represent correctly agricultural activities in water management and planning tools. Objective The objective of the APPEAU project is to improve decisions in water management and planning at territorial scales (catchments, irrigated areas, etc.). The project aims more specifically to develop methods and tools based on mathematical models to evaluate scenarios for a better joint planning of agricultural activities and water resources. Methods The project includes three kinds of activities conducted with two different approaches. The activities are: - developing and implementing mathematical models for a better water quantity and water quality planning - building scenarios regarding agricultural context changes (particularly changes in cropping systems and cropping systems patterns) or economical and regulatory context changes. - Evaluating these scenarios using the mathematical models developed. The first approach consists in developing methods and tools with targeted partners, on two specific questions: the water scarcity in an irrigated catchment (WP1) and the remediation of water pollution in small catchments (WP2). Partners are local institutions and/or water users associations. They are involved in designing, implementing and/or validating models and in building and/or evaluating scenarios. All partners are aware of the progress in the work. The second approach (WP3) consists in conducting the three activities (modelling, and building and evaluating scenarios) in a collective organisation, gathering various actors and institutions of the study area. This implies to represent all interactions (between actors, between processes and between processes and actors) in the modelling. Expected results The expected methods and tools produced by each work package are detailed in 3 other posters. At the project level, the expected result concerns: ­- the complementarity of approaches: how models developed for specific questions can enhance the development of tools in participation? How participative approaches can orientate the development of models and the choice of scenarios to be evaluated? ­- the complementarity of models: in which conditions hydrological models developed for water pollution remediation can improve integrated water management models developed for water allocation? ­- the advance in common methodologies: which trade-off between a correct representation of the reality and modelling simplifications? how building and evaluating scenarios for an efficient collective action? Conclusion This project aims at making several research teams of various disciplines and institutions sharing there know-how on water management in order to decrease the environmental impact of agriculture. It is funded by the French national Research Agency (ANR) within the “Agriculture and Sustainable Development” (ADD) Program.