Irrigation, drainage and flood protection in a rapidly changing world

The development and management of irrigation, drainage and flood protection schemes are confronted with rapidly changing conditions, especially in the least and emerging developing countries. Issues at stake are the need to increase food production significantly, the development of water shortages, pollution of water resources, the increased requirement for flood management and flood protection schemes, the need for sustainable development and possible impacts of climate changes. In this paper focus is on how these issues may play a role in the development of irrigation, drainage and flood protection measures and schemes under different climatological and socio-economic conditions. In line with this the Strategy for Action of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) is presented, showing the contributions the ICID is making in answer to these challenges. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.