Large scale water transfers : emerging environment and social experiences

The role of water in the overall development process of countries has become an increasingly important issue in recent years. Not only is safe drinking water essential for human health and well-being, but water is also an essential resource for agricultural, industrial and energy-related developments.

While availability of safe drinking water is very important, on a purely quantitative basis, the agricultural and industrial sectors are the major users of water - significantly more than the domestic sector. It was estimated during the United Nations Water Conference that on a global basis, agriculture is the largest user of water, accounting for approximately 80 percent of global

consumption. There is no doubt better and more water control is necessary in developing countries to increase food production.

Increases in irrigated area can be achieved by two ways. First, river basins that have not yet been developed can be developed on a sustainable manner, and second, irrigation water use could be made more efficient so that land can be irrigated with less water than being released from reservoirs at present, but without sacrificing agricultural yields. Long-distance water transfer is appearing more an attractive option than before to several countries since their "normal" river basins have already been developed, and large-scale transfer of water is necessary from a water-surplus to a water-deficient region in order to further the economic development of the latter, mainly through agricultural and industrial development. Because of the massive nature of the large-scale water transfer projects being contemplated, much of the recent