Society - Water - Technology
Society - Water - Technology

Author: Reinhard F. Hüttl

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-11-02

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 3319189719

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This book presents the results of the Interdisciplinary Research Group "Society – Water – Technology" of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. It describes interdisciplinary evaluation criteria for major water engineering projects (MWEPs) and portrays an application to the Lower Jordan Valley (Middle East) and the Fergana Valley (Central Asia). Both areas are characterised by transboundary conflicts, by challenges due to demographic and climate change and by political and societal pressures. Based on the findings, the book provides recommendations for science and political decisions makers as well as for international financing institutions. In addition, it outlines research gaps from an interdisciplinary perspective. In the past, MWEPs have been used as an instrument to cope with the demands of growing populations and to enhance development progress. Experiences with MWEPs have shown that a purely technical approach has not always brought about the desired results. In many cases, MWEPs have even resulted in negative implications for society and environment. Therefore, improved management strategies and enhanced technologies for a sustainable water resource management system are a prerequisite to meet present and future challenges. And, moreover, the continuous evaluation and optimisation of these measures is, likewise, a must.

The Inter-Relationship Between Irrigation, Drainage and the Environment in the Aral Sea Basin
The Inter-Relationship Between Irrigation, Drainage and the Environment in the Aral Sea Basin

Author: M.G. Bos

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 9400917708

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The irrigated area in the Aral Sea basin totals about 7. 5 million hectare. Part of the water supplied to this area is consumed by the irrigated crop; the remainder of the supplied water drains to the groundwater basin, to downstream depressions, or back to the rivers. During its use, however, this drained part of the water accumulates salts and chemicals. The disposal of this polluted water causes a variety of (environmental) problems. If the percentage consumed water of the total water supply to an irrigated area (the so-called overall consumed ratio) can be increased, less water needs to be drained. This alleviates part of the related (environmental) problems. Further, if the overall consumed ratio for the above 7. 5 million hectare is improved, less water needs to be diverted from the rivers. Hence, more water can flow towards the Aral Sea. As mentioned above, part of the non-consumed irrigation water drains to the groundwater basin. Commonly, the natural discharge capacity of this basin is insufficient to handle this imported water. As a result, the groundwater table rises towards the land surface causing waterlogging. In (semi-)arid zones this waterlogging triggers a soil salinity problem resulting to a significant reduction in crop yields. The artificial increase of the discharge capacity, and lowering of the groundwater table, solves the soil salinity problem.

The Food Revolution In The Soviet Union And Eastern Europe
The Food Revolution In The Soviet Union And Eastern Europe

Author: Robert Deutsch

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-07-11

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 1000301486

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The first study in the Western world to compare the relationship between food and politics in the countries of Eastern Europe, this book views the current food revolution as part of the modernization process. Robert Deutsch argues that the communist leaders in the Comecon countries increasingly link political stability and preservation of power to the problem of satisfying consumer demand. He also assesses the various social forces that have brought about the food revolution. The most important is the expanded working class, which is no longer willing to defer consumer demands to a hypothetical communist future. The CMEA countries thus face the dilemma of either gradually liberalizing their economies in order to meet growing consumer demands or resorting to repression. Neither of these options promises a long-term solution for implementing economic policies prescribed by Marxist-Leninist doctrine. Robert Deutsch presents case studies of Hungary, Bulgaria, and the German Democratic Republic as examples of the "relative success" of economic reforms. To a greater or lesser extent, these countries have opted for economic decentralization by liberalizing private ownership and pricing policy and by integrating planning with market-oriented concepts. The author compares this with the economic problems of the Soviet Union, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. The study is enhanced by an exhaustive bibliography, arranged topically and drawn from the specialized literature in several languages.

A Water Quality Assessment of the Former Soviet Union
A Water Quality Assessment of the Former Soviet Union

Author: Vitaly Kimstach

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 1998-09-24

Total Pages: 648

ISBN-13: 9780419239208

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A Water Quality Assessment of the Former Soviet Union focuses on water quality issues using examples from around the former Soviet Union. It covers the background to the natural water resources and composition of surface and ground waters in the former Soviet Union and then proceeds to examine the influence of human activity on those resources and water quality systems. With more than one hundred line illustrations and tables, the long-term detailed case studies of the Lower Don Basin, the Amu Darya river, the Rybinsk reservoir, the Dnieper river, Lakes Baikal and Ladoga, and water resources in Moscow and the Moscow region, this will enable valuable lessons in environmental management to be learnt. A Water Quality Assessment of the Former Soviet Union is a valuable source of up-to-date information and case studies for the professional in government, national and international organisations, and water utilities. It will be a useful reference in research institutes and university libraries.

Environmental Management in the Soviet Union
Environmental Management in the Soviet Union

Author: Philip R. Pryde

Publisher: CUP Archive

Published: 1991-07-26

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 9780521409056

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In this study of Soviet environmental problems and their management, the author examines the pervasive nature of biosphere disruption and environmental contaminants in the country. He discusses the extent to which they are damaging the Soviet populace and the resource base upon which it depends.