Irrigation in the countries of the Former Soviet Union in figures

Author(s): Food and Agriculture Organization

Published by: Food and Agriculture Organization

Published in: 19700101

Format: book

Region: Central Asia

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Abstract:

In 1993, FAO started to develop a programme named AQUASTAT, which is an information system on water use for agriculture and rural development. Its aim is to collect information at country and sub-country level and to make it available, in a standard format, to users interested in global, regional and national perspectives. In 1994-95, the 53 African countries were surveyed, which resulted in FAO Water Report 7 `Irrigation in Africa in figures'. In 1996, the 29 country members of FAO's Regional Office for the Near East were surveyed, which resulted in FAO Water Report 9 `Irrigation in the Near East region in figures'. The present survey concentrates on the 15 countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU).

The purpose of the survey is twofold:

  • To provide a clear picture of the situation of rural water resources management on a country basis, with emphasis on irrigation and drainage, and featuring major characteristics, trends, constraints and perspectives;
  • To help support continental and regional analyses by providing systematic, up-to-date and reliable information on water for agriculture and rural development, and to serve as a tool for large-scale planning and forecasting.

In order to obtain information that was as reliable as possible, the survey was developed and carried out for each country as follows:

  • Review of literature and existing information on the country and the region;
  • Data collection by means of a detailed questionnaire;
  • Data processing and critical analysis of the information, with the assistance of the AQUASTAT data processing software and selection of the most reliable information;
  • Preparation of a country profile;
  • Lastly, regional and sub-regional tables and maps and a general summary were prepared. Cross-checking of the information took place wherever possible.

Topics: Environment,  IWRM,  Transboundary Water Management,  

Keywords: Aral Sea basin,  Environment,  IWRM,  Transboundary water issues,  Water Management,