Economic and land use impacts of improving water use efficiency in South Asia

This paper uses an advanced computable general equilibrium model coupled with biophysical data on land and water resources by Agro-ecological zone at a river basin level to examine: 1) the economy-wide consequences of improvement in water use efficiency (WUE) in irrigation in South Asia; 2) the extent to which enhanced WUE can increase food production and improve food security in South Asia; and 3) how WUE in irrigation alters demand for water and affects land use across South Asia. Given that the extent to which the economies of South Asia can actually improve water use efficiency in irrigation is uncertain, it tests four different levels of efficiency gains in irrigation: 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%. It examines improvement in WUE…