Improving salinity and agricultural water management in the Indus Basin, Pakistan : issues, management and opportunitie : a synthesis from a desk-top literature review / Akhtar Ali

"Since the original soil survey of the Indus Basin under TheColombo Plan in 1953, Pakistan has made major efforts to manage the problem of waterlogging and salt-affected soils, and address their biophysical and socio-economic consequences...The low success rate can be attributed to unsustainable interventions, weak research lacking in participatory management approaches, and the very low uptake of the methodologies and technologies by farmers ... The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Charles Sturt University (CSU) Australia and The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and partners initiated a short research and development activity (SRA) in March 2017 focused on improving salinity and agricultural water management (SAWM) in the Indus Basin. The Final Report for this SRA has since been published as Mitchell et al. (2018)...This report has been prepared as an output of the SRA and is based on a desk-top literature review of technical, economic and social aspects of the SAWM in the Indus Basin. The review covered the Government's policy documents, published articles and unpublished reports as available to help better understand the water and salinity management issue in the Indus Basin ... Section 2 presents the historical perspective of the issue and causes of waterlogging and salinity in the Indus Basin. Section 3 discusses the salinity and water management approach and practices, reviewing technical, institutional and policy options, and analysing outcomes and impacts of the mega projects ... Section 4 sets out future directions for developing the Indus Basin's SAWM plan, based on sound research and sustainable development principles." -- Introduction.