Abstract
The Ica area of south-eastern Peru has evolved rapidly since the late 1990s into the most advanced agricultural development in the country. The intensive use of waterwells for year-round irrigation, primarily of asparagus, is the basis for an export industry worth about US$ 6,000 M/a, but one which is threatened by serious groundwater sustainability concerns. The public water-resource administration and private agricultural developers are beginning to confront the problem, which has already had a significant social cost, through developing measures to improve the groundwater balance whilst assuring agricultural production. This report presents the long-term evolution of land management and groundwater use in the area, and considers the feasibility of applying an adaptive and integrated water resources management (IWRM) approach to the system, with particular attention to managed aquifer recharge techniques.
Résumé
La région d’Ica, dans le sud-est du Pérou, a évolué rapidement, depuis la fin des années 90, vers le développement agricole le plus avancé du pays. L’utilisation intensive des puits pour l’irrigation, pendant toute l’année, principalement pour les asperges, est à la base d’une industrie d’exportation d’une valeur d’environ 6,000 millions de dollars par an, mais cette pratique est menacée par de graves problèmes de durabilité des eaux souterraines. L’administration publique des ressources en eau et les aménageurs agricoles privés commencent à faire face à ce problème, qui a déjà eu un coût social important, en développant des mesures pour améliorer le bilan des eaux souterraines tout en assurant la production agricole. Cet article présente l’évolution à long terme de la gestion des terres et de l’utilisation des eaux souterraines dans la région et examine la possibilité d’appliquer au système une approche de gestion adaptative et intégrée des ressources en eau, en accordant une attention particulière aux techniques de recharge contrôlée des aquifères.
Resumen
El área de Ica, ubicada al sur del Perú, ha evolucionado rápidamente desde finales de los años 1990, convirtiéndose en la agricultura más avanzada del país. El uso intensivo de las captaciones de aguas subterráneas para el incesante regadío, principalmente de espárragos, es la base de su industria agro-exportadora, que factura en torno a US$6,000 millones al año, pero que está amenazada por severos impactos relacionados con la sostenibilidad del recurso hídrico subterráneo. La administración pública de las aguas y los inversores privados están empezando a afrontar el problema, que ya ha alcanzado un coste social significativo, mediante el desarrollo de medidas que mejoren la disponibilidad del recurso y aseguren la productividad agrícola. Este artículo presenta la evolución a largo plazo de la gestión del terreno y del uso del agua subterránea en el área, y analiza la viabilidad de aplicar un sistema integrado de gestión de los recursos hídricos (GIRH), prestando una atención especial a las técnicas de recarga artificial de acuíferos.
摘要
自20世纪90年代晚期以来,秘鲁东南部的Ica地区已迅速发展成为该国最先进的农业发展区。大量使用水井进行全年灌溉,主要是芦笋灌溉,这是每年出口额约为60亿美元的基础,但地下水的可持续性受到高度关注。 公共水资源管理部门和私人农业开发商开始通过制定改善地下水平衡并确保农业生产的措施来面对这个已经付出巨大社会代价的问题。本文介绍了该地区土地管理和地下水使用的长期演变,并考虑了将自适应和综合水资源管理(IWRM)方法应用于该系统的可行性,尤其要注意管理的含水层补给技术。
Resumo
A área de Ica, no sudeste do Peru, evoluiu rapidamente desde o final dos anos 90 para o desenvolvimento agrícola mais avançado do país. O uso intensivo de poços de água para irrigação durante todo o ano, principalmente de aspargos, é a base para uma indústria de exportação no valor de US $ 6,000M/ano, mas que está ameaçada por sérias preocupações de sustentabilidade das águas subterrâneas. A administração pública de recursos hídricos e os desenvolvedores agrícolas privados estão começando a enfrentar o problema, que já teve um custo social significativo, através do desenvolvimento de medidas para melhorar o equilíbrio das águas subterrâneas, garantindo a produção agrícola. Este artigo apresenta a evolução a longo prazo do gerenciamento da terra e do uso da água subterrânea na área e considera a viabilidade da aplicação de uma abordagem de gestão de recursos hídricos adaptativa e integrada (GIRH) ao sistema, com atenção especial às técnicas de recarga gerenciada de aquíferos.
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15 April 2024
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-024-02788-w
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Acknowledgements
The local knowledge of the first author of this report was gained during various consultancies for ANA (under World Bank funding) during 2012–2019 on the technical and promotional aspects of promoting MAR in the Ica area, and that of the second author during:(1) a WHO-PAHO-CEPIS mission to EMAPICA in 1988 to advise on the security of existing potable waterwells given incipient aquifer overexploitation and groundwater pollution threats related to the widespread use of in-situ sanitation in the Ica urban area; and (2) World Bank/GW-MATe missions to ANA in 2007–2009 to advise on priority actions for the management of selected Peruvian aquifers. The authors wish to thank the Peruvian National Water Authority (ANA) for its help in promoting measures to minimise the overexploitation of the Ica aquifers, and the technicians of JUASVI and Rio Seco Groundwater User Boards for their support in collecting and providing data. The authors also thank Sres Fernando Cillóniz and Carlos Gallegos (the Regional Governors of Ica) for their support of the studies and aquifer management measures, Dra Ana Vidal for informative discussions on the legal and institutional aspects of Ica water resources management, and Dr. Bartolome Andreo for bringing the authors together at the IAH Congress in Malaga, Spain, in September 2019.
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Enrique Fernández-Escalante is Co-Chair of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) Commission on Managing Aquifer Recharge, and Stephen Foster is IAH Past President (2004–2008)
The original online version of this article was revised: The units used in Tables 1 and 2 are incorrect. The units for Discharge should be million (M) m3 and River flow should be Mm3, respectively.
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Fernández-Escalante, E., Foster, S. & Navarro-Benegas, R. Evolution and sustainability of groundwater use from the Ica aquifers for the most profitable agriculture in Peru. Hydrogeol J 28, 2601–2612 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02203-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02203-0