This report contains a collection of papers from a workshopâ€"Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making for Sustainable Management of Scarce Water Resources for Agricultural Production, held in Tunisia. Participants, including scientists, decision makers, representatives of non-profit organizations, and a farmer, came from the United States and several countries in North Africa and the Middle East. The papers examined constraints to agricultural production as it relates to water scarcity; focusing on 1) the state of the science regarding water management for agricultural purposes in the Middle East and North Africa 2) how science can be applied to better manage existing water supplies to optimize the domestic production of food and fiber. The cross-cutting themes of the workshop were the elements or principles of science-based decision making, the role of the scientific community in ensuring that science is an integral part of the decision making process, and ways to improve communications between scientists and decision makers.

"Water is a vital element for agricultural production and for economic development in general. However, the spatial and temporal distribution of water in Mexico restrains its use. Because of this distribution, it has been necessary to build a large infrastructure to capture, store, and allot this element among water users." Around the world, countries that once promoted more government involvement in irrigation management are adopting new policies that do just the opposite, creating incentives for farmers to take over the management of operations and maintenance, while government agencies focus on improving the management of water at the main system level. Is this just another management fad; or will the pendulum that is now swinging toward greater management control by farmers soon swing back the other way, toward greater state control? This volume reports on four countries where the state's role in irrigation management has undergone fundamental change and where the result has been a much greater management role for farmers. These studies address the political antecedents of participatory irrigation management (PIM) policies, the process of implementing the policies, and the second-generation challenges of sustaining PIM. These experiences will prove useful to policymakers and irrigation professionals who are facing similar challenges in their own countries.

Based on a project in which IWMI assessed the training needs of the farmers under the Farmer Managed Irrigated Agriculture (FMIA), the study highlights the importance of training in areas such as; effective communication strategies and conflict resolution, equitable water distribution, optimum use of water, financial management and developing a business plan.

Describes the application of a standard methodology developed by IWMI to assess the impact of irrigation management transfer on the performance of irrigation schemes. Includes detailed analysis of the effects of participatory management on the performance of irrigation schemes in Sri Lanka.

The present water report is the final product emanating from efforts by FAO, IWMI and others to document and understand the implications of the irrigation sector embarking on a wide reform process. It is intended to be a knowledge synthesis document that captures the global experiences emerging from a wide-reaching process targeting the reform of the irrigation sector. This study indicates that irrigation management transfer (IMT) is an approach for irrigation sector reform with the potential to improve the sustainability of irrigation systems. The process requires inter alia strong political commitment, negotiations among stakeholders, and long-term capacity development. Irrigation management transfer should not be seen as a process that has a clear "beginning" and "end". While the former can be more easily identified, the latter is much more difficult to determine. In fact, IMT can be the initial stage of an evolving long reform process. The accompanying CD-ROM contains IMT country profiles and case studies, an international IMT e-mail conference, a bibliography and links.--Publisher's description.