Perspectives on Asian irrigation

In what some may regard as an overly ambitious exercise, we have chosen in this paper to present some salient aspects of the evolution of Asian irrigation. The focus is on South and Southeast Asia. It is argued that geo-politics has provided the main driving force for the development of public irrigation systems in Asia. Three geo-political eras are identified – the Colonial Era (1850 to 1940), the Cold War Era (1950 to 1989), and the new Era of Globalization (1990 onward). The objectives of irrigation development set forth by colonial regimes, national governments, and development agencies in each of these time periods have been rather similar. The focus has been on the often conflicting goals of poverty alleviation and food security on the one hand and profitability and revenue collection on the other. Irrigated agriculture, however, has changed dramatically and has in turn fostered change and economic development in the rural communities. Irrigation has evolved in each of these periods through a dialectic interaction among resources, technologies, institutions, and culture. Land and water, once abundant, have become scarce. Surface and groundwater technologies have been developed to facilitate the expansion of irrigated area and intensification of irrigated agriculture