ABSTRACT
Improved WUE ............................................ 318 10.1.1.2 Improved WUE at Farm Level .................... 319 10.1.2 Irrigation Scheduling and Methods .............................. 319 10.2 Methodology .............................................................................. 321 10.3 Results and Discussion .............................................................. 321 10.4 Conclusions ................................................................................ 327 10.5 Summary .................................................................................... 330 Keywords .............................................................................................. 330 Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 331 References ............................................................................................. 331 Appendix ............................................................................................... 333
10.1 INTRODUCTION
Water is becoming scarce not only in arid areas but also throughout the world. Scarcity of fresh water resources represents one of the major challenges facing the world in general and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in particular. Population growth, high living standards as well as development plans in KSA will cause ever-increasing demands for good quality water in the municipal and industrial sectors. At the same time, more irrigation water will also be needed to meet the increasing food and fiber needs of the growing population; and for environmental use such as aquatic life, wildlife, recreation, and scenic values. Thus, increased competition for water can be expected in future, requiring efficient water demand management (WDM). Under these circumstances, improved management of water resources is the key for future sustainable development in the KSA. Where sustainable development and improvement of standards of living require urgent reduction of dependence on nonrenewable water resources, leaving these as a strategic reserve for drinking and household uses in the first place [17, 18].
