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2502294 
Journal Article 
Reconfiguring an irrigation landscape to improve provision of ecosystem services 
Crossman, ND; Connor, JD; Bryan, BA; Summers, DM; Ginnivan, J 
2010 
Yes 
Ecological Economics
ISSN: 0921-8009 
69 
5 
1031-1042 
WOS:000276744400012 
Over-allocation of fresh water resources to consumptive uses, coupled with recurring drought and the prospect of climate change, is compromising the stocks of natural capital in the world's basins and reducing their ability to provide water-dependent ecosystem services To combat this. governments worldwide are making significant investment in efforts to improve the sharing of water between consumptive uses and the environment. Many investments are centred on the modernisation of inefficient irrigation delivery systems and the purchase of consumptive water for environmental flows In this study, we applied spatial targeting within a cost-benefit framework to reconfigure agricultural land use in an irrigation district to achieve a 20% reduction in agricultural water use to increase environmental flows, and improve the provision of other ecosystem services. We demonstrate a targeted land use reconfiguration policy approach using spatial planning and optimisation models Our model estimates a potential increase in the net present value of ecosystem services of up to SA 347 million. The increase in ecosystem services include recovering 62 GL of water for environmental flows, the sequestration of 10.6 million tonnes of CO2e/year, a 12 EC (mu S/cm) reduction in river salinity, and an overall 9% increase in the value of agriculture. Without a spatially targeted approach to planning, a 20% reduction in water for irrigation could result in the loss of SA 68 7 million in economic returns to agriculture which may be only marginally offset by the increased value of ecosystem services resulting from the return of 62 GL of water to the environment. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier BM. All rights reserved 
Landscape planning; Geographic information systems; Cost-benefit analysis; Irrigation; Climate change; Water management; Spatial targeting; Environmental valuation