Salient Findings of Drainage Research and its Benefits in Pakistan

1 ABSTRACT: Waterlogging and salinity are very serious constraints to development in Pakistan. These are amongst the main causes of poverty of millions of poor rural population and are threats to agriculture and the environment. Drainage is an effective tool in combating the negative effects of waterlogging and salinity. The subject of this paper is the "value" of applied research and the impact that applied research has had. In every section of this paper, a short description of results of drainage research is presented. Some research is site-specific, but that is exactly the reason why continuously research has to be conducted in order to confirm findings elsewhere and to convince the generally "conservative" planners and designers that research has a lot to offer. Each section includes a summary of Benefits and Savings that deals with both potential savings (that could have been obtained if the research results had been known before the proposed investment) as well as actually saved funding (not spent because of in-effectiveness of the proposed investment). These benefits and savings highlight that the reported research is well worth then its costs. The magnitude of the funding saved, potentially or in real practice, shows the importance of research. Because investments in infrastructure involve large amounts of money, the economic impact of research can easily outweigh the cost of research. Drainage can be viewed as the "price to pay" for the sustainability of irrigated agriculture, and we can only truly appreciate drainage if we consider it in a holistic approach, integrated in water management improvement strategies and as part of rural development at large. Drainage has an important social and economic role to play. With this paper, the International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute (IWASRI) disseminates the fact that drainage research, especially when linked to water infrastructure investment programmes, can be very beneficial, environmentally as well as financially. Nevertheless, we realise that the actual and potential savings are not disposable cash, and that a lot of site-specific, practical research is still needed to find practical solutions for the pressing land and water problems all over the world.