Some scenarios of probable climatic changes in the Czech Republic and the anticipated effect of these changes on the components of the hydrologic water discharge from drained agricultural and forest catchments are studied. The function of drainage systems on selected experimental lands is examined. The effect of climatic changes on the hydrologic balance and/or on the runoff from the catchments significantly varies up to +/-150% provided that we compare the average runoff.

This volume contains the presentations made at the Eighth International Conference on Dryland
Development. It is hoped that it will serve as a repository of information on the problems and prospects of
sustainable management of dry areas and preventing desertification, and will thus be of interest to those
involved in research, extension, development and policy formulation for the benefit of the people of the dry areas. It is our belief it would serve as an important contribution to the objectives of the IYDD.

The paper discusses the application of the Water Poverty Index (WPI) as a monitoring tool for Benin’s water sector. Benin is currently in a process of political decentralization shifting responsibility for and administration of rural water supplies from the national to the communal level. Appropriate indicators are needed for monitoring and analyzing the progress of the water sector for each community.

This paper discusses the case of the Self Employed Women’s Association’s (SEWA) Women, Water and Work Campaign which began in 1995 in the semi-arid regions of Gujarat. SEWA’s women’s groups, which are initiated through collective action, have been active in sustaining local water management through water harvesting, watershed management, handpump repair, pipeline maintenance and revival of traditional sources of water.

Se desarrollan aspectos de la diferenciación socioagraria de la Argentina a partir del manejo del agua. Se muestra que la articulación del conocimiento geográfico de las variables ambientales con el análisis de la estructuración social permite desarrollar esta problemática particular y explorar algunas de las consecuencias que la misma tendría actualmente sobre las estructuras agrarias.