Integrated Water Management

This chapter explains the drainage in the perspective of total water management. As in arid regions, drainage is crucial to efficient agricultural production in humid regions. As in arid regions, humid area drainage modifies the natural ecosystems. This is hardly surprising nor unique. The essence of agriculture is the modification of natural ecosystems for increased and systematic production of food and fiber crops. It tends to reduce biological diversity and may adversely affect habitat for some species. Drainage is simply a component contributing to these numerous changes. The chapter highlights the concept that drainage, or any other land management practice, should not be evaluated in isolation. It should be viewed as one of a series of practices that together manage a landscape in a manner that gives balance to its many biological and man-induced uses.