A proposal of an Irrigation Sustainability Index for agricultural basins: application in a semi-arid river basin

Sustainability in irrigation has become a major concern as water scarcity threatens sustainable development. In the present study, an Irrigation Sustainability Index (ISI) has been developed and proposed for application in agricultural basins. The ISI uses indicators of four dimensions of sustainability: economic, social, institutional, and environmental, and it was tested in the Segura River Basin in southeastern Spain. The results evidence the (un)sustainability of the system in 17 out of the 62 irrigation districts in the Segura Basin, mainly due to farmers’ low income, the overexploitation of aquifers, and the high demand for water for crops. On the other hand, 45 out of 62 irrigation districts showed moderate and high irrigation sustainability, mostly located along the Segura River and other streams, in the so-called “traditional agroecosystems”. The index application evidenced the prioritization of economic over environmental aspects and generated data to develop future policies in the region.