Behavorial and institutional approaches

Groundwater abstraction reduction: A straightforward measure to decrease the process of salinization from lateral seawater intrusion and up-coning is by limiting the amount of groundwater abstracted by means of water demand management. Various water saving measures are implemented at locations around the world that have high salinization proneness. Possible water-saving measures are reduction of non-beneficial evaporative and leakage losses, increase of irrigation efficiency, a change to less water demanding production processes and land uses and to find alternative sources of water.
Salt tolerant crops: Groundwater salinity is also managed by adjusting groundwater use to poorer groundwater quality levels. In many agricultural areas where only marginal quality water is available and where soil conditions are negatively affected by salinity, farmers are still able to grow crops profitably by changing to more salt-tolerant crops.
Conjunctive use of water: In cases of marginal quality groundwater, it makes sense to use this water in conjunction with better types of water. The poor quality groundwater could physically be blended with more fresh water to provide water with an acceptable salinity level for application. Alternatively, the poor quality groundwater could be applied in an alternating fashion with better quality water.
Institutional instruments: The governmental and non-governmental organisations dealing with groundwater management and those dealing with soil management, agriculture and livelihood development do have a responsibility to help make individuals mitigate, adapt to or compensate for, the salinity problems.
Institutional instruments that are practiced to control groundwater salinity are:
- regulatory (like well registration, licensing, groundwater abstraction rights and quota, land use restrictions, emission rules),
- economic (subsidies for individuals or groups/sectors to invest in new technologies to manage salinity, investments in governmental ASR programmes, environmental taxes to discourage salinity increasing practices, compensation for financial losses caused by salinity)
- advisory (enabling access to information, expertise, funding and creating awareness, training and extension).
Policy and plan development: The technical, scientific, behavioral and institutional approaches of salinity management (ideally) come together in the development of policies and plans that deal with groundwater salinity in an integrated way.. Such a policy document should preferably not restrict itself to groundwater salinity only but integrate this in a wider environment of groundwater management, soil management, integrated coastal zone management, livelihood and economic sector development and spatial planning and possibly others. It makes sense to include the various governmental and non-governmental organisations working in this wider environment to develop such policies. The participation of public is of paramount importance to find ground truth solutions and get the necessary support needed for implementation and compliance.