Abstract

OJEDA BUSTAMANTE, Waldo; PALERM VIQUEIRA, Jacinta  and  MUNOZ-ARRIOLA, Francisco. The Paradoxes of Irrigation Efficiency Linked to the Modernization of Irrigated Zones: Tales and Tallies. Revista Col. San Luis [online]. 2024, vol.14, n.25, e1598.  Epub Oct 21, 2025. ISSN 2007-8846.  https://doi.org/10.21696/rcsl142520241598.

Irrigated agriculture is the largest user of water globally. The modernization of irrigation is frequently part of public subsidy policies to save water and be transferred to other sectors. Such is the case of the “Healthy Water for La Laguna” project in Northern Mexico. Here, we review the scientific bases and studies where the paradoxes of irrigation efficiency: hydrological and of Jevons, are related to the modernization of agricultural irrigation areas. Although improving irrigation efficiency is well-intentioned, its implementation can generate the opposite effect of savings, promoting increased water extraction across multiple hydrological scales. Preliminary data indicate that solving both paradoxes require a new conceptual framework based on rigorously analyzing surface and underground water flows and integrating the effects of irrigation technology in the La Laguna region from the plot to the hydrological basin.

Keywords : rebound effect; water sustainability; irrigation modernization; water saving; irrigation infrastructure subsidies.

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