The economics of environment, health and irrigation schemes in developing countries

Abstract

This paper studies theoretically, the welfare consequences of the interaction between environment, the health status of the community, and irrigation schemes in the context of developing countries. An idea that environment, health status and irrigation schemes are three district, but interdependent phenomena with an impact on a community's welfare. Irrigation creates environmental conditions that are favourable for agricultural production but also ideal for habitats and breeding points of disease vectors which often transmit disease parasites to the humans. When the human population is infected and sick, its health status declines and so also its level of welfare. Therefore the cost of managing adverse effects irrigation schemes on environmental and health status should be considered when determining the benefits of irrigation schemes.