Waterlogging and salinity: Cause and effect in the framework of a social, environmental and financial nexus

Abstract Waterlogging and salinity are the effect of something that happened upstream of the point of observation, the cause. The most common responses to solving the twin problem of waterlogging and salinity are installing drainage, providing more irrigation water, cleaning existing outfall drains regularly and maintaining low groundwater levels. This article emphasizes that looking for the cause of the effect would have to be the first action to be undertaken. It may be that a sustainable solution is upstream of the location of the problem. Involving stakeholders' right from the beginning and creating dialogues with all involved throughout the process of initiating, planning, designing, constructing, operating and maintaining a drainage and irrigation system is essential. Performing a triple bottom line within the framework of a water–food–energy nexus is recommended. Areas with waterlogging and salinity are generally well‐known locally (i.e. in‐country), but the extent not necessarily. This is readily overcome by an aerial survey with camera‐equipped drones (remote sensing) or by tapping into the fast libraries of space‐based imagery. Innovative products such as the Capiphon Drainage, the Hydroluis drainpipe–envelope combination and SwarmFarm robots to monitor on‐farm irrigation and drainage are described.