Balancing Water for Livelihoods, Health and Ecosystems

Water-related diseases kill an estimated 4-6 million people every year but water is also a critical resource that provides food and livelihoods to countless millions. With increased food production and economic development, the human and environmental costs of using water have received inadequate attention. IWMI is committed to alleviating rural poverty and has recognized the vital contribution of agricultural systems to rural communities worldwide. Yet, if agriculture is to thrive, human and environmental health must be protected. It is this recognition that drove the Water Health and Environment (WHE) theme, which has identified ways and means of protecting human and environmental health through multi-disciplinary research. IWMI's research has looked at how irrigation water can be managed in ways beneficial to human health. It has identified opportunities to optimize the use of urban wastewater to improve livelihoods without the associated health risks. Finally, IWMI has also tested interventions to reduce mosquito breeding in streambeds and rivers.

The theme began with an IWMI hosted workshop focusing on the linkages between irrigation and vector-borne diseases in the mid-1980s. By 1987, continued interest in this area led to IWMI being elected as an official collaborating centre of the Panel of Experts on Environmental Management (PEEM). In 1994, through support from DANIDA, health research staff were seconded to IWMI, but not until 1997 was the human health aspect formally included in the mainstream of IWMI research under the ‘Health and Environment' banner. Research at this point treated interactions between irrigation and human health and ecosystems independently, and it was only after the formation of the WHE theme that a truly holistic approach was adopted.

Today health and environment issues are well integrated in IWMI's theme research. Staffed by multi-disciplinary researchers cutting across the agricultural engineering, health and environmental divide, WHE since 1994 has concentrated on the sub-themes, of malaria and agriculture, wastewater and agriculture, multiple uses of water, pesticides, and ecosystems. These sub-themes while offering wide coverage, also directly relate to the Millennium Development Goals of combating malaria and other diseases, promoting environmental sustainability and forging global partnerships for development.

Malaria and Agriculture

Initially limited to Asia and to studying irrigation and its links to malaria (Amerasinghe et al., 1999) this sub-theme has evolved into a broad-based project that studies the Interactions between water, land and people and has extended to cover Africa as well. IWMI has investigated the water-agriculture-livelihoods dimensions of the disease. This has generated new knowledge on the ecology of malaria vectors, the risk factors for the disease and feasibility of environmental management interventions to reduce the burden of malaria. For example, research in the Mwea irrigation scheme in Kenya experimented with the use of alternate wet and dry irrigation as a way to reduce malaria vector breeding in rice-growing areas.(Mutero et al., 2000) In the Yan Oya watershed in Sri Lanka , research demonstrated that regulating irrigation water releases could control mosquito breeding.(Matsuno et al., 1999).In Punjab , Pakistan , several studies focused on the problems of water logging and malaria and substantiated the importance of land use changes in the changing malaria patterns. The subtheme has produced an extensive collection of publications on malaria research, educational audio-visual materials and established numerous links with local NGOs, universities, research institutes and health organizations. For example, IWMI's GIS based malaria risk mapping initiative has helped personnel engaged in malaria control in Sri Lanka . The CGIAR recognized IWMI's contribution to malaria research by inviting the institution to lead the System Wide Initiative on Malaria in Agriculture (SIMA) in 2001.

Recent USEPA guideline revisions have included the Declaration and data on the economic benefits of wastewater use provided by IWMI. Finally, Wastewater Use in Irrigated Agriculture, a joint publication by IWMI, CABI and IDRC, which critically evaluated worldwide experience of wastewater use, was a key IWMI output.

Multiple Uses of Water

Apart from water for crops, irrigation systems intentionally or otherwise provide water for domestic consumption, home gardens, and livestock and also support other productive uses such as fishing, brick making and a host of other enterprises. However, the fact that irrigation water serves many stakeholders is not adequately recognized by water managers. In a situation of increasing water shortages and competition, this lack of understanding results in increasing conflicts among stakeholders, and in human health and environmental problems, all of which contribute to reduce the benefits of irrigated agriculture. For instance, when the Agricultural sector takes measures to diminish water losses, access to water for domestic purposes may be greatly reduced and community health may be adversely affected. (Van der Hoek et al., 2001) IWMI research in Kirindi Oya in Sri Lanka has established a framework for examining statutory and customary water rights for multiple users of water and also identified that irrigation water was utilised by a large number of non-farming groups. Research also showed that in areas with saline or brackish groundwater—like the Basse Moulouya irrigation scheme, Morocco or in southern Punjab , Pakistan —irrigation water was the only viable option for domestic use. IWMI's pioneering research in multiple uses of water has helped the issue gain international recognition and demonstrated the institute's strength in carrying out cross-disciplinary research.

Pesticides in irrigated agriculture

Pesticide use and abuse is indirectly influenced by water management decisions and is a serious problem within farming communities. IWMI researched this problem in Sri Lanka and Pakistan with an early-IWMI report making an important contribution to a Presidential Task Force on pesticide abuse in Sri Lanka . More recent IWMI research focusing on six hospitals in the southern region of Sri Lanka found that one third of all deaths in hospitals were a result of acute pesticide poisoning. IWMI has focused its policy work on pesticide poisoning on the regulatory framework aimed at reducing the availability and use of the most toxic pesticides at household level. Also, the possible role of integrated pest management as a means to reduce use in irrigated areas has been studied (Konradsen et al., 2003). National workshops in the two countries provided a forum for health and water management officials to meet and discuss the issue. The Sri Lankan workshop resulted in a publication, which is now a country resource handbook.IWMI in partnership with other international researchers has also provided momentum for policy recommendations like ‘minimum pesticide lists', which limit the availability of toxic chemicals internationally.

Agriculture and Ecosystems

IWMI has looked at developing tools and methods to manage land and water resources in a way that optimizes agricultural production, while conserving freshwater dependent ecosystems and their biodiversity. Ongoing research has achieved a number of impacts. IWMI's ecoagriculture project in Sri Lanka has convinced authorities to conserve biodiversity hotspots within irrigation development areas. The hydrological model developed for the Karagan lagoon in southern Sri Lanka revealed risk of flooding due to upstream irrigation developments and resulted in the irrigation agency modifying the design. An ongoing study on environmental flows (Smakhtin et al., 2003) has generated international interest and shows promise of developing river basin scale assessment tools. In Africa , an inland wetlands initiative has looked at improving livelihoods without the usual ecological fallout associated with development. IWMI is now represented on key international bodies like RAMSAR and the Eco-agriculture Secretariat, with the institute's research in this area poised for robust growth and further impact.