The first meeting of the Water Land and Ecosystems subprogram on Resource Recovery & Reuse (RRR) took place on 25-26 April, 2012, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Hosted by IWMI, the main meeting was followed on 27th April by side meetings on projects already running. The meeting aimed to:
Broadening our perspective of key partners around RRR research along the research for development pathway
Briefing about work currently being undertaken by centers which feed into the program
Understanding options to increase the significance of the program through new ideas and concept notes on important knowledge gaps.
Participants came from different sectors which enriched the discussions: CGIAR (IWMI, ICARDA, ICRISAT, CPWF), the private sector, donor representatives, UN agencies, IWA, ARI, NGOs and government agencies. The workshop devoted significant time to group discussions and interactive analysis resulting in stakeholder maps, challenge identification, and concept notes.
The first day was spent on analyzing the RRR universe and the potential role of the subprogram within the larger context of other institutions and initiatives, key challenges and knowledge gaps. On day two this analysis was used to generate ideas for cutting edge research. According to Simon Cook, the RRR subprogram is currently the smallest one in CRP5 but a very lively and strategic one with likely spillovers into other subprograms.
On day 3, approaches and progress of ongoing projects were discussed. According to Pay Drechsel, one of the facilitators of the meeting, the workshop helped tremendously for strategic planning but also for adjusting the work within ongoing projects and the identification of supporting action research with exciting new partners.
Press Releases
Worldwide research initiative launched to tackle global crises in water, food and the environment
CGIAR Consortium attains International Organization Status
Sustainable management of the natural resource base supporting agriculture is one of the three major strategic objectives of the CGIAR. The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems combines the resources of 14 CGIAR centers and numerous external partners to provide an integrated approach to natural resource management (NRM) research, and to the delivery of its outputs.
The program focuses on the three critical issues of water scarcity, land degradation and ecosystem services, as well as the CGIAR System Level Outcome of sustainable natural resource management. It will also make substantial contributions to the System Level Outcomes on food security, poverty alleviation and, to a minor extent, health and nutrition.
If you would like any further information on the development of this research program, please email us at CRP5@cgiar.org
The final proposal submitted on 3rd September can be found here and executive summary here.
Further comments can be emailed to CRP5@cgiar.org
Regional Consultations
Nine regional consultations are were planned with partners to run between July 8 and August 10, 2010.
Host
Date
Venue
IWMI
8th July
Tashkent
FAO
6th August
Bangkok
ICARDA
8th August
Aleppo
CONDESAN and CIP
2nd August
Lima
NEPAD
10th August
Lusaka
ILRI and CIAT
28th July
Nairobi
CIAT and CONDESAN
9th August
Cali
ICRISAT
2nd August
Delhi
AGRA and IWMI
2nd August (tentative)
Ouagadougou
These regional meetings were meant to bring together twenty to thirty regional stakeholders and partners to provide input to the development of CRP 5. Participants made comments on relevant research issues and suggest ideas on delivering impact using the research findings.
E-consultations
An e-consultation process ran from July 18 to August 7, 2010 through a Google site hosted on CGXCHANGE. Separate discussion groups were created to discuss each of the ‘best bets’ in the proposal. Each best bet had a discussion leader and worked with a core group of participants to gather and compile input on the proposal.
Writer’s Workshop
From August 16-18, 2010, a writer’s workshop was held in Colombo. This workshop comprised of a small group tasked with further developing the best bets and impact pathways into the full proposal. This follows up on a design meeting held in Colombo from June 28-30, 2010 attended by participants from CG centers and partner organizations.
Commentary by Carlos Perez del Castillo - February 08, 2012
PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE
While we applaud the continuous work and dedication of humanitarian relief agencies to intervene in times of hunger crises, there is a more, pivotal question to be asked: “What can we do to prevent hunger? What can we do to increase food security in vulnerable areas?”
And that is where our work comes in. The CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) develop collaborative approaches to address the needs of the poor. They address a wide range of issues: They aim to increase yields and profits for crops, fish and livestock. They improve sustainability, climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Our research improves the productivity, profitability, sustainability and resilience of farming systems. We work to improve nutrition and health. We ensure agricultural and natural systems remain in balance, increasing their resilience to degradation. We also work with governments and other organizations to improve policies and markets.
The Horn of Africa drought relief effort had a price tag of over US$1.2 billion, a one-time remedy to help 3.7 million people through one drought crisis.
Between 1997 and 2007, Ethiopia lost an average of US$1.1 billion to drought. Annually.
The 2012 cost for our research programs to improve the yields of major food crops is $300 million.
I am really pleased to announce that Dr Simon Cook has started this week in the leadership role for CRP5 Water, Land and Ecosystems: improved natural resources management for food security and livelihoods.
Simon Cook specializes in the analysis of the food and water systems that underpin agricultural development. He coordinated the Basin Focal Projects for the CGIAR Challenge Program of Water and Food. Prior to this he was theme leader for the CPWF and a program leader at CIAT. Before this, he was at CSIRO in Australia, where he led research into precision agriculture.
Simon believes strongly in the role of science to support sustainable development and contests the view of agriculture as a ‘sunset activity’, preferring to consider it a ‘sleeping giant’. He believes that agriculture has the potential to solve global-scale demands for food, energy and income and that research for development has a key role to achieve it.
Simon trained at universities in the UK, where he obtained degrees in geography, soil science and agronomy.
I am sure that all of you will want to join me in welcoming Simon into this critical role in the CGIAR. Simon will be based in Colombo at IWMI HQ.
Kind Regards. Colin Chartres
Director General
New Director appointed - December 12, 2011
Dr. Simon Cook has been appointed Director of the CGIAR’s major new research program to address the urgent challenges of water management, global food security and environmental sustainability. Dr. Cook, a specialist in water, agriculture and rural development, was formerly coordinator of the Basin Focal Projects of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), a USD 10 million initiative to identify the condition of food, agricultural water and poverty in ten major river basins in the tropics.
A native of the UK, now with dual British and Australian citizenship, Dr. Cook gained his PhD in soil science and agronomy at the University of Cambridge, UK. Highlights of his 25-year research career include leading the precision agriculture research group at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), specializing in GIS, remote sensing, soil chemistry and plant physiology. He subsequently joined the geographical information systems (GIS) and land use program at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia, heading a team of 40 scientists, technicians and support staff in the largest GIS lab in the CGIAR.
The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems is a multi-million dollar global partnership that will address the major challenges of feeding the world’s growing population whilst maintaining the integrity of natural systems. It will focus on eight river basins in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Category 1 funding approved - November 30, 2011
The CGIAR fund council has given a category 1 approval to the Water Land and Ecosystems research program (CRP5). Commenting on the revised proposal, the CGIAR's Independent Science and Partnership Council said that it, "recognized the fundamental importance and
potential of this CRP to fill a critical gap in the CGIAR research for development portfolio."
It went on to remark that, "It is particularly satisfying to learn that the process of revising the document has greatly enhanced cooperation between the major partners in the CGIAR such that there is a genuine sense of
common intent and focus."
Video: About this research program - November 25, 2011
Participants came from different sectors which enriched the discussions: CGIAR (IWMI, ICARDA, ICRISAT, CPWF), the private sector, donor representatives, UN agencies, IWA, ARI, NGOs and government agencies. The workshop devoted significant time to group discussions and interactive analysis resulting in stakeholder maps, challenge identification, and concept notes.
