IWMI : Agriculture, Water and Cities

Agriculture, Water and Cities

Goal

Providing a better understanding of the upstream and downstream impact of urban water demand and waste water generation on agricultural productivity and food safety and supporting the institutionalization of interventions and approaches to mitigate possible trade-offs.

Overview




	In many developing countries high urbanization rates are causing massive surface and groundwater pollution and cross-sectoral water competition is threatening agricultural productivity and livelihoods in areas close to cities and beyond. Clearly, the agricultural use of untreated wastewater is undesirable from a health and environmental viewpoint. Yet millions of poor farmers in the developing world depend on water of marginal quality for irrigation as they may have no better alternative or because wastewater may be the only affordable or reliable water and nutrient source.However, the conventional water, sanitation and health sector generally views polluted water one-dimensionally, focusing only on human and environmental health implications, and advocating technology-based water treatment solutions as prerequisites to reuse. This theme research recognizes that wastewater use is a livelihood reality in many poor countries that cannot afford the investment and maintenance costs of treatment plants,

and focuses on both costs and benefits in terms of the health, environmental, food-chain, and livelihoods implications of the practice.

The theme recommends practical policy and management options and interventions aimed at health risk mitigation and plays an important role in informing and engaging policymakers and health practitioners of the realities of wastewater irrigation in urban and peri-urban settings and related health, environment and livelihood implications.

Key Research Areas



		Safe and productive use of wastewater in irrigated agriculture
		To make a productive asset out of domestic wastewater through viable interventions along the contamination pathway which increase food safety and reduce health risks for farmers and consumers.

		Integration of urban development, agriculture and the environment



		To integrate urban water resources management (IUWRM) in a basin context and develop decision support for local governance on different options of sanitation and water demand development, and their upstream and downstream implications on water poverty, agricultural water allocation and wastewater reuse considering hydrological, institutional, policy and economical factors.

		Social processes to move sustainable urban resources management across the research-policy-implementation interfaces
		To address opportunities and barriers for the institutionalization of IUWRM and safe wastewater use through multi-stakeholder dialogues, capacity building and policy development.