Focus

The overall goal of the theme is to explore strategies that enhance water quality, increase food production, and alleviate poverty while minimizing negative impacts on human health and the environment. Particular focus will be on improving agriculture and livelihoods for the marginalized poor in developing and emerging economies.

Increased depletion, exploitation, and contamination of water resources through urbanization, agricultural intensification, and land degradation have led to declines in water quality and quantity. We can often minimize this by providing appropriate management options and a consideration of ecosystem services. In many countries, these strategies are not widely adopted because of a lack of knowledge about their potential and the institutional mechanisms to pay for them. Increasing urbanization and intensified agriculture generate significant quantities of wastewater that is often used for irrigation at the rural-urban interface. Often, this water is biologically or chemically contaminated, presenting a risk for human, animal, and environmental health.

The theme complements Themes 1 and 2 by specifically targeting the water-quality implications of urban and rural land use, where managing the negative impacts will have significant benefits for both upstream and downstream users. It also draws on the techniques of Theme 4 to assess economic and social impacts and evaluate governance options. Theme 3 builds on the proven strengths and track record of IWMI research in the areas of wastewater, the environment and health, and links these to water-quality implications of unsustainable land use in catchment areas.

Sub Themes

3.1 Managing the impacts of urban land use on water quality

Making an Asset out of Wastewater

As demand for limited water resources increases from competing sectors, the sustainable use of urban wastewater will become an issue in overcoming water scarcity. Making a safe asset out of the increasing quantities of wastewater and other waste stream products, such as excreta, is the aim of this sub-theme. Major tasks are understanding the related risks and developing viable and adoptable management options for risk mitigation while maintaining or enhancing agricultural yields.

Specific Goal

• To make an asset out of urban wastewater including excreta by assessing and reducing possible health and environmental impacts in irrigated agriculture, especially at the urban-rural interface

3.2 Managing the impacts of agricultural land use on water quality

Improving Rural Water Quality

Inappropriate agricultural management practices associated with upstream agro-ecosystems often result in declining water quality. This has negative impacts on human health and ecosystem services for all users. We can support sustainable agriculture in upper catchments and enhance resilience in lower catchments through appropriate institutional mechanisms, technical and economic interventions, and incentives.

IWMI will build on its work in Ethiopia and with the Management of Soil Erosion Consortium-South East Asia, which has advanced our knowledge of biophysical processes and drivers of change. Our work in the theme aims to extend this to other geographical locations, where we can use research to develop novel interventions combining biophysical with social and institutional knowledge. This will require integration with Theme 4 and will explore payments for environmental services and the polluter-pays principle.

Specific Goal:

• To reduce the negative impacts of inappropriate land management in catchment areas to enhance water quality and livelihoods

Theme 3 News

Accra Consensus

Agenda for Research, Capacity Building & Action on the Safe Use of Wastewater and Excreta in Agriculture

In collaboration with IDRC and WHO, IWMI organized from 6th to 9th October an international expert consultation in Accra, Ghana, to brainstorm about the state of the art of applied research on wastewater irrigation in low-income countries. This meeting followed the one in Hyderabad in 2002 which emphasized the common reality of wastewater use and its related livelihoods and concluded with the Hyderabad Declaration.

The participants discussed overview papers on health risk assessments, on options for health risk reduction (including non-treatment options) and on participatory governance in wastewater treatment for reuse. The resulting papers will be published jointly by Earthscan, IDRC and IWMI.

The group of about 40 participants from 30 international, regional, and national research institutes, multilateral and bilateral bodies, and universities based in 17 countries emphasized the need to support policy makers around the world in informed decision making that lead to cost-effective interventions that improve public health, promote sustainable sanitation, protect the environment, and support food security and economic development.

For this, the group agreed on the following Accra Consensus : Agenda for Research, Capacity Building & Action on the Safe Use of Wastewater and Excreta in Agriculture.