The 8th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Biennial International Waters Conference (IWC-8) took place in Negombo, Sri Lanka, last week on May 9 – 13, 2016. The event convened representatives from over 80 countries to tackle some of the most pressing water issues on the planet.
The week-long conference, Scaling Up Investments from Source to Sea in the Context of Achieving the SDGs, is jointly organized by the GEF, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The conference brought together 250 foreign delegates, including government ministers from Seychelles, Maldives and Angola, and representatives of GEF beneficiary countries, non-governmental organizations, transboundary waters management institutions, United Nations agencies, GEF International Waters project managers and staff, and the private sector.
DG Jeremy Bird took part in the opening ceremony of the conference held on May 9. He was also a panelist/presenter at a session on ‘Modern Data and Tools for International Waters’ on May 10 (View his presentation: ‘Modern Data and Tools‘) and again made a presentation (on behalf of Paul Pavelic) on Conjunctive Management of Water Resources: Underground Taming of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI), on May 12. IWMI also had a publications booth at the event.
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the