Closing knowledge gaps for climate adaptation
Last week the Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative (LAKI) convened in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to discuss ways to close climate change adaptation knowledge gaps for islands in the Indian Ocean and countries in the Hindu Kush region. Organized by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UN Environment (UNEP), IWMI and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the intensive three day conference featured delegates from over 10 different countries.
IWMI and ICIMOD prepared the scoping papers that identified knowledge gaps that could act as barriers to successful implementation of adaptation initiatives across different sectors in the Indian Ocean Island States and Hindu Kush region respectively. Upali Amarasinghe, Indika Arulingam (Intern), Sashan Rodrigo (Consultant), and Christopher Patacsil (Intern) represented IWMI. Together, the participants debated and revised the adaptation knowledge gaps, performed multi-criteria analyses to prioritize the most important gaps for the respective regions (Hindu Kush, Large Islands, and Small Islands), and drafted action plans to mobilize resources and organizations to address them effectively. Both IWMI and ICIMOD hope to collaborate with the countries in the future to provide tools, data and information that is currently insufficient.
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