Marloes Mul, Senior Researcher Hydrology and Water Resources at IWMI, has written a blog post on the IUCN Water Knowledge Platform about the ‘WISE-UP to Climate’ project where the assumption is that built infrastructure and its benefits are well documented and understood, whereas natural infrastructure is less well understood and the benefits are harder to quantify.
Building water infrastructure such as dams contributes to economic development, food, and energy security depending on their objective. In developing countries it is often seen as the most cost effective way to increase electricity production and irrigated agriculture. However, reaching these national objectives can often come at a cost to nature and local livelihoods which depend on healthy ecosystems. Modified river flows change the timing, quantity and quality of water flowing downstream. Yet, these constantly changing river flows are essential for livelihoods dependent on flood recession farming, floodplain cattle grazing, and fish production.
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