IWMI is delighted to have become a participant in the United Nations Global Compact which is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative with over 8,000 participants based in 135 countries. The Global Compact is a call to align strategies and operations of an organization with universal principles of human rights, labour, environment, anti-corruption and take actions that advance societal goals.
Dr. Sandra Ruckstuhl, Strategic Partnerships Manager at IWMI says “IWMI is excited to join this initiative from two angles. On one side we plan to examine our internal sustainability practices and to reduce our carbon footprint. And on the other side, as water researchers we aim to support other Global Compact participants as they design, actualize and report on their own sustainability initiatives. It is only natural that we have joined the Compact – IWMI’s history and our mission to promote inclusive growth, climate resilience and food security wholly align with the Compact’s ten principles. We are eager to participate in this knowledge exchange and to explore solutions with the Global Compact and the CEO Water Mandate. We are really pleased to have joined the team, and we look forward to the possibilities ahead.”
For more information contact Sandra Ruckstuhl
Statement from Mark Smith, Director General
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