December 2022- January 2023 Research Journal Roundup

As we transitioned into a new year, IWMI researchers continued to advance our knowledge of how we can strengthen natural resource management, improve food resiliency, and promote gender equity.

IWMI Contributions to Research Articles and Journals

By Victoria Blymier, Princeton in Asia Fellow, IWMI  

As we transitioned into a new year, IWMI researchers continued to advance our knowledge of how we can strengthen natural resource management, improve food resiliency, and promote gender equity. Their contributions to science and research increase our understanding of Earth’s systems and help us to better implement research-based solutions to tackle ongoing challenges as we look ahead toward a water-secure future.

Farmer-led irrigation in Ghana. Photo: Barbara van Rijn / IWMI
Farmer-led irrigation in Ghana. Photo: Barbara van Rijn / IWMI

African Perspectives on Climate Change Research  

IWMI’s Maha Al Zu’bi was one of nine researchers who shared their perspectives on climate change research across the African continent in an article published by Nature Climate Change. Al Zu’bi emphasized the importance of sustainable natural resource management to build climate resilience in MENA. She cited a CGIAR initiative, “From Fragility to Resilience in Central West Asia and North Africa,” that aims to test and scale-up a variety of climate-related innovations. Al Zu’bi and colleagues believe that interdisciplinary alliance-building can meet the challenge of scaling climate solutions throughout MENA.

Read more here.

Hydrological modelling for reservoir operation: application of SWAT Model for Kalu Ganga Catchment, Sri Lanka   

Sri Lanka’s Kalu Ganga is a major tributary to the Amban Ganga, which feeds into the Mahaweli river. In 2014, the Sri Lankan government built the Kalu Ganga dam with the goal of preserving water availability for agriculture and drinking water throughout the Mahaweli Basin. IWMI’s Lal Muthuwatta contributed to a study published by the Journal of the Institution of Engineers that simulated the hydrology of the Kalu Ganga catchment. Operating the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), the researchers estimated that the Kalu Ganga catchment receives a yearly average of 2763mm of rainfall, 33% of which is lost to evapotranspiration. Streamflow into the dam stands at 59%. Furthermore, 89% of the streamflow is baseflow; this high baseflow proportion means that a larger amount of the catchment water can be utilized for its benefits.

Read more here.

Evaluation of managed aquifer recharge in the Central Highlands of Vietnam

In Vietnam’s Central Highlands, intensive agriculture drives unsustainable rates of groundwater removal. But returning monsoon rainfall to aquifers may be a solution to storing more groundwater. IWMI’s Paul Pavelic and co-researchers determined to address the lack of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) experience in the region by working with five farms to recharge runoff from roofs and fields into shallow dug wells over three years. Published in the Journal of Hydrology, insights from the MAR pilots reveal a wide range of results: volumes recharged from 5 to 530 m3  per year. The small well plume sizes made recovery of recharge water difficult due to their high groundwater velocities. Nevertheless, there is potential for improvement in local water availability.

Read more here.

Assessment of crop evapotranspiration and deep percolation in a commercial irrigated citrus orchard under semi-arid climate: combined Eddy-Covariance measurement and soil water balance-based approach  

In semi-arid climates, it is crucial to know how much water evaporates from the soil and transpires from plants under cultivation. These crop coefficient values (Kc) can help farmers calculate exactly how much water is required to grow their crops without losing precious water resources to the atmosphere. IWMI’s Youssef Brouziyne and colleagues purposed to quantify the reference evapotranspiration and actual evapotranspiration of clementines that are drip-irrigated in a Souss-Massa orchard. Adopting the eddy-covariance statistical technique, researchers estimated the average citrus evapotranspiration values at the crop’s initial, mid, and late growth periods, resulting in 1.68, 3.02, and 1.86mm/day, respectively. However, contrary to these estimates, their data analysis discovered that less water is being lost to evapotranspiration in the Souss-Massa region: actual Kc values were smaller, measuring at 0.64, 0.58, and 0.64. Furthermore, about half of the supplied water is lost to deep percolation. This irrigation knowledge is significant to Souss Massa’s farmers because the citrus industry is profitable for their regional economy.

Read more here.

Integrated water availability modelling to assess sustainable agricultural intensification options in the Meki catchment, Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia

In this study published by the Hydrological Sciences Journal, six IWMI researchers assessed the current and future water availability for agriculture in Ethiopia’s Central Rift Valley. A simulation using SWAT-MODFLOW projected the water balance under climate change scenarios and found that the catchment is currently under water stress, so communities struggle to supply enough water for irrigation, particularly from October–January. However, results indicate that come February-May, there will be greater water availability which will allow farmers to increase their irrigation area by 50%.

Read more here.

Investment priorities for research and innovation in urban agri-food systems: toward more resilient cities in the Global South  

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) supplies food, as well as employment and waste-reuse services, to cities across the Global South. But land conversion and water pollution pose challenges to this important agricultural sector. IWMI’s Pay Dreschel and colleagues’ survey of UPA, published by Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, recommends incentivizing zoning, allocating productive urban lands, strengthening controlled environment agriculture, such as hydroponic and aquaponic systems, and repositioning food markets as priorities for research and innovation. Their study advises investing in circular economy innovations, including reusing wastewater for irrigation and transforming solid waste into fertilizer. Dialogue and policy formation bridging diverse sectors and levels of governance will be necessary to incorporate food mapping innovations into urban planning.

Read more here.

Price, credit or ambiguity? Increasing small-scale irrigation in Ethiopia 

Ethiopia’s economic policy is to ease the price of irrigation pumps to encourage smallholder private groundwater irrigation, but farmers are uncertain about how much water they can access should they choose to drill boreholes.  In a study published by World Development, IWMI’s Archisman Mitra and co-researchers conducted a discrete choice experiment to assess farmers’ readiness to implement smallholder private irrigation packages if offered a variety of incentives. The study found that providing loans and reducing ambiguity around well drilling are the best ways to improve the likelihood of farmers adopting irrigation packages, whereas lowering pump prices and the pump type had a minimal impact.

Read more here.

Blending high-resolution satellite rainfall estimates over urban catchment using Bayesian Model Averaging approach

The Akaki catchment of the Awash River Basin in Ethiopia experiences frequent flooding during rainfall due to urbanization. But satellite technology can help estimate how much rainfall to anticipate. IWMI’s Tom Rientjes contributed to an article published by the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies that blended four high-resolution satellite rainfall estimation (SRE) products to assess the accuracy of rainfall estimates taken from the Bayesian Model Approach. The researchers found that the blended products were superior to invidual SRE products due to their ability to improve correlation with rainfall and reduce error. Both products performed better in catchment highlands. Furthermore, the blended SRE products more accurately estimated rainfall during the main rainy season.

Read more here.

Framework for incorporating Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) elements in Climate Information Services (CIS) 

Providing smallholder farmers with information about the climate has the power to enhance their resilience and adaptation to climate change’s impacts on agriculture. But how can researchers ensure that women have equitable and inclusive access to these technological services? IWMI’s Everisto Mapedza, Inga Jacobs-Mata, Munyaradzi Mutenje and colleagues conducted a literature review to assess the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa project. Their study featured in Sustainability concluded that women must be intentionally included in the design and development of agricultural technologies in order to share its benefits. Researchers developed a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) framework to ask questions throughout stages of the project to remove gender barriers. The framework’s five indicators should be applied to key development areas in order to promote gender transformation and enhance food security through climate-proofing agriculture for both men and women.

Read more here.

Irrigation systems management in Nepal: women’s strategies in response to migration-induced challenges 

As men migrate for work in neighboring countries, Nepali women are left to manage the household farms and take on new roles in Water User Associations (WUAs). IWMI’s Diana Suhardiman and Manita Raut contributed to an article published by Water Alternatives that examined factors influencing women’s agency in the WUAs. Their analysis found that women have responded to male labor shortages through monetization, such as hiring laborers and contracting maintenance work, and changing WUA organizational rules. Nepali women farmers possess the capacity to shape WUA rules and resources through their newly acquired organizational skills. Women adjust their WUA involvement in accordance with their farming strategies and on whether they perceive WUA as a well-functional and advantageous opportunity.

Read more here.

Spatio-temporal estimation of green and blue water consumptions and water and land productivity using satellite remote sensing datasets and WA+ framework: a case study of the Mahi Basin, India 

In their study published by Agricultural Water Management, IWMI’s Surajit Gosh and co-researchers adopted Water Accounting+ technology to calculate how much green water and blue water was consumed to determine the water productivity and land productivity of the semi-arid, non-resilient Mahi basin in India. Their assessment aimed to inform the “bright spots” and “hot spots” to improve water management for food security. The study found that the Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh has the highest land and water productivity, classifying it as the bright spot district. Conversely, Anand district is the hot spot district with the lowest productivity. The Neemuch district has the best productivity for rain-fed cereals. These findings are significant because they will help basin policymakers and stakeholders refine sustainable agricultural water management plans.

Read more here.

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