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a joint message from our board chair and director general

  • The year 2015 has been a momentous year for international development. Not only did the 193 member states of the United Nations adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in New York in September, but 195 countries adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal in Paris 3 months later.


    For all the diplomatic progress, however, the extent of the global challenges we face has remained clearly evident. Droughts triggered or exacerbated by an El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean affected many parts of Africa and Asia. Flooding in Chennai brought one of India’s biggest cities to a standstill. Also, endless bouts of winter rain submerged many parts of the UK, showing that developed countries, too, are vulnerable to extreme weather events. Meanwhile, a new crisis unfolded in Europe, as unprecedented numbers of migrants sought to reach the safety of its shores.
  • So, the international agreements, while welcome, come not a moment too soon. The need to take action on climate change and embrace sustainable development is now urgent. It is at these critical junctures that we believe that the International Water Management Institute’s (IWMI’s) science can have the greatest effect. Our research on water management solutions is already assisting thousands afflicted by extreme water variability, and is helping to build the resilience of climate-affected communities.


    Take flooding for instance. IWMI’s initiatives on satellite-verified flood insurance for smallholder farmers are now being field-tested in northeast India. In the same region, a pilot scheme for testing the approach referred to as ‘Underground Taming of Floods for Irrigation’ (UTFI) is also under way.


    A further highlight of the year was the launch of the ‘Solar Power as a Remunerative Crop’ (SPaRC) pilot project in Gujarat, India. In a bid to persuade India’s farmers (who irrigate with solar pumps) not to over-exploit groundwater with their ‘free power’, the SPaRC project uses smart subsidies to encourage producers to sell excess power to the national grid through a bespoke cooperative arrangement. More solar-powered irrigation is good news for climate mitigation, and it also has huge potential to boost incomes in areas of India where power supplies are erratic or nonexistent. SPaRC is designed to ensure that this new technology doesn’t lead to the unsustainable depletion of aquifers.


    Elsewhere, our newest office in Yangon, Myanmar, was just starting out in 2015. Our establishment in Myanmar was heralded by the publication of the first-ever comprehensive overview of agricultural water management in the country’s dry zone. Based on an initial scoping study conducted in 2013, this work underpins a major new research program for Myanmar as the country emerges from years of isolation. This timely study has given us an opportunity to make a real contribution to policy development for sustainable water use in the new democracy, and together with partners we hope to build a thriving in-country research program.


    IWMI celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2015, with highlights including a touring exhibition on our contribution to water management in Sri Lanka. This was launched at a gala reception in Colombo. Our other offices around Africa and Asia held their own celebrations. In Ghana, the anniversary was marked with the opening of IWMI’s new regional office for Africa in Accra, demonstrating our commitment to the region. Our offices in Delhi, Addis Ababa, Vientiane and Pretoria also reached out to local partners and stakeholders to say a big thank you for all the support they have given IWMI over the years.


    It has been a year of consolidation and change for the CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs). IWMI is now a partner in five CRPs, and leads the CRP on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). Building on a strong research portfolio, WLE directed its attention to four focal regions. It refined its mandate to include new aspects of sustainable intensification that are applicable across the CRP portfolio and will contribute to countries’ initiatives to achieve the SDGs. The enhanced emphasis includes improved soil management and exploration of the rural-urban interface; the new interface of global resource challenges where agriculture, demography and development are interacting in new ways on an unprecedented scale.


    Managing waste is a growing issue in urban and peri-urban areas. In response, we have developed a dynamic new program to roll out and scale up our work on resource recovery and reuse. There are early signs that this work has the potential to be a game changer in urban waste management. In Ghana, for instance, IWMI initiatives have contributed to the establishment of a new privately run co-composting facility in Techiman, which will annually transform 5,000 m3 of fecal sludge and 300 tons of organic solid waste into the safe, pelletized compost Fortifer. A new plant at Koumbi City will similarly convert organic waste into fuel briquettes. In Kumasi, in partnership with the local authority, wastewater is being used to support African catfish aquaculture. Proceeds from the business will be fed back into waste treatment.


    A lack of access to water for agriculture often drives migration to urban areas. IWMI research in South Asia is unpicking the complex relationships between underperforming agriculture, inequitable land tenure and rapid development to better understand why modern patterns of labor migration seem to mire so many in perpetual poverty, and to examine whether improved access to irrigation could break this cycle.


    This kind of crosscutting research has long been one of IWMI’s strengths and will enable us to make significant contributions to fulfilling the SDGs. Our research-for-development agenda directly supports nearly all the SDGs, but we are also involved in the equally important business of target setting for water-related goals. We are working nationally and globally to define targets that are realistic but capable of delivering sustainable economic progress.


    The global financial position for research funding has been challenging right across CGIAR throughout the past year. This has led us to review our skill base, and prioritize core activities and regions. Inevitably, this has caused some disruption, but leaves us in a stronger and more focused position to take advantage of future opportunities.


    Looking ahead, we continue to see a vital role for our world-class research. The year 2017 will mark 10 years since the publication of IWMI’s landmark report Water for Food, Water for Life, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. We will be marking the anniversary with special events and publications, but most of all with a renewed commitment to sustainable and equitable development to benefit all humanity.