Large-scale male outmigration has placed new pressures on both men and women, especially regarding labour division in farm households and involvement in Water Users Associations (WUAs). This paper illustrates how the interplay between existing gender norms, male migration, remittances, and alternative sources of male labour influence women’s agency and WUA decision-making processes in Nepal. Despite official quotas aimed at promoting women’s participation in WUAs, some women prefer to monetise membership contributions rather than actively engage with the organisation. Others pursue strategic interests through changing WUA rules and, in the process, bringing about an adjustment of cultural norms. Women’s agency is derived not only from their knowledge of irrigation systems features and their ability to manage them; it is also related to their ability to learn new organisational skills and to apply them in the WUA context to negotiate and mobilise rules and resources. Women (re)shape their WUA involvement in conjunction with their farming strategies, their view of the WUA’s functionality, and whether they perceive the involvement as either an opportunity for productive engagement or as merely an increase in their already heavy workload.
Maintenance / Canals / Institutions / Water user associations / Migration / Strategies / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Irrigation management / Irrigation systems Record No:H051576
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is suffering from severe water scarcity. Decision-makers in MENA are tackling this challenge by tapping the potential of reusing treated wastewater in agriculture so that large volumes of freshwater sources can be released for priority domestic needs. This aligns with the global efforts to make wastewater reuse mainstream in developing countries by overcoming the technological, infrastructural, health, and socio-cultural barriers that are limiting the expansion of wastewater reuse in agriculture. In this regard, this paper analyses the management modalities of wastewater reuse practices in agriculture in MENA by studying two case studies from Egypt and Jordan. The result of this analysis is a proposed decision-tree tool to help decision-makers in making optimal wastewater reuse decisions based on contextual factors including agricultural field demands, location, freshwater resources, sanitation coverage, and infrastructure, as well as regulations, policies, and restrictions for wastewater reuse. The decision-tree framework was operationalized and validated using the two case studies. The decision tree proved to be an effective framework in assisting decision-makers in making the optimum choice for wastewater reuse in agriculture. It aided the decision maker in evaluating potential reuse options and selecting between several courses of action.
Case studies / Institutions / Stakeholders / Wastewater treatment / Irrigation water / Agriculture / Wastewater irrigation / Decision making / Wastewater management / Water reuse Record No:H051840
Expanding water reuse in the Middle East and North Africa: policy report Author(s): Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; Nassif, Marie Helene; Tawfik, Mohamed; Gebrezgabher, Solomie; Mapedza, Everisto; Lahham, Nisreen; Al-Hamdi, M. Published year: 2023. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 18
Social aspects / Women / Gender-transformative approaches / Stakeholders / Business models / Cost recovery / Financing / Sustainability / Health hazards / Water quality standards / Agricultural water use / Irrigation water / Guidelines / Planning / Water governance / Water policies / Resource recovery / Municipal wastewater / Wastewater treatment / Water scarcity / Water availability / Water resources / Water reuse Record No:H051838
Jordan’s water scarcity prompted a national plan whereby treated wastewater is utilized to amend agricultural irrigation water so as to reallocate freshwater to urban/domestic uses. The policy, however, has engendered farmers’ resistance in the Northern Jordan Valley (NJV), causing a stalemate in putting new infrastructure into operation. This research investigated the socio-economic causes of farmer resistance and contestation, and examined the government’s institutional approach to overcome the challenges. We found that the perceived risks of wastewater reuse such as salinization and restrictions from international markets figure prominently in the farmers resistance. As yet, farmers have managed to avoid the shift to treated wastewater use by using the political agency of elite farmers who control the Water Users Associations. These same farmers have adopted informal water access practices to overcome freshwater shortages. At the same time, small producers who don’t have possibilities to access extra water and with less political clout seem more willing to irrigate with treated wastewater. We conclude that understanding the heterogeneous context in which the envisioned wastewater users operate is key to predicting and solving conflicts that arise in treated wastewater reuse projects.
Socioeconomic aspects / Farmers / Water user associations / Stakeholders / Water policies / Water scarcity / Urban areas / Water management / Infrastructure / Irrigation water / Freshwater / Water allocation / Water reuse / Wastewater irrigation Record No:H051830
This study developed the SEWAGE-TRACK model for disaggregating lumped national wastewater generation estimates using population datasets and quantifying rural and urban wastewater generation and fate. The model allocates wastewater into riparian, coastal, and inland components and summarizes the fate of wastewater into productive (direct and indirect reuse) and unproductive components for 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. As per the national estimates, 18.4 km3 of municipal wastewater generated in 2015, was disaggregated over the MENA region. Results from this study revealed urban and rural areas to contribute to 79 % and 21 % of municipal wastewater generation respectively. Within the rural context, inland areas generated 61 % of the total wastewater. The riparian and coastal regions produced 27 % and 12 %, respectively. Within the urban settings, riparian areas produced 48 %, while inland and coastal regions generated 34 % and 18 % of the total wastewater, respectively. Results indicate that 46 % of the wastewater is productively used (direct reuse and indirect use), while 54 % is lost unproductively. Of the total wastewater generated, the most direct use was observed in the coastal areas (7 %), the most indirect reuse in the riparian regions (31 %), and the most unproductive losses in inland areas (27 %). The potential of unproductive wastewater as a non-conventional freshwater source was also analyzed. Our results indicate that wastewater is an excellent alternative water source and has high potential to reduce pressure on non-renewable sources for some countries in the MENA region. The motivation of this study is to disaggregate wastewater generation and track wastewater fate using a simple but robust approach that is portable, scalable and repeatable. Similar analysis can be done for other regions to produce information on disaggregated wastewater and its fate. Such information is highly critical for efficient wastewater resource management.
Coastal areas / Groundwater recharge / Water availability / Water reuse / Models / Estimation / Water productivity / Datasets / Population / Rural areas / Municipal wastewater / Wastewater treatment Record No:H051814
Migration impacts left-behind populations, disrupting established norms of social interaction, participation, and inclusion. In western Nepal, labour migration is common among young men, with implications for household and community participation among those left behind, who are predominately women. In this study, we use mixed methods to examine how labour migration impacts the social inclusion of migrant households, especially, of left-behind women in community groups and activities. For our analysis, we use quantitative survey data from over 3600 households in the Karnali and Mahakali River Basins of western Nepal and qualitative data from 16 focus group discussions and 37 in-depth interviews held in the same region. Our analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity in the experiences of women and households left behind by migrants. Women’s opportunities to participate in economic systems such as natural resource user committees and non-governmental organisation trainings are moderated by intersecting identities including gender, caste/ethnicity, kinship, age, and economic status. Young women from nuclear, low caste, and poor households with limited social ties suffer from disadvantaged positions and face restricted access to spaces of participation. Accordingly, left-behind women’s opportunities to benefit from community resources remain dependent on their caste and kinship networks. These findings contribute to ongoing debates on the impacts of migration, and can help inform improved targeting of interventions to advance gender equity in rural Nepal.
Households / Labour / Collective action / s participation / Womenapos / Intersectionality / Social aspects / Natural resources management / Gender / Migration Record No:H051757
Africa emits the lowest amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the global GHG budget. However, the continent remains the most vulnerable continent to the effects of climate change. The agricultural sector in Africa is among the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. Also, as a dominant agricultural sector, African agriculture is increasingly contributing to climate change through GHG emissions. Research has so far focused on the effects of GHG emissions on the agricultural and other sectors with very little emphasis on monitoring and quantifying the spatial distribution of GHG emissions from agricultural land in Africa. This study develops a new index: African Agricultural Land Greenhouse Gas Index (AALGGI) that uses scores and specific scale ranges for carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) to map the spatial variations in regional GHG emissions across Africa. The data for the three main GHGs (CO2, CH4, and N20) were downloaded from FAOSTAT. The data were analyzed through the newly developed African Agricultural Land Greenhouse Gas Index (AALGGI). This is an empirical index with scores ranging from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating higher levels of emissions. The results show that Southern and North African regions have the lowest amounts of agricultural land GHG emissions, with AALGGIs of 3.5 and 4.5, respectively. East Africa records the highest levels of GHG emissions, with an AALGGI of 8 followed by West Africa with an AALGGI of 7.5. With the continental mean or baseline AALGGI being 5.8, East and Middle Africa are above the mean AALGGI. These results underscore the fact that though Africa, in general, is not a heavy emitter of GHGs, African agricultural lands are increasingly emitting more GHGs into the global GHG budget. The low AALGGIs in the more developed parts of Africa such as Southern and North Africa are explained by their domination in other GHG emitting sectors such as industrialization and energy. The high rates of emissions in East Africa and Middle Africa are mainly linked to intensive traditional farming practices/processes and deforestation. These findings underscore the need to further leverage climate change mitigation actions and policy in Africa and most importantly the co-benefits of mitigation and adaptations in the most vulnerable regions.
Time series analysis / Spatial distribution / Vulnerability / Climate change mitigation / Climate change adaptation / Nitrous oxide / Methane emission / Carbon dioxide / Agricultural land / Greenhouse gas emissions Record No:H051387
A static and apolitical framing of women’s empowerment has dominated the development sector. In contrast, we assess the pertinence of considering a new variable, the will to change, to reintroduce dynamic and political processes into the way empowerment is framed and measured. This article uses a household survey based on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and qualitative data collected in Nepal to analyze how critical consciousness influences women’s will to change the status quo and the role of visible agency, social structures, and individual determinants in those processes. A circular process emerges: women with higher visible agency and higher critical consciousness are more willing to gain agency in some, but not all, of the WEAI empowerment domains. This analysis advances current conceptualizations of empowerment processes: the will to change offers valuable insights into the dynamic, relational and political nature of women’s empowerment. These findings support the design of development programs aiming at increasing visible agency and raising gender critical consciousness and argue for improving the internal validity of women’s empowerment measurement tools.
Villages / Decision making / Households / Agriculture / Indicators / Political aspects / Leadership / Social consciousness / Gender / s empowerment / Womenapos Record No:H051236
Case studies / Modelling / Spatial data / SADC countries / Capacity development / Farmers / Smallholders / Financing / Ecosystems / Environmental health / Public health / Catchment areas / Transboundary waters / Goal 7 Affordable and clean energy / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Goal 2 Zero hunger / Sustainable Development Goals / Nexus / Food security / Energy resources / Water resources Record No:H051168
Sustainability / Trade / International cooperation / Investment / Innovation / Reforms / Policies / Technology / Climate change / Water management / Agricultural production / Food systems Record No:H051161
Are fresh water and reclaimed water safe for vegetable irrigation? Empirical evidence from Lebanon Author(s): Abi Saab, M. T.; Jomaa, I.; El Hage, R.; Skaf, S.; Fahed, S.; Rizk, Z.; Massaad, R.; Romanos, D.; Khairallah, Y.; Azzi, V.; Sleiman, R.; Abi Saad, R.; Hajjar, C.; Sellami, M. H.; Aziz, R.; Sfeir, R.; Nassif, Marie Helene; Mateo-Sagasta, Javier Published year: 2022. Journal: Water Pages: 14(9):1437. (Special issue: Section Wastewater Treatment and Reuse: Feature Papers)
The use of polluted water to irrigate is an increasing problem in the developing world. Lebanon is a case in point, with heavily polluted irrigation waters, particularly in the Litani River Basin. This study evaluated the potential health risks of irrigating vegetables (radishes, parsley, onions, and lettuce) using three water sources (groundwater, river water, and treated wastewater) and three irrigation methods (drip, sprinkler, and surface) over two growing seasons in 2019 and 2020. Water, crop, and soil samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters, pathogens, and metals (Cu, Cd, Ni, Cr, and Zn). In addition, the bioaccumulation factor, estimated dietary intakes, health risk index, and target hazard quotients were calculated to assess the health risk associated with metal contamination. The study showed that, for water with less than 2 log E. coli CFU/100 mL, no pathogens (Escherichia coli, salmonella, parasite eggs) were detected in irrigated vegetables, irrespective of the irrigation method. With over 2 log E. coli CFU/100 mL in the water, 8.33% of the sprinkler-and surface-irrigated vegetables, and 2.78% of the drip-irrigated root crops (radishes and onions), showed some degree of parasitic contamination. E. coli appeared only on root crops when irrigated with water having over 3 log CFU/100 mL. The concentrations of most metals were significantly lower than the safe limits of the FAO/WHO of the Food Standards Programme Codex, except for zinc and chromium. The trends in the bioaccumulation factor and the estimated dietary intakes of metals were in the order of Cu lt; Cd lt; Ni lt; Cr lt; Zn. The target hazard quotient values for all metals were lower than 1.0. Under trial conditions, the adoption of drip irrigation with water with less than 3 log E. coli CFU/100 mL proved to be safe, even for vegetables consumed raw, except for root crops such as onions and radishes that should not be irrigated with water having over 2 log E. coli CFU/100 mL. Treated wastewater had no adverse effect on vegetable quality compared to vegetables irrigated with other water sources. These results support efforts to update the Lebanese standards for water reuse in agriculture; standards proposed in 2011 by the FAO, and currently being reviewed by the Lebanese Institution of Standards. This research will inform a sustainable water management policy aimed at protecting the Litani River watershed by monitoring water quality.
Irrigation methods / Soil properties / Heavy metals / Pathogens / Microbiological analysis / Physicochemical properties / Bioaccumulation factor / Mineral content / Crop yield / Contamination / Water quality / River water / Groundwater / Reclaimed water / Water management / Water pollution / Risk assessment / Health hazards / Freshwater / Vegetable crops / Water reuse / Wastewater irrigation Record No:H051092
The food self-sufficiency policy has always featured as an unquestionable policy objective for Egypt. This is understandable when one considers both the high population growth and the social and political vulnerability associated with a dependence on food imports and world market food prices such as wheat. Intensive agriculture has led to a growing subsidy burden for the Egyptian government. In addition, the agricultural fields in Egypt are commonly distributed with relatively small sizes parcels that usually reduce the reliability of the agricultural sector, particularly in the delta region, to meet the national food policy. On top of that, climate change, through changing weather patterns and increased temperatures, is affecting agricultural yields and thus farmers’ livelihoods. A water profitability analysis was conducted for three governorates in the Nile Delta in Egypt to establish a baseline and assess the net return per unit of water of the main crops in each of these governorates; this can act as a reference of the water profitability of different crops before they are affected by climate change and other internal and external factors. The analysis was based on extensive in-person surveys in each governorate in addition to workshop discussions with farmers. The study has highlighted the impact of a lack of extension services, which limits farmers’ ability to increase their land and water productivity. Farmers with more access to subsidized production inputs managed to achieve higher levels of water profitability even on smaller lands. Finally, we drew from our findings key policy actions to improve water profitability and land productivity for farmers in the Nile Delta to achieve higher levels of food security. This will help build resilient food production systems that are reliable in the face of climate change and other drivers. In addition, an integrated nexus strategy and plan for the inter- and intra-country is recommended to address the challenges related to food and climate security.
Farmers / Crops / Water security / Case studies / Resilience / Climate change / Food security / Profitability / Water productivity Record No:H051090
Case studies / Debt / Finance / Governmental organizations / Stakeholders / Employment / Migration / Refugees / Livelihoods / Poverty / Households / Labour / Women / Food security / Smallholders / Farmers / Communities / Policies / Climate change / Water scarcity / Water extraction / Resilience / Water stress / Water management / Groundwater / Surface water / Water supply / Water resources / Coping strategies / Weather hazards / Irrigated farming / Livestock / Agricultural sector / Action plans / Impact assessment / Risk management / Vulnerability / Drought Record No:H051017
IWMI Annual report 2021 Author(s): International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Published year: 2022. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 58
Partnerships / Women / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Water law / Climate resilience / Climate change / Ecosystems / Innovation / Agrifood systems / Irrigation systems / Environmental flows / Sustainable Development Goals / Weather index insurance / Solar powered irrigation systems / Farmer-led irrigation / Research programmes / Water security / Water management Record No:H051770
Political aspects / Wastewater / Water rights / Cost recovery / Institutions / Regulations / Multi-stakeholder processes / Guidelines / Water governance / Planning / Agricultural water use / Water reuse Record No:H051744
Risk / Cultural factors / Health hazards / Freshwater / Financing / Decision making / Public participation / Stakeholders / Guidelines / Water reuse Record No:H051743
Risk management / Physicochemical properties / Wastewater / Irrigation water / Policies / Guidelines / Regulations / Water quality standards / Agricultural water use / Water reuse Record No:H051740
Monitoring / Regulations / Government / Water resources / Infrastructure / Wastewater treatment / Case studies / Institutional development / Water policies / Water reuse Record No:H051738
Health hazards / Population / Water pollution / Water scarcity / Treatment plants / Pollutants / Effluents / Resource recovery / Composition / Municipal wastewater / Water reuse / Wastewater treatment Record No:H051737
Wastewater treatment / Urbanization / Population growth / Intensification / Agriculture / Water stress / Water scarcity / Water reuse Record No:H051736
This paper follows the transition from ethnobotany to a deeper scientific understanding of the food and medicinal properties of African agroforestry tree products as inputs into the start of domestication activities. It progresses on to the integration of these indigenous trees as new crops within diversified farming systems for multiple social, economic and environmental benefits. From its advent in the 1990s, the domestication of indigenous food and non-food tree species has become a global programme with a strong African focus. This review of progress in the third decade is restricted to progress in Africa, where multi-disciplinary research on over 59 species has been reported in 759 research papers in 318 science publications by scientists from over 833 research teams in 70 countries around the world (532 in Africa). The review spans 23 research topics presenting the recent research literature for tree species of high priority across the continent, as well as that in each of the four main ecological regions: the humid zone of West and Central Africa; the Sahel and North Africa; the East African highlands and drylands; and the woody savannas of Southern Africa. The main areas of growth have been the nutritional/medicinal value of non-timber forest products; the evaluation of the state of natural resources and their importance to local people; and the characterization of useful traits. However, the testing of putative cultivars; the implementation of participatory principles; the protection of traditional knowledge and intellectual property rights; and the selection of elite trees and ideotypes remain under-researched. To the probable detriment of the upscaling and impact in tropical agriculture, there has been, at the international level, a move away from decentralized, community-based tree domestication towards a laboratory-based, centralized approach. However, the rapid uptake of research by university departments and national agricultural research centres in Africa indicates a recognition of the importance of the indigenous crops for both the livelihoods of rural communities and the revitalization and enhanced outputs from agriculture in Africa, especially in West Africa. Thus, on a continental scale, there has been an uptake of research with policy relevance for the integration of indigenous trees in agroecosystems and their importance for the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To progress this in the fourth decade, there will need to be a dedicated Centre in Africa to test and develop cultivars of indigenous crops. Finally, this review underpins a holistic approach to mitigating climate change, as well as other big global issues such as hunger, poverty and loss of wildlife habitat by reaping the benefits, or ‘profits’, from investment in the five forms of Capital, described as ‘land maxing’. However, policy and decision makers are not yet recognizing the potential for holistic and transformational adoption of these new in
COVID-19, gender, and small-scale farming in Nepal Author(s): Leder, S.; Shrestha, Gitta; Upadhyaya, R.; Adhikari, Y. Published year: 2022. Pages: pp.3-12 Series: Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability
Wastewater reuse is identified as strategic to help ameliorate scarcity in water-stressed regions around the world. However, to develop it, there is a need to better understand the social, institutional and technological contexts in which it takes place. This article develops a novel socio-technical framework to inform such an analysis and applies it to current wastewater reuse in Egypt. Our analysis highlights the different actors, management activities and practices that shape wastewater collection, transfer, treatment, discharge and/or reuse in different social, technological and environmental contexts in Egypt. It points out bottlenecks of current wastewater reuse policies and programmes.
Case studies / Farmers / Villages / Water resources / Technology / Treatment plants / Regulations / Water policies / Irrigation / Sewerage / Waste collection / Waste management / Wastewater treatment / Water reuse Record No:H050497
Worldwide, off-grid solar photovoltaic irrigation is currently being developed with the expectation that it will help secure water access to increase food production, reduce fuel-based carbon emissions and energy costs, and increase human resilience to climate change. In developing countries across the Middle East and North Africa, South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the adoption of solar technology in agriculture to lift groundwater is rapidly expanding, following decreases in pump costs, economic incentives, and development partner initiatives. Solar irrigation potentially provides a cost-effective and sustainable energy source to secure food production and sustain livelihoods in line with multiple Sustainable Development Goals, but achieving such potential requires improved policies and institutions to coordinate across numerous stakeholders, objectives, and approaches. This paper uses cases and observations from across regions to propose a framework to support policy, regulation, and monitoring for environmentally sustainable and socio-economically inclusive solar irrigation investments. While not exhaustive, the components seek to address the intersection of energy, water and food security, as well as social equity. The paper emphasizes the need for an understanding of how solar irrigation can be scaled to be both accessible for smallholder farmers and environmentally sustainable.
Women / Livelihoods / Sustainable Development Goals / Financing / Investment / Policies / Institutions / Markets / Supply chains / Monitoring / Regulations / Stakeholders / Pumps / Water lifting / Groundwater / Environmental sustainability / Smallholders / Small scale farming / Technology / Photovoltaic systems / Farmer-led irrigation / Solar energy Record No:H050433
Financing / Enterprises / Water user associations / Refugees / Displacement / Political aspects / Conflicts / Water rights / Water law / International law / Agricultural insurance / Vulnerability / Drought / Flooding / Disaster risk reduction / Climate change / Water scarcity / Wastewater treatment / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Rural areas / Water supply / s empowerment / Womenapos / Gender / Hygiene / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Water governance / Water policy Record No:H050271
Land rights / Legal pluralism / Water governance / Water management / Forest governance / s empowerment / Womenapos / Natural resources management / Gender equality Record No:H050805
The paper draws on the Community Capitals Framework to frame and analyze the process of rural women’s empowerment through agricultural interventions in two districts of Ethiopia. A blend of qualitative data collection methods comprising group discussions, life histories, and key informant interviews was used. Our study shows that investing in social, human, financial, cultural, natural, physical, and political capitals resulted in increased assets within those capitals and others amongst the beneficiaries. The interaction between capitals builds “power with”, “power within”, “power to” and “power over” in an upward spiral. Specifically, the interaction between social, human and financial capitals is a key entry point to rural women’s empowerment. Cultural capital intermediates the interaction and flow of capital assets during the empowerment process. We argue that empowering women requires an approach that enhances their capability to identify and systematically manage interactions among capitals that foster their voice and agency.
Decision making / Households / Political aspects / Infrastructure / Financing / Off farm employment / Livelihood diversification / Social networks / Collective action / Cultural capital / Natural capital / Human capital / Social capital / Rural communities / Agriculture / Gender equality / s empowerment / Womenapos Record No:H050056
Little is known about the occurrence of emerging pollutants (EPs) in waters in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region despite the extensive use of low-quality water there. Available data dealing with the sources, occurrence and removal of EPs within the MENA region in different categories of water is collected, presented and analyzed in this literature review. According to the collected database, the occurrence and removal efficiency of EPs in the water matrix in the MENA region is available, respectively, for 13 and six countries of the 18 in total; no available data is registered for the rest. Altogether, 290 EPs have been observed in different water matrices across the MENA countries, stemming mainly from industrial effluents, agricultural practices, and discharge or reuse of treated wastewater (TWW). Pharmaceutical compounds figure among the most frequently reported compounds in wastewater, TWW, surface water, and drinking water. Nevertheless, pesticides are the most frequently detected pollutants in groundwater. Worryingly, 57 cases of EPs have been reported in different fresh and drinking waters, exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) and European Commission (EC) thresholds. Overall, pharmaceuticals, organic compounds, and pesticides are the most concerning EP groups. The review revealed the ineffectiveness of treatment processes used in the region to remove EPs. Negative removals of some EPs such as carbamazepine, erythromycin, and sulfamethoxazole were recorded, suggesting their possible accumulation or release during treatment. This underlines the need to set in place and strengthen control measures, treatment procedures, standards, and policies for such pollutants in the region.
Wastewater treatment plants / Irrigation / Public health / Pesticides / Risk / Monitoring / Drinking water / Groundwater / Surface water / Freshwater / Pollutants / Water pollution Record No:H050733
This report examines social equality aspects related to resource recovery through solid waste composting and wastewater irrigation. The report shows that women are represented in greatest numbers at the base of the recycling chain, most often as informal waste pickers and as sorters of recyclables with limited access to resources and upward mobility. Despite a wide gender gap in the solid waste and sanitation sectors, women play a key role in both municipal waste reduction and food safety where irrigation water is unsafe. Analyzing the gender dimension is important for understanding household responses to recycling programs, differences between the formal and informal sectors as well as along the waste-to-resource value chain from collection to treatment and reuse. The report stresses the important role of women in household waste management, including waste segregation, and the power of women-dominated waste picker associations, where the informal sector plays an essential role alongside the formal sector.
Farmers / Entrepreneurs / Social marketing / Community involvement / Sanitation / Health hazards / Sustainable Development Goals / Wastewater irrigation / Composting / Organic wastes / Wastewater treatment / Recycling / Waste collection / Faecal sludge / Household wastes / Urban wastes / s participation / Womenapos / Business models / Circular economy / Agricultural value chains / Liquid wastes / Solid wastes / Waste management / Social equality / Gender equity / Water reuse / Resource management / Resource recovery Record No:H050720
The Middle East and North Africa region experiences severe socioeconomic and political impacts during droughts and faces increasing drought risk in future climate projections. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Sendai Framework and the International Drought Management Programme provide a global standard (a norm) to manage droughts through natural hazard risk reduction approaches. We use participatory engagement to evaluate whether norm diffusion has taken place in four countries. Data were collected in interviews, focus groups, workshops, and policy documents. Analysis reveals incomplete norm diffusion; stakeholders subscribe to relevant values, but national policies and implementation do not fully reflect the norm. Process tracing reveals that the availability of drought early warning data is a key barrier to risk reduction. Further more, a drought early warning system would not be feasible or sufficient unless paired with policy measures and financial mechanisms to reduce the political and economic costs of a drought declaration.
Political aspects / Insurance / Financial situation / Governance / Stakeholders / Civil societies / Government agencies / Decision making / Participatory approaches / Climate change / Groundwater / Vulnerability / Early warning systems / Declarations / Policies / Monitoring / Frameworks / Disaster risk reduction / Disaster risk management / Drought Record No:H050017
IWMI Annual report 2020 Author(s): International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Published year: 2021. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 62
This report presents a spatial analysis conducted at global scale to identify areas of high suitability for implementing the Underground Transfer of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI) approach. The study used multiple global spatial datasets, and the related data were arranged under three categories – water supply, water demand and water storage – to assess global UTFI suitability. Among the river basins with high suitability, the Awash in Ethiopia, Ramganga in India (one of the major tributaries of the Ganges River Basin) and Chao Phraya in Thailand were selected for the economic analysis in this study. The results from this study are intended to provide a first step towards identifying the broad areas (at the river basin or country scale) where more detailed investigation would be worthwhile to ascertain the technical and economic feasibility of UTFI, with greater confidence.
Models / Rural areas / Urban areas / Socioeconomic environment / Monsoon climate / Rain / Land use / Crop production / Pumps / Wells / Infrastructure / Groundwater irrigation / Stakeholders / Policies / Food security / Water security / Climate change / Water availability / Surface water / Water management / Water resources / Watershed management / Ecosystem services / Mitigation / Disaster risk reduction / Flood control / Benefit-cost ratio / Cost benefit analysis / Economic analysis / Drought / Water demand / Water supply / Water storage / Aquifers / Groundwater recharge / River basins / Flood irrigation Record No:H050008
When drought hits water-scarce regions, there are significant repercussions for food and water security, as well as serious issues for the stability of broader social and environmental systems. To mitigate these effects, environmental monitoring and early warning systems aimed at detecting the onset of drought conditions can facilitate timely and effective responses from government and private sector stakeholders. This study uses multistage, participatory research methods across more than 135 interviews, focus groups, and workshops to assess extant climatic, agricultural, hydrological, and drought monitoring systems; key cross-sector drought impacts; and drought monitoring needs in four countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Jordan. This extensive study of user needs for drought monitoring across the MENA region is informing and shaping the ongoing development of drought early warning systems, a composite drought indicator (CDI), and wider drought management systems in each country. Overarching themes of drought monitoring needs include technical definitions of drought for policy purposes; information-sharing regimes and data-sharing platforms; ground-truthing of remotely sensed and modeled data; improved data quality in observation networks; and two-way engagement with farmers, organizations, and end-users of drought monitoring products. This research establishes a basis for informing enhanced drought monitoring and management in the countries, and the broad stakeholder engagement can help foster the emergence of effective environmental monitoring coalitions.
Information exchange / Socioeconomic impact / Agriculture / Remote sensing / Hydrological factors / Indicators / Water scarcity / Farmers / Government agencies / Private sector / Stakeholders / Participatory research / Participatory approaches / Early warning systems / Environmental monitoring / Drought Record No:H049576
Climatic variability and change result in unreliable and uncertain water availability and contribute to water insecurity in Africa, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas and where water storage infrastructure is limited. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR), which comprises purposeful recharge and storage of surface runoff and treated wastewater in aquifers, serves various purposes, of which a prominent one is to provide a means to mitigate adverse impact of climate variability. Despite clear scope for this technology in Africa, the prevalence and range of MAR experiences in Africa have not been extensively examined. The objective of this article is provide an overview of MAR progress in Africa and to inform the potential for future use of this approach in the continent. Information on MAR from 52 cases in Africa listed in the Global MAR Portal and collated from relevant literature was analyzed. Cases were classified according to 13 key characteristics including objective of the MAR project, technology applied, biophysical conditions, and technical and management challenges. Results of the review indicate that: (i) the extent of MAR practice in Africa is relatively limited, (ii) the main objective of MAR in Africa is to secure and augment water supply and balance variability in supply and demand, (iii) the surface spreading/infiltration method is the most common MAR method, (iv) surface water is the main water source for MAR, and (v) the total annual recharge volume is about 158 Mm3 /year. MAR schemes exist in both urban and rural Africa, which exemplify the advancement of MAR implementation as well as its out scaling potential. Further, MAR schemes are most commonly found in areas of high inter-annual variability in water availability. If properly planned, implemented, managed, maintained and adapted to local conditions, MAR has large potential in securing water and increasing resilience in Africa. Ultimately, realizing the full potential of MAR in Africa will require undertaking hydrogeological and hydrological studies to determine feasibility of MAR, especially in geographic regions of high inter-annual climate variability and growing water demand. This, supported by increased research to gauge success of existing MAR projects and to address challenges, would help with future siting, design and implementation of MAR in Africa.
Rain / Wastewater / Water reuse / Water supply / Water quality / Water availability / Climate change / Water security / Groundwater management / Aquifers / Groundwater recharge Record No:H049796
Drought Policy and Management Author(s): McDonnell, Rachael; Fragaszy, S.; Sternberg, T.; Veeravalli, S. Published year: 2020. Pages: pp.233-253
Energy / Strategies / Social capital / Population / Farmers / Nonfarm income / Market access / Investment / Policies / Technology / Innovation platforms / Sustainability / Diversification / Intensification / Nutrition security / Food security / Agricultural development / Food systems / Farming systems Record No:H049742
Farming and food systems potentials Author(s): Dixon, J.; Boffa, J.-M.; Williams, Timothy Olalekan; de Leeuw, J.; Fischer, G.; van Velthuizen, H. Published year: 2020. Pages: pp.535-561 Series: Earthscan Food and Agriculture Series
Interventions that are robust, cost effective, and scalable are in critical demand throughout South Asia to offset growing water scarcity and avert increasingly frequent water-related disasters. This case study presents two complementary forms of intervention that transform water hazards (floodwater) into a resource (groundwater) to boost agricultural productivity and enhance livelihoods. The first intervention, holiya, is simple and operated by individual farmers at the plot/farm scale to control local flooding in semiarid climates. The second is the underground transfer of floods for irrigation (UTFI) and operates at the village scale to offset seasonal floods from upstream in humid climates. Rapid assessments indicate that holiyas have been established at more than 300 sites across two districts in North Gujarat since the 1990s, extending the crop growing season and improving water quality. UTFI knowledge and experience has grown rapidly since implementation of a pilot trial in western Uttar Pradesh in 2015 and is now embedded within government programs with commitments for modest scaling up. Both approaches can help farmers redress the multiple impacts associated with floods, droughts, and groundwater overexploitation at a range of scales from farm plot to the river basin. The potential for wider uptake across South Asia depends on setting up demonstration sites beyond India and overcoming gaps in technical knowledge and institutional capacity.
Case studies / Villages / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Farmers / Community involvement / Institutions / Social aspects / Environmental effects / Economic aspects / Sustainability / Performance evaluation / Technology assessment / Flood irrigation / Drought / Flood control / Water management / Water storage / Aquifers / Groundwater recharge Record No:H049595
Purpose: The need to increase women’s access to extension has been extensively discussed. This paper assesses women’s access to extension services through the Plantwise extension approach as a baseline for future comparison of women’s access through other extension approaches. It also assesses whether crops that men and women farmers seek plant health advice on are similar or not, and attempts to disperse assumptions that continue to be made about what crops women and men grow.
Approach: We analysed data from the Plantwise Online Management System for 13 countries using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings: We show that the Plantwise extension approach enables higher levels of women’s access than generally reported for agricultural extension, that the crops that women and men seek extension advice on is not gender dependent, and there are few clear distinctions between their crops of interest.
Practical implications: There is limited literature studying gender inclusiveness in different extension approaches. The findings add to the documentation of assessing women’s access to demand-driven extension.
Theoretical implications: Plantwise is a new extension approach which needs to be assessed from spatial and temporal perspectives to understand whether demand-driven extension enables increased women’s access over time.
Originality/value: Extension service provision is often based on assumptions about what crops are being grown. Small studies have challenged these assumptions, but this large dataset enables us to test these assumptions more thoroughly across 13 countries adding to the weight of evidence against the existence of women’s and men’s crops.
Cropping patterns / Male involvement / Women farmers / Farmer participation / s participation / Womenapos / Extension approaches / Gender analysis / Agricultural extension systems Record No:H049538
Farmers / Rural areas / Urban areas / Cost recovery / Income / Faecal sludge / Treatment plants / Industrial uses / Wastewater aquaculture / Wastewater irrigation / Drinking water / Water quality / Sanitation / Resource recovery / Water reuse / Recycling / Wastewater treatment / Waste management / Business models / Economic systems / Wastewater management Record No:H050265
Guidelines for community-led multiple use water services: evidence from rural South Africa Author(s): van Koppen, Barbara; Molose, V.; Phasha, K.; Bophela, T.; Modiba, I.; White, M.; Magombeyi, Manuel S.; Jacobs-Mata, Inga Published year: 2020. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 36 Series: IWMI Working Paper 194
The African Water Facility, together with the Water Research Commission, South Africa, as its implementing agent, supported the demonstration project Operationalizing community-led Multiple Use water Services (MUS) in South Africa. As knowledge broker and research partner in this project, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) analyzed processes and impacts at the local level, where the nongovernmental organization Tsogang Water and Sanitation demonstrated community-led MUS in six diverse rural communities in two of the poorest districts of South Africa, Sekhukhune and Vhembe districts - Ga Mokgotho, Ga Moela and Phiring in the Sekhukhune District Municipality, and Tshakhuma, Khalavha and Ha Gumbu in Vhembe District Municipality. In conventional water infrastructure projects, external state or non-state agencies plan, diagnose, design and prioritize solutions, mobilize funding, and implement the procurement of materials, recruitment of workers and construction. However, this MUS project facilitated decision-making by communities, and provided technical and institutional advice and capacity development. Based on IWMI’s evidence, tools and manuals, the project team organized learning alliances and policy dialogues from municipal to national level on the replication of community-led MUS by water services authorities; government departments of water, agriculture, and others; employment generation programs; climate and disaster management; and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
This working paper synthesizes the lessons learned about the six steps of the community-led MUS process in all six communities. The step-wise process appeared to be welcome and effective across the board. The duration of the process and the costs of facilitation, technical and institutional capacity development, and engineering advice and quality control were comparable to conventional approaches. However, the respective responsibilities of the government and communities, also in longer-term co-management arrangements, depended on the type of infrastructure. Some communities were supported to improve their communal self supply systems. In other communities, the process enabled an extension of the reticulation of borehole systems owned, operated and maintained by municipalities. Almost all households used water supplies at homesteads for multiple purposes, underscoring synergies in cross-sectoral collaboration between the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and irrigation sectors.
Households / Villages / Wages / Labour / Inclusion / s participation / Womenapos / Climate change adaptation / Decision making / Nongovernmental organizations / State intervention / Capacity building / Institutions / Financing / Costs / Collaboration / Technical aid / Innovation / Construction / Boreholes / Infrastructure / Water quality / Water storage / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Participatory approaches / Planning / Small scale systems / Communal irrigation systems / Rural communities / Guidelines / Co-management / Water supply / Multiple use water services Record No:H050124
The African Water Facility, together with the Water Research Commission, South Africa, as its implementing agent, supported the demonstration project Operationalizing community-led Multiple Use water Services (MUS) in South Africa. As knowledge broker and research partner in this project, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) analyzed processes and impacts at the local level, where the nongovernmental organization Tsogang Water and Sanitation demonstrated community-led MUS in six diverse rural communities in two of the poorest districts of South Africa, Sekhukhune and Vhembe districts - Ga Mokgotho, Ga Moela and Phiring in the Sekhukhune District Municipality, and Tshakhuma, Khalavha and Ha Gumbu in Vhembe District Municipality. In conventional water infrastructure projects, external state and non-state agencies plan, diagnose, design and prioritize solutions, mobilize funding, and implement the procurement of materials, recruitment of workers and construction. However, this MUS project facilitated decision-making by communities, and provided technical and institutional advice and capacity development. Based on IWMI’s evidence, tools and manuals, the project team organized learning alliances and policy dialogues from municipal to national level on the replication of community-led MUS by water services authorities; government departments of water, agriculture, and others; employment generation programs; climate and disaster management; and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
This working paper reports on the local findings of Ga Mokgotho and Ga Moela villages, which had completed construction works. The paper presents an in-depth analysis from the preproject situation to each of the steps of the participatory process, and highlights the resulting benefits of more water, more reliable and sustainable supplies, and multiple benefits, including a 60% and 76% increase in the value of irrigated produce in Ga Mokgotho and Ga Moela, respectively. Women were the sole irrigation manager in 68% and 60% of the households in Ga Mokgotho and Ga Moela, respectively. The user satisfaction survey highlighted communities’ unanimous preference of the participatory process, capacity development and ownership compared to conventional approaches.
Villages / Rural areas / Nongovernmental organizations / State intervention / Capacity building / s participation / Womenapos / Income / Livelihoods / Households / Water users / Financing / Irrigated farming / Livestock / Domestic water / Water use / Water distribution / Groundwater / Geohydrology / Maintenance / Boreholes / Wells / Pumps / Infrastructure / Water storage / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Water availability / Access and benefit-sharing / Innovation / Participatory approaches / Communal irrigation systems / Water supply / Community management / Multiple use water services Record No:H050123
Compendium on solar powered irrigation systems in India Author(s): Shirsath, P. B.; Saini, S.; Durga, Neha; Senoner, D.; Ghose, N.; Verma, Shilp; Sikka, Alok Published year: 2020. Publisher(s): Wageningen, Netherlands: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Pages: 68
With decreasing aquifer levels, increasing groundwater pollution, inequitable access, and generally poor management outcomes, better groundwater governance has been put forward as a recipe to address these challenges worldwide. Existing recommendations focus on improved legal frameworks, monitoring and control of access and abstraction through permits or formal rights. In addition, decentralized water management, enforcement of regulations, and supply-side technological solutions are seen as cornerstone components of good groundwater governance systems. However, until now, these approaches have generally failed to reconcile the fundamental dynamics and properties of groundwater as a natural resource and of governance as a social and political phenomenon. This has caused a disregard for local to planetary boundaries, power dynamics, and intra- and intergenerational inequalities in access to benefits from groundwater. As the current general notion of good groundwater governance is limited, solutions put forward are also partial and do not encompass the wider challenges affecting groundwater governance, in effect replacing sustainable management goals and policy for governance as a process. This paper takes a particular look at the Middle East and North Africa and agricultural groundwater use for irrigation to constructively redefine groundwater governance and fully address the multilayered and multifaceted core challenges of groundwater governance. Equally, the paper puts forward a new conceptual thinking that will help support the effective development of governance-based solutions to achieve sustainable, socially acceptable, resilient and equitable resource use.
Monitoring / Agriculture / Sustainability / Political aspects / Social aspects / Water supply / Decentralization / Legislation / Water law / Water policy / Water governance / Groundwater management Record No:H049371
There is a proactive interest in recovering water, nutrients and energy from waste streams with the increase in municipal wastewater volumes and innovations in resource recovery. Based on the synthesis of wastewater data, this study provides insights into the global and regional “potential” of wastewater as water, nutrient and energy sources while acknowledging the limitations of current resource recovery opportunities and promoting efforts to fast-track highefficiency returns. The study estimates suggest that, currently, 380 billion m3 (m3 = 1,000 L) of wastewater are produced annually across the world which is a volume fivefold the volume of water passing through Niagara Falls annually. Wastewater production globally is expected to increase by 24% by 2030 and 51% by 2050 over the current level. Among major nutrients, 16.6 Tg (Tg = million metric ton) of nitrogen are embedded in wastewater produced worldwide annually; phosphorus stands at 3.0 Tg and potassium at 6.3 Tg. The full nutrient recovery from wastewater would offset 13.4% of the global demand for these nutrients in agriculture. Beyond nutrient recovery and economic gains, there are critical environmental benefits, such as minimizing eutrophication. At the energy front, the energy embedded in wastewater would be enough to provide electricity to 158 million households. These estimates and projections are based on the maximum theoretical amounts of water, nutrients and energy that exist in the reported municipal wastewater produced worldwide annually. Supporting resource recovery from wastewater will need a step-wise approach to address a range of constraints to deliver a high rate of return in direct support of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6, 7 and 12, but also other Goals, including adaptation to climate change and efforts in advancing “netzero” energy processes towards a green economy.
Water stress / Urban population / Sustainable Development Goals / Municipal wastewater / Forecasting / Energy recovery / Energy generation / Wastewater irrigation / Fertilizers / Potassium / Phosphorus / Nitrogen / Energy sources / Nutrients / Reuse / Resource recovery / Recycling / Wastewater treatment Record No:H049500
Floodplains are particularly important in the semi-arid region of the Sub-Sahelian Africa. In this region, water governance is still being developed, often without adequate information and technical capacity for good, sustainable water resource management. However, water resources are being allocated for use with minimal sustainability considerations. Environmental flows (e-flows) include the quantity and timing of flows or water levels needed to meet the sustainable requirements of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems. Holistic regional scale e-flows linked to floodplain management can make a noticeable contribution to sustainable floodplain management. The Inner Niger Delta (IND) in Mali is an example of a vulnerable, socio-ecologically important floodplain in the Sahel region of North Africa that is being developed with little understanding of sustainability requirements. Although integrally linked to the Upper Niger River catchment, the IND sustains a million and half people within the region and exports food to surrounding areas. The flooding of the Delta is the engine of the socio-economic development as well as its ecological integrity. This paper aims to demonstrate the contribution that holistic regional e-flow assessment using the PROBFLO approach has to achieving floodplain sustainability. This can be achieved through the determining the e-flow requirements to maintain critical requirements of the ecosystems and associated services used by local vulnerable human communities for subsistence and describing the socio-ecological consequences of altered flows. These outcomes can contribute to the management of the IND. In this study, the socio-ecological consequences of altered flows have been evaluated by assessing the risk of alterations in the volume, duration, and timing of flows, to a number of ecological and social endpoints. Based on the risk posed to these endpoints by each scenario of change, an e-flow of 58% (26,685 million cubic meters (MCM) of water annually) was determined that would protect the ecosystem and maintain indicator components at a sustainable level. These e-flows also provide sustainable services to local communities including products for subsistence and limit any abnormal increases in diseases to the vulnerable African communities who live in the basin. Relative risk outputs for the development scenarios result in low-to-high-risk probabilities for most endpoints. The future development scenarios include insufficient flows to maintain sustainability during dry or low-flow periods with an increase in zero flow possibilities. Although unsuitable during the low-flow or dry periods, sufficient water is available through storage in the basin to meet the e-flows if these scenarios were considered for implementation. The IND is more vulnerable to changes in flows compared to the rivers upstream of the IND. The e-flow outcomes and consequences of altered flow scenarios has contributed to the management of vulnerable IND f
Global discourses have advocated womenapos;s empowerment as a means to enhance food security. Our objective was to critically review the causal linkages between womenapos;s empowerment and food availability and access. We relied on mixed methods and a cross-country analysis, using household survey data from Bangladesh, Nepal and Tajikistan and qualitative data from Nepal. The quantitative analysis highlights the diversity of patterns linking empowerment and food security indicators and the roles socio-economic determinants play in shaping these patterns across countries. The qualitative analysis further stresses the need for a truly intersectional approach in food security programmes that supports challenging the structural barriers that keep marginalised men and women food insecure. Lastly, our findings call for informing standardised measures of empowerment with an assessment of local meanings and values.
Strategies / Decision making / Social structure / Socioeconomic environment / Household consumption / Indicators / Malnutrition / Food shortages / Food access / Food supply / Empowerment / Women farmers / Gender / Food security Record No:H049254
Increase in salinity levels poses a threat to many hot and arid farming areas in the Middle East and North Africa region. In some cases, farmers install desalination units to produce freshwater to irrigate high-value crops. However, the produced reject brine is an environmental hazard since it is disposed off in the soil creating a vicious circle of salinity aggravation. The current work focuses on the financial aspect of using the reject brine, generated from reverse osmosis (RO) unit, to grow fish (Sparidentex hasta, sobaity sea bream) and halophytic species (Salicornia bigelovii, Distichlis spicata, and Sporobolus virginicus) for various uses in an integrated farming approach. Different water treatments (RO brine, RO brine mixed with groundwater, aquabrine, and aquabrine mixed with groundwater) were tested to evaluate their impact on halophytes’ growth and production. Irrigating with RO brine resulted in positive net returns for S. bigelovii, directed for fresh tips’ production, as well as for the grasses D. spicata and S. virginicus. However, more returns were obtained when RO brine passed through the aquaculture system where it got enriched with more nutrients due to fish waste. Irrigation with brine from the aquaculture system tripled S. bigelovii production (23.7 t/ha) and increased returns per ha of approximately US $76,000 over irrigating with RO brine directly, compared to the US $5571 and the US $1884 for D. spicata and S. virginicus, respectively. Halophytic crops constitute one of the very few sustainable options to improve food and nutrition security in salt-affected regions, contributing in lands’ rehabilitation and enhancing farming livelihood income. Halophytes also constitute an imperative component to consider for nutrient-dense production systems such as integrated agri-aquaculture systems (IAAS) implemented in desert environments, and the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats were explored through a SWOT analysis.
Cost benefit analysis / Crop production / Aquaculture / Agriculture / Desalination / Farmers / Irrigation / Environmental factors / Arid soils / Arid zones / Deserts / Halophytes / Financial situation / Economic analysis / Water resources / Saline water Record No:H049183
The Arab region needs a new generation of policies and investments in agricultural water. Agricultural water management has always posed challenges and opportunities in the Arab world. However, unprecedented and accelerating drivers such as climate change, population growth, and land degradation make agricultural water management a more urgent priority than ever before. In addition, as part of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, Arab countries have committed to work towards an ambitious set of development targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unless the right policies and investments are put in place, it will be difficult to achieve the SDGs, including ending hunger and providing clean water and sanitation for all.
This paper is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Water Management Institute to foster dialogue on agricultural water policies and investments in the context of the FAO led Regional Water Scarcity initiative. The purpose of the paper is to frame the key challenges and opportunities in the sector – including emerging innovations in digital agriculture, water accounting, water supply and wastewater reuse – and to lay out broad strategic directions for action.
Case studies / Farmers / Gender / Social protection / Economic value / Public-private partnerships / Solar energy / Technology / Innovation / Water reuse / Wastewater / Climate change / Groundwater / Water resources / Water user associations / Water productivity / Water governance / Water scarcity / Water supply / Water security / Food security / Food policies / Agricultural development / Sustainable Development Goals / Funding / Irrigation investment / Agricultural policies / Water policy / Water management / Agricultural sector Record No:H049659
IWMI, a managing partner of FISH, conducted an assessment of youth participation in SSF, aquaculture and value chains between November 2017 and May 2018. The assessment was conducted in Africa and the Asia-Pacific, with a particular focus on the FISH focal countries of Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia in Africa and Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Solomon Islands in the Asia-Pacific. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the participation of youth in fisheries and aquaculture, including opportunities and challenges for participation, (ii) understand what WorldFish and key partners (government organizations, nongovernmental organizations [NGOs] and others) are doing in the focal countries in relation to youth participation, and (iii) (based on the former two points) provide potential areas for further research that could support improved youth participation in aquaculture, SSF and value chains. In this report, definitions of SSF and aquaculture are adopted from WorldFish.
Ecosystems / Agricultural sector / Political aspects / Economic aspects / International organizations / Stakeholders / State intervention / Working conditions / Social status / Decision making / Living standards / Technology / Strategies / Policies / Income generation / Financing / Land access / Education / Access to information / s empowerment / Womenapos / Gender / Fishers / Value chains / Aquaculture / Participation / Youth employment / Small-scale fisheries Record No:H049615
The rapid development of farmer-led irrigation is increasing agricultural productivity, incomes, employment and nutrition, but it might well not achieve its full potential. Small-scale irrigators tend to be younger, male and better-off. Women and resource-poor farmers – the majority of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa– are disadvantaged and often excluded from the numerous benefits to be gained from irrigation. Equity in access to water management technologies and practices is constrained by numerous factors, including high investment costs, absence of financial services, poor market integration, inadequate information services, and labour constraints. Lack of institutions for collective management of natural resources, such as water, further restricts access for resource-poor farmers, increasing inequity. In the absence of sustainable natural resources management approaches to agricultural intensification, this situation may become more acute as natural resources become increasingly valuable, and therefore contested. Realising the full potential of farmer-led irrigation requires contextualised policies, institutions and practices to improve equity, markets and sustainability and help ensure that sector growth is inclusive and beneficial.
Despite decades of gender mainstreaming in the water sector, a wide gap between policy commitments and outcomes remains. This study aims at offering a fresh perspective on such policy gaps, by analysing how gendered discourses, institutions and professional culture contribute to policy gaps. We rely on a conceptual framework originally developed for analysing strategic change, which is used to analyse gender in the public water sector in Nepal. Our analysis relies on a review of national water policies and a series of semi-structured interviews with male and female water professionals from several public agencies. Our findings evidence how dominant discourses, formal rules and professional culture intersect to support and reproduce hegemonic masculine attitudes and practices of water professionals. Such attitudes and practices in turn favour a technocratic implementation of policy measures. We argue that gender equality policy initiatives in the water sector have overly focused on local level formal institutions and have not adequately considered the effects of masculine discourses, norms and culture to be effective in making progress towards gender equity. We conclude with policy recommendations.
Case studies / Attitudes / Decision making / Water policy / Corporate culture / Water user associations / Water institutions / s participation / Womenapos / Gender equity / Gender equality / Public water / Water supply Record No:H049394
Feminist political ecologies of the commons and commoning Author(s): Clement, Floriane; Harcourt, W. J.; Joshi, Deepa; Sato, C. Published year: 2019. Journal: International Journal of the Commons; International Journal of the Commons Pages: 13(1):1-174. (Special issue with contributions by IWMI authors)
Labour / Markets / Irrigation management / Water security / Food security / Water use / Food production / Food systems / Political aspects / Virtual water / Poverty / s participation / Womenapos / Gender analysis Record No:H049504
This paper examines whether longer training increases farm participation in community-managed water user associations, in a context where assignment to training duration was not randomized and none of these institutions existed before training began. We also examine whether participation is affected when farm managers migrate and leave farm operations to other workers, in a context where only managers have been directly trained, almost all managers are male, and females are increasingly operating farms. We collected microdata from 1855 farms in Southern Tajikistan, where farm managers in 40 subdistricts received longer training, while those in the other 40 received shorter training. These ‘treatment’ and ‘control’ subdistricts were selected by constructing propensity scores and matching without replacement to address observable selection effects that may affect assignment to training duration. Farms were then selected from a census using a stratified random sampling process. A difference-in-difference technique with right-hand-side covariates is employed, where both sets of data were collected after training was completed. This choice of econometric methods controls against farm-level selection effects, but introduces a potential bias due to measurement error. Longer training has a causal effect on increasing participation in WUAs. Results also demonstrate that when male workers not directly trained operate farms, participation is not affected; however, participation is negatively affected when female workers operate farms. These results provide evidence for designing irrigation management programs to target female workers directly, in order to strengthen institutions whose success depends on active farm participation.
Agricultural practices / Participatory management / Community management / Community involvement / Water user associations / Training / Capacity building / Male involvement / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Farmer participation / Irrigation management Record No:H049082
Data management / Agriculture / Economic growth / Partnerships / Research programmes / Gender equality / Innovation / Digital technology / Resilience / Nexus / Food security / Climate change adaptation / Ecosystems / Sustainable Development Goals / Water policy / Water use / Water security / Water governance / Water management / Water resources / Research institutes / Strategy planning Record No:H049499
Data management / Agriculture / Economic growth / Partnerships / Research programmes / Gender equality / Innovation / Digital technology / Resilience / Nexus / Food security / Climate change adaptation / Ecosystems / Sustainable Development Goals / Water policy / Water use / Water security / Water governance / Water management / Water resources / Research institutes / Strategy planning Record No:H049498
Drought is a noteworthy cause of low agricultural profitability and of crop production vulnerability, yet in numerous countries of Africa little to no consideration has been paid to readiness for drought calamity, particularly to spatial evaluation and indicators of drought occurrence. In this study, biophysical and socio-economic data, farmers’ community surveys and secondary data from remote sensing on soil characteristics and water demand were used to evaluate the predictors of drought in inland valley rice-based production systems and the factors affecting farmers’ mitigation measures. The study intervened in three West African countries located in the Sudan-Sahel zone, viz. Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria. Significant drying trends occurred at latitudes below 1130apos; whilst significant wetting trends were discerned at latitude above 1130apos;. Droughts were more frequent and had their longest duration in the states of Niger and Kaduna located in Nigeria and in western Burkina Faso during the period 1995–2014. Among 21 candidate predictors, average annual standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index and duration of groundwater availability were the most important predictors of drought occurrence in inland valleys rice based-production systems. Land ownership and gender affected the commitment of rice farmers to use any mitigation measure against drought. Drought studies in inland valleys should include climatic water balance and groundwater data. Securing property rights and focusing on women’s association would improve farmers’ resilience and advance drought mitigation measures.
s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Remote sensing / Socioeconomic environment / Land ownership / Water balance / Water availability / Groundwater / Evapotranspiration / Precipitation / Soil properties / Crop production / Farmers / Rice fields / Agricultural production / Landscape / Valleys / Drought Record No:H049050
Diverse agricultural technologies are promoted to increase yields and incomes, save time, improve food and nutritional security, and even empower women. Yet a gender gap in technology adoption remains for many agricultural technologies, even for those that are promoted for women. This paper complements the literature on gender and technology adoption, which largely focuses on reasons for low rates of female technology adoption, by shifting attention to what happens within a household after it adopts a technology. Understanding the expected benefits and costs of adoption, from the perspective of women users in households with adult males, can help explain observed technology adoption rates and why technology adoption is often not sustained in the longer term. Drawing on qualitative data from Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania, this paper develops a framework for examining the intrahousehold distribution of benefits from technology adoption, focusing on small-scale irrigation technologies. The framework contributes to the conceptual and empirical exploration of joint control over technology by men and women in the same household. Efforts to promote technology adoption for agricultural development and women’s empowerment would benefit from an understanding of intrahousehold control over technology to avoid interpreting technology adoption as an end in and of itself.
Communities / Farmer-led irrigation / Households / Decision making / s participation / Womenapos / Use rights / s empowerment / Womenapos / Gender / Agriculture / Technology transfer / Small scale systems / Irrigation Record No:H049870
What gets measured gets done! This saying implies that without quantifying what needs to be done, doing it may not be possible. This term is relevant to how African countries will implement the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, particularly in tracking progress on SDG 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. During the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), governments failed to establish baselines for measuring progress in meeting the goals. To ensure that no country is left behind, the UN came up with a list of indicators (Tiers 1-3) for tracking progress in achieving SDGs targets. Tier 1 indicators fall in conventional data sets and almost all countries have these data. The process for implementation, through domestication and localisation by countries, includes the responsibilities of reporting, tracking and monitoring. The article highlights the importance of attempts to establish a broad baseline of data on women in Africa. An Afro-barometer, drawing from UN Tier 1 indicators and using a composite index and data drawn from the World Development Indicators (WDI), is a tentative step towards a baseline for tracking progress towards achieving SDG 5 in Africa. The research established data for 52 of the 54 African countries on women for three indicators, namely: women’s political representation, maternal mortality rates and women’s labour force participation. The gaps in the available data, places a question mark over the capacity and will to measure key indicators of gender inequality by countries. Implementation and reporting is integral to the achievement of the SDGs as well as the African Agenda 2063 and call for political will and resources on the continent to move from the merely aspirational, towards the transformation that the agendas propose.
Barometers / Monitoring / UN / Equity / Labor force / Empowerment / s participation / Womenapos / Women in development / Gender / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H048618
This article presents a pilot and baseline African Green Growth Index (AGGI). The work is premised on the importance of Africa implementing green growth strategies. Baseline indicators allow countries to monitor progress towards green growth transition. The AGGI incorporates 48 indicators applied to 22 countries that had the requisite data. What emerges is that 18 out of the 22 African countries sampled scored 50 percentage points and above. The countries scoring below this threshold were: Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa. The top five countries on the AGGI (as ranked from 1-5) were: Namibia, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Togo. The authors recommend that for wider acceptance across the continent, the AGGI should work towards incorporating all 54 nations.
Case studies / Mapping / Mangroves / Coastal area / Mediterranean region / Lakes / Ecology / Surface water / Water quality / Sustainable Development Goals / Land use / Land cover / Surveys / Environmental monitoring / Environmental impact assessment / Wetlands / Earth observation satellites Record No:H049128
This report outlines a business model approach to assessing the feasibility and for encouraging investment in smallholder solar pump irrigation. It also proposes a new methodology for mapping the suitability of solar energy-based irrigation pumps. The proposed business model framework and the methodology for suitability mapping are applied to Ethiopia as a case study, based on data from existing case studies and reports. A brief analysis outlines the regulatory and institutional context for investment in solar pump irrigation, and the ways in which it both constrains and attempts to support investment. The report identifies and outlines three business model scenarios that present opportunities for investing in smallholder solar pump-based irrigation, which would contribute towards sustainable intensification for food and nutrition security. The business model scenarios are based on the value proposition of supplying water to smallholder farmers for irrigated agricultural production. Analysis of potential gains and benefits suggests that direct purchase of solar pumps by farmers is feasible, and that out-grower schemes and pump supplier options with bundled financing offer promising solutions. The potential constraints that different investors may face in up-scaling the business models are also discussed, particularly within institutional, regulatory and financial contexts. The report provides development actors and investors with evidence-based information on the suitability and sustainability of solar pump irrigation in Ethiopia, as well as suggestions for helping to enable smallholders to invest in individually-owned, smallholder photovoltaic (PV) solar pumps.
Case studies / Farmer-led irrigation / s participation / Womenapos / Small scale systems / Markets / Rural communities / Regulations / Groundwater / Water management / Water supply / Nutrition / Food security / Intensification / Investment / Agricultural production / Irrigated farming / Economic aspects / Supply chain / Financing / Agricultural financial policy / Renewable energy / Policy making / Corporate culture / Environmental impact / Environmental sustainability / Alternative methods / Farmers / Smallholders / Pumping / Irrigation practices / Irrigation methods / Energy policies / Solar energy / Models / Business management Record No:H048583
The Nile Delta and its 2.27 million ha of irrigated land makes up two thirds of Egypt’s agricultural land. It is also the terminal part of a river basin that spans and feeds 11 countries. Increases in dam and irrigation development in upstream parts of the basin is poised to conflict with agricultural expansion and population growth in Egypt. Understanding where and how waters comes into and leaves the delta is therefore a crucial question for the future of the country. This paper revisits the surface and groundwater balances of the delta, emphasizes the additional relevance of drainage water reuse and of the salt balance, and evidences a relative stability of the outflow to the sea over the past 30 years. Various reasons for such a phenomenon and the scope for saving water are explored and discussed. The confusion between plot-level and delta-level efficiency and the relatively limited gains possible are emphasized. Beyond the overall water balance and quantitative issues, water management in the delta remains a complex task of spatially distributing the resource over a complex ramified network. Finally, limitations in the analysis related to data availability and accuracy are emphasized.
Coastal area / Deltas / Flow discharge / Rivers / Pumping / Irrigation efficiency / Evapotranspiration / Evaporation / Water reuse / Drainage water / Groundwater extraction / Aquifers / Groundwater recharge / Water management / Salinity / Water balance Record No:H048576
Participatory approaches / Desalination / Drilling / Wells / Supplemental irrigation / Rainfed farming / Irrigation schemes / Financial situation / Water use / Water policy / Water rates / Water law / Surface water / Aquifers / Irrigated land / Farmers / Agriculture / Water supply / Water governance / Groundwater Record No:H048564
Advances in groundwater governance Author(s): Villholth Karen G.; Lopez-Gunn, E.; Conti, K.; Garrido, A.; Van Der Gun, J. Published year: 2018. Publisher(s): Leiden, Netherlands: CRC Press Pages: 594
Institutions / European Union / River basins / International waters / Surface water / Land management / Land use / Energy resources / Public health / Equity / Social aspects / Poverty / Capacity building / Education / Aquifers / Groundwater extraction / Groundwater management / Conflict / Cooperation / Incentives / Economic aspects / Collective action / Participatory management / Stakeholders / Legislation / Legal aspects / Sustainable Development Goals / Ecology / Water policy / Water resources / Water management / Water governance Record No:H048538
Consumption Author(s): Drechsel, Pay Published year: 2018. Pages: pp.60-65
Impacts of climate change on water resources, especially groundwater, can no longer be hidden. These impacts are further exacerbated under the integrated influence of climate variability, climate change and anthropogenic activities. The degree of impact varies according to geographical location and other factors leading systems and regions towards different levels of vulnerability. In the recent past, several attempts have been made in various regions across the globe to quantify the impacts and consequences of climate and non-climate factors in terms of vulnerability to groundwater resources. Firstly, this paper provides a structured review of the available literature, aiming to critically analyse and highlight the limitations and knowledge gaps involved in vulnerability (of groundwater to climate change) assessment methodologies. The effects of indicator choice and the importance of including composite indicators are then emphasised. A new integrated approach for the assessment of groundwater vulnerability to climate change is proposed to successfully address those limitations. This review concludes that the choice of indicator has a significant role in defining the reliability of computed results. The effect of an individual indicator is also apparent but the consideration of a combination (variety) of indicators may give more realistic results. Therefore, in future, depending upon the local conditions and scale of the study, indicators from various groups should be chosen. Furthermore, there are various assumptions involved in previous methodologies, which limit their scope by introducing uncertainty in the calculated results. These limitations can be overcome by implementing the proposed approach.
Case studies / Policy making / Household consumption / Rural areas / Drinking water / Capacity building / Education programmes / Sanitation / Water availability / Water quality / s participation / Womenapos / Gender Record No:H048234
Nile river basin Author(s): McCartney, Mathew; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria Published year: 2017. Pages: pp.1243-1250
The Nile Delta of Egypt is known for its large irrigated area supplied with water diverted from the Nile River, with a limited use of groundwater, largely for domestic and industrial use. Official statistics for the whole delta indicate that there are a few thousand individual wells used for agriculture by a population of over 2 million farmers. This study, however, shows that a phenomenon of groundwater development for irrigation has been unfolding over the last few years, largely below the radar of managers and researchers. A survey was carried out in the central part of the delta with the objective of (1) uncovering the actual situation of groundwater use in this part of the delta and (2) speculating on its implications. The results of the survey pointed to a recent and booming tube-well drilling industry, with well densities in some parts reaching one well every 2 ha. The development of groundwater abstraction in the central delta is strongly linked to inadequate and/or untimely availability of surface water in the canals. A technical, economic, and management characterization of wells complements the study, showing a continuum between purely private/individual ownership of wells and collective investments and management. Lastly, the article explores the implications of unchecked abstraction at the farm, local and delta scales.
Salinity / Spatial distribution / Economic aspects / Aquifers / Surface water / Farmers / Irrigated land / Wells / Water drilling / Deltas / Radar / Industrial uses / Domestic water / Water use / Groundwater development / Groundwater irrigation / Groundwater extraction / Legislation / Socioeconomic environment Record No:H048137
Background: Between 1955 and 2011 there were marked fluctuations in suicide rates in Sri Lanka; incidence increased six-fold between 1955 and the 1980s, and halved in the early 21st century. Changes in access to highly toxic pesticides are thought to have influenced this pattern. This study investigates variation in suicide rates across Sri Lanka’s 25 districts between 1955 and 2011. We hypothesised that changes in the incidence of suicide would be most marked in rural areas due to the variation in availability of highly toxic pesticides in these locations during this time period.; Methods: We mapped district-level suicide rates in 1955, 1972, 1980 and 2011. These periods preceded, included and postdated the rapid rise in Sri Lanka’s suicide rates. We investigated the associations between district-level variations in suicide rates and census-derived measures of rurality (population density), unemployment, migration and ethnicity using Spearman’s rank correlation and negative binomial models.; Results: The rise and fall in suicide rates was concentrated in more rural areas. In 1980, when suicide rates were at their highest, population density was inversely associated with area variation in suicide rates (r = -0.65; p lt; 0.001), i.e. incidence was highest in rural areas. In contrast the association was weakest in 1950, prior to the rise in pesticide suicides (r = -0.10; p = 0.697). There was no strong evidence that levels of migration or ethnicity were associated with area variations in suicide rates. The relative rates of suicide in the most rural compared to the most urban districts before (1955), during (1980) and after (2011) the rise in highly toxic pesticide availability were 1.1 (95% CI 0.5 to 2.4), 3.7 (2.0 to 6.9) and 2.1 (1.6 to 2.7) respectively.; Conclusions: The findings provide some support for the hypothesis that changes in access to pesticides contributed to the marked fluctuations in Sri Lanka’s suicide rate, but the impact of other factors cannot be ruled out.
Epidemiology / Temporal variation / Poisoning / Pesticides / Suicide / Social phenomena / Social change / Social behaviour / Socioeconomic environment Record No:H048135
Water-energy-food nexus: principles and practices Author(s): Salam, P. A.; Shrestha, S.; Pandey, Vishnu Prasad; Anal, A. K. Published year: 2017. Publisher(s): NJ, USA: Wiley; Washington, USA: American Geophysical Union (AGU) Pages: 252
Case studies / Filtration / Riverbanks / Research institutions / Cultivation / Rice / Crop production / Carbon footprint / Climate change / Rural areas / River basins / International waters / International cooperation / Developing countries / Sustainable Development Goals / Policy making / Development policy / Nexus / Food security / Food resources / Energy resources / Water management / Water resources Record No:H048731
Gender in irrigation learning and improvement tool Author(s): Lefore, Nicole; Weight, Elizabet; Rubin, D. Published year: 2017. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) Pages: 40
Monitoring / Investment / Performance evaluation / Governance / Participatory approaches / Agricultural production / Domestic water / Water use / Water resources / Land allocation / Literacy / Training / Learning / Stakeholders / Irrigation schemes / Policy making / Decision making / Irrigation schemes / Equity / Men / s participation / Womenapos / Gender Record No:H048080
Urban and rural households in low income countries rely on traditional biomass fuels such as charcoal and firewood for cooking and heating purposes, which has an adverse effect on forest resources and on people’s health. A major reason for people to continue these as main sources of fuel for cooking is lack of affordable and reliable alternative sources of energy. Briquettes present a great opportunity to replace traditional biomass fuels for domestic and institutional cooking and industrial heating processes. Through designing and implementing a viable briquette business model, we emphasise that there is a commercial case for the briquette business in Ghana.
s participation / Womenapos / Environmental policy / Briquettes / Biofuels / Models / Business management Record No:H048415
Stakeholders / Water power / Downstream / Upstream / Economic aspects / Political aspects / River basin / Dam construction / Project management / Corporate culture / Collective action / International waters / Water governance Record No:H048357
Cooperation / Socioeconomic environment / Water distribution / Water governance / Turbulent flow / River basins / Dams / Political aspects / Collective action Record No:H048345
Women’s empowerment has been a key tenet of international water security programmes. Discourses on water envision that enhanced access to water resources can transform disempowered women into successful rural entrepreneurs. However, because such programmes often rely on simplistic representations of water, gender relations, and empowerment, they risk perpetuating and exacerbating gender inequalities.; Our study unpacks the storylines that drive water security interventions in the rural Global South, based on the case study of a donor-funded project in Nepal. The latter explicitly aimed at empowering women by improving their access to water for domestic and productive uses and by transforming women into rural entrepreneurs and grassroots leaders. We largely used qualitative methodologies, based on focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with households and key informants. Fieldwork was conducted in two villages targeted by the programme located in two districts of Far-Western Nepal.; Our findings show that the gender myths and models that drive water security programmes, e.g. women as individual decision-makers and entrepreneurs, fail to adequately consider intra-household relationships and negotiations and the values that give meaning to women’s agency. Such programmes tend to perpetuate predominant gendered norms, practices and unequal power relationships within households and communities. We recommend that water security programmes rely on more nuanced and context-specific understandings of women’s empowerment that go beyond enhanced access to resources and agency to include knowledge, critical consciousness and values. It is also important that such initiatives involve men and women – rather than exclusively targeting women – and initiate critical reflections on gender roles and masculinities.
Case studies / Social status / Vegetables / Economic aspects / Nongovernmental organizations / International organizations / Horticulture / Small scale farming / Households / Domestic water / Gender / s participation / Womenapos / Empowerment / Water resources / Water security Record No:H048332
Irrigation efficiency and the Nile Delta water balance Author(s): Molle, Francois; Gaafar, I.; El-Agha, D. E.; Rap, Edwin Published year: 2016. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 53
Ponds / Aquaculture / Irrigated farming / Industrial uses / Domestic water / Pumping / Evaporation / Evapotranspiration / Recharge / Aquifers / Drainage / Rivers / Deltas / Rain / Groundwater management / Water use / Water reuse / Water balance / Irrigation efficiency Record No:H048253
Institutions for irrigation water management in Ethiopia: assessing diversity and service delivery Author(s): Haileslassie, Amare; Hagos, Fitsum; Agide, Z.; Tesema, E.; Hoekstra, D.; Langan, Simon Published year: 2016. Publisher(s): Nairobi, Kenya: Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Pages: 31 Series: Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) Working Paper 17
Irrigation systems cannot ensure the equitable distribution of water among users and sustainable operation and maintenance of the schemes without capable irrigation institutions. In Ethiopia, traditional institutions have emerged with the expansion of traditional irrigation schemes and most of them were established and operated on the initiative of the farmers. These often have very limited financial and technical capacities. Current trends show that developing infrastructure is the major concern in irrigation development efforts. However, managing the schemes is largely overlooked, particularly for externally initiated irrigation schemes. Operation and maintenance of the irrigation schemes, particularly those at tertiary levels, are commonly not well set and often neglected or left to farmers without building their capacities. The overarching objectives of the study were to: i) assess the nature and diversity of irrigation institutions in the study schemes; ii) evaluate existing institutions service delivery with respect to selected attributes and draw useful lessons; and iii) identify appropriate interventions. This study focused on 10 irrigation schemes located in four regional states of Ethiopia (Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and SNNP). Various approaches were used to generate data required for this study, such as household interview, transect walk and systematic observation, focus group discussion, key informant interviews and the review of existing literature. We clustered the study schemes as modern, semi-modern and traditional, using selected criteria (operation and maintenance service delivery, managing financial service delivery, level of inequity) to generate empirical evidence for evaluation of their performances. The results found two forms of irrigation institutions: irrigation water users associations (IWUA) and irrigation cooperatives or water committee. More than 30% of the irrigation schemes considered in the study, regardless of their typology, had no institution. Membership in the irrigation institution for traditional schemes was 100%, while the average membership both in modern and semi-modern schemes was about 70% of the respondents. This contrasts with the new proclamation in Ethiopia on IWUA which suggest mandatory membership for any water user in a scheme. Without exception bylaws were either not detailed enough to address scheme specific problems or not recorded at all. Ambiguity associated with these, and probably presence of non-member water users, deterred the decision-making processes and the enforcement of rules and regulations for water use, thus create opportunities for free riders. This also explains the reason for occasional conflict between irrigators and the inequity of water distribution within scheme. In many cases, irrigation institutions service delivery limited to operational management and other services, such as financial management, were not common even at those schemes where irrigation fee exists. Problems
s participation / Womenapos / Sedimentation / Sustainable agriculture / Organization / Financial situation / Irrigation water / Water supply / Water user associations / Water users / Water governance / Water distribution / Equity / Institutions / Performance evaluation / Water management / Irrigation systems / Irrigation schemes / Irrigation management Record No:H047677
IWMI Annual report 2015 Author(s): International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Published year: 2016. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 28
The role of land registration in reducing rural poverty has been debated for several decades. This article analyses the impacts of land registration on land rentals, security of land tenure, disputes over land, use of credit facilities from formal financial institutions and gender access and control over land. Our findings are based on data collected between April and December 2011 in irrigation systems in three regional states of Ethiopia using in-depth interviews and field surveys. Land registration has a positive influence on land rentals by reducing the fear of landholders in losing land to renters. Important benefits of land registration also include enhancing tenure security through ensuring usufruct rights over land and addressing the conflicts that arise from the competition to access irrigable land. Joint land titling secures womenapos;s access to land and encourages womenapos;s decision-making on land rentals, input use, cropping patterns and the marketing of harvest from irrigable plots. While land registration allows for improved tenure security, gender equity and reduced disputes over land, it does little to facilitate access to credit or increase the use of farm inputs. The findings suggest that more work needs to be carried out to translate the benefits of land registration into improved livelihoods by increasing investment in farm inputs, production of high value, off-season crops and increase market participation.
Surveys / Farming / Crop production / Investment / Irrigation systems / Equity / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Living standards / Poverty / Households / Farmers / Smallholders / Rural communities / Land ownership / Land rent / Land use / Land tenure / Land registration Record No:H046949
Labour / Crops / Community organizations / Decision making / Field preparation / Private farm / Cultivated land / Agriculture / Small scale farming / Irrigation management / Irrigation water / Farmers / Female labour / s participation / Womenapos / Role of women / Household food security / Food security / Equity / Land productivity / Water rates / Water supply / Water availability / Water management / Water governance / Water productivity / Water user associations Record No:H047854
Living standards / Private farms / Farm area / Cultivated land / Crop yield / Financing / Canals / Infrastructure / Irrigation water / Irrigation management / Impact assessment / Cotton industry / Agricultural sector / s participation / Womenapos / Role of women / Gender / Food security / Equity / Land productivity / Waterlogging / Water supply / Watercourses / Water governance / Water management / Water productivity / Water user associations Record No:H047847
The attainment of food and water security rank high on the agendas of governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although the objectives are similar, the underlying drivers, resource endowments and opportunities for achieving them are different. Differences between two regions in natural resource endowment and investment capital stock can, in theory, lead to mutually beneficial trade to achieve desired objectives. Concerns about the recent food crises coupled with the disparity in land and water endowment and investable capital between MENA and SSA have led in recent years to investment in agricultural land in the latter by a number of MENA countries with the aim of producing food. At the same time, many SSA countries seek these investments to infuse capital, technology and know-how into their agricultural sector to improve productivity, food security and rural livelihoods. However, these recent foreign direct agricultural investments have to date performed poorly or have been abandoned without achieving the initial objectives of setting them up. Based on research conducted in selected sub-Saharan countries, this paper analyses the reasons for the failure of these investments. It then reviews a few successful agricultural investments by private sector companies with a long history of operation in SSA. Juxtaposing lessons distilled from failed and successful case studies, the paper argues that large-scale agricultural investments that take advantage of this accumulated knowledge are needed and do have a critical role to play. Such investments, when they also incorporate ecosystems management practices and smallholder inclusive business models in their operations, can serve as appropriate instruments to reconcile the food and water security objectives of both the MENA region and SSA, while promoting sustainable intensification of agriculture and improved rural livelihoods in SSA.
Ecosystems / Social aspects / Economic aspects / Environmental impact / Water rights / Land rights / Irrigated land / Farmland / Rural areas / Models / Business management / Foreign investment / Living standards / Suburban agriculture / Land resources / Water resources / Water security / Food security Record No:H047274
Oases / Political aspects / State intervention / Conflict / Cooperatives / Community management / Wells / Traditional methods / Strategies / Water users / Groundwater depletion / Water pricing / Water supply / Incentives / Agriculture / Surface water / Groundwater irrigation / Water policy / Decentralization / Regulations / Water law / Groundwater extraction / Aquifers / Water resources / Water governance / Groundwater management Record No:H048385
Potential business opportunities from saline water and salt-affected land resources Author(s): Qadir, M.; Noble, Andrew D.; Karajeh, F.; George, B. Published year: 2015. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) Pages: 29 Series: Resource Recovery and Reuse Series 05
Case studies / Trees / Deltas / Irrigation / Greenhouses / Horticulture / Solar energy / Energy generation / Phosphogypsum / Magnesium / Soil properties / Freshwater / Recycling / Water reuse / Drainage water / Water productivity / Water resources / Aquaculture / Ecosystems / Crop production / Desalination / Soil salinity / Sodic soils / Saline water / Land degradation / Land resources Record No:H046996
Research in development: learning from the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems Author(s): Douthwaite, B.; Apgar, J. M.; Schwarz, A.; McDougall, C.; Attwood, S.; Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali; Clayton, T. Published year: 2015. Publisher(s): Penang, Malaysia: CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems Pages: 96 Series: CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems Working Paper: AAS-2015-16
Case studies / Capacity building / Resource management / Ecology / Social aspects / Participatory approaches / Fish culture / Farmers / Reclaimed land / Floodplains / Empowerment / Stakeholders / Community involvement / Ownership / Aquatic environment / Households / Men / s participation / Womenapos / Equity / Gender / Partnerships / Less favoured areas / Agricultural research / Development theory Record No:H047452
Farming / Water user associations / Decision making / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Institutions / Irrigation schemes / Water resources / Water governance Record No:H047394
Land use / Crop management / Irrigation efficiency / Collective action / Pumps / Drainage / Irrigation canals / Water requirements / Water balance / Water supply Record No:H048363
Land reform / Economic aspects / Sanitation / Government departments / Local government / Irrigation water / Domestic water / Water allocation / Water policy / Legislation / Legal aspects / Living standards / Poverty / Womans status / Gender / Institutions / Water management / Water productivity / Water use / Water law / Water rates / Water supply / Water rights / Human rights Record No:H047308
Case studies / Local authorities / Legislation / Legal aspects / Periurban areas / Urban areas / Rural areas / Empowerment / Living standards / Colonialism / Political aspects / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Landscape / Water policy / Multiple use / Domestic water / Water law / Water use / Water governance / Legal aspects / Sanitation / Human rights Record No:H047295
Branch canal water user associations in the Central Nile Delta Author(s): Rap, Edwin; Molle, Francois; Al-Agha, D. E.; Ismail, A.; El Hassan, W. A. Published year: 2015. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 54
Deltas / Training / Empowerment / Corporate culture / Irrigation management / Administration / Farmers / Sustainability / Canals / Water user associations Record No:H048367
Spatial and temporal variability of water quality in the Nile delta Author(s): Al-Agha, D. E.; Molle, Francois; El Baily, M.; El Desouqy, E.; El-Hassan, W. A. Published year: 2015. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 26
Saline water / Cultivated land / Drainage / Equity / Land productivity / Collective action / Water management / Water productivity / Water distribution / Water user associations / Pumps / Farmers / Financial situation / Costs / Economic aspects / Irrigation programs Record No:H048362
This paper assessed water management by households from three ethnic groups in two contrasting ecological settings (upland and lowland) in the Upper Ping River Basin in Northern Thailand. Important gender differences in the use and management of water were identified. Women are major users of water for agriculture in the uplands, but less so in the lowlands. In the lowlands irrigation is viewed as a masculine activity. In the uplands the role of women is more widely accepted, with women frequently being members of water user groups. Men, however, dominate ‘decision-making’ positions in communitybased and state-led water organisations in both upland and lowland areas. Perceptions of contributions to daily tasks, and behavioural traits important to governance roles, differed between men and women, and sometimes also across eco-cultural contexts, underlining the complexity of factors influencing gender relations in water governance.
Culture / Economic aspects / Decision making / Farmers / River basins / Households / Ethnic groups / Urbanization / Agrarian reform / Men / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Water shortage / Water users / Water use / Water governance / Water management Record No:H047364
This study was undertaken to analyze farmers’ adaption to water scarcity in the command area of a secondary canal in the Nile Delta of Egypt. The results revealed that farmers’ responses were driven by a multiplicity of factors, beyond water scarcity or profit maximization. These additional factors include food security of the family, risk management, social capital and history of farmers, and most unexpectedly the collective dimension of crop choice. The findings of this study expose the limitations of projects, modeling exercises or policy recommendations that are too often based on the oversimplified view of profit maximization as the basis of farming system dynamics.
Case studies / Profitability / Cost benefit analysis / Pumps / Drainage water / Food security / Irrigated farming / Irrigation water / Yields / Crop management / Conflict / Adaptation / Farmers / Canals / Deltas / Water availability / Water scarcity Record No:H046836
Assessment of India’s integrated agrometeorological advisory service from a farmer perspective Author(s): Venkatasubramanian, K.; Tall, A.; Hansen, J.; Aggarwal, Pramod Published year: 2014. Publisher(s): Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Pages: 65 Series: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Working Paper 54
This report summarizes the results of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) commissioned evaluation of India’s Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (AAS). Conducted June-July of 2012, this assessment was a joint endeavour of CCAFS, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The assessment sought to offer transferable lessons that can guide investment in climate/agro-meteorological advisory services elsewhere in the world. Researchers conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 132 male and female farmers in eighteen villages across six states about how they receive and use AAS advisories, perceived gaps, and suggestions for improvement. The assessment uncovered the key role of diverse communications approaches. In villages where many communications channels were used to disseminate AAS information, such as SMS and voice messaging, meetings and trainings with agricultural extension officers, local knowledge centers, farmers clubs, and announcements over the microphone in villages, awareness and use of AAS advisories was higher. Farmers noted that trainings and discussions with agricultural extension officers at the village level were their preferred form of receiving information. However, ensuring wide representation in discussions is critical. In villages where women were fully ngaged in receiving and disseminating AAS information, use and potential benefit from the program were maximized. Women overall had lower awareness of AAS than men do, indicating the importance of targeting women and information that responds to the demands of women in communications efforts. The establishment of specific trainings and discussions on AAS for women farmers in the villages was recommended by farmers, as were trainings and interactions with scientists that all farmers can attend. Membership in women’s or farmers groups may be a positive factor in increasing awareness of AAS information, and extension services targeting existing local groups could be a strategy for increasing the impact of AAS information.
Non governmental organizations / Stakeholders / Climate change / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Assessment / Advisory services / Farmer participation / Agriculture / Agrometeorology Record No:H046810
Irrigation with wastewater supports agricultural production and the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in many parts of the world. Considering the importance of better wastewater management at the local and national levels, there is a need for updated national data on wastewater generation, treatment, and use, which would also assist in regional and global wastewater assessments. While searching data and literature in published or electronic forms for 181 countries, we find that only 55 countries have data available on all three aspects of wastewater – generation, treatment, and use. The number of countries with one or two aspects of wastewater generation, treatment, and use is 69, while there is no information available from 57 countries. Of the available information, only 37% of the data could be categorized as recent (reported during 2008–2012). The available data suggest that high-income countries on average treat 70% of the generated wastewater, followed by upper-middle-income countries (38%), lower-middle-income countries (28%), and low-income countries, where only 8% of the wastewater generated is treated. The availability of current information on wastewater generation, treatment, and use is crucially important for policy makers, researchers, and practitioners, as well as public institutions, to develop national and local action plans aiming at safe and productive use of wastewater in agriculture, aquaculture, and agroforestry systems. The country level information aggregated at the regional and global levels would help in identifying the gaps in pertinent data availability and assessing the potential of wastewater in food, feed, and fish production at different scales.
Developing countries / Developed countries / USSR / Water use / Freshwater / Water management / Wastewater irrigation / Wastewater treatment Record No:H046106
Decision making / Corporate culture / Participation / Stakeholders / Farmers / Sustainability / Collective action / Water management / Water user associations Record No:H048361
Financial situation / Pumps / Planning / Project management / Irrigation scheduling / Irrigation systems / Traditional farming / Best practices / Water distribution / Water supply / Water user associations / Water allocation / Water management Record No:H048360
Aquaculture / Land use / Farming systems / Cropping systems / Groundwater / Drainage systems / Administrative structures / Socioeconomic environment / Surveys / Canals / Deltas / Wastewater treatment / Drinking water / Water quality / Water policy / Water reuse / Water levels / Water supply / Water management Record No:H048359
Wastewater treatment practices in Africa - experiences from seven countries Author(s): Nikiema, Josiane; Figoli, A.; Weissenbacher, N.; Langergraber, G.; Marrot, B.; Moulin, P. Published year: 2013. Journal: Sustainable Sanitation Practice Pages: 14(January):26-34. (Selected contributions from the 1st
WATERBIOTECH conference, Cairo, Egypt, 9-11 October 2012)
In this paper, existing wastewater treatment practices in 7 African countries, i.e. Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, are reported. Data were collected by questioning wastewater treatment plants managers as well as treated wastewater users in 2012. This study showed that 0.2 to 63 L/d/person of wastewater are treated in these countries, with the higher levels obtained for North Africa. Technically, treatment plants (mostly activated sludge and waste stabilization ponds) deal with high organic loads, uncontrolled input, power cuts and increasing wastewater flow rates. Poor operation and maintenance (Oamp;M), in part caused by the lack of funds, high energy costs and lack of re-investments, is also a serious reported issue. Consequently, treatment plants often deliver insufficient effluent quality, which negatively affects the environment and acceptability of stakeholders towards the treated water. Other challenges, such as water availability, long-term impacts, financial and social constraints, affecting the reuse, are also discussed.
Sanitation / Ponds / Sewage sludge / Water reuse / Wastewater treatment / Wastewater management Record No:H045621
What do we require from water biotechnologies in Africa? Author(s): Weissenbacher, N.; Nikiema, Josiane; Garfi, M.; Figoli, A. Published year: 2013. Journal: Sustainable Sanitation Practice Pages: 14(January):35-40. (Selected contributions from the 1st WATERBIOTECH conference, Cairo, Egypt, 9-11 October 2012)
When discussing water and sanitation issues, technology is often seen as the key element by many stakeholders. Within a multinational project, the opportunity was taken to analyse the experiences with the existing water infrastructure to look behind this assumption and – if not working satisfactory – to identify the key requirements that obviously have not been met. Following this, it should be possible to prepare a set of requirements to learn from this. A three stage questionnaire for different stakeholder level (authorities, operators and end users) has been launched in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. Some main obstacles towards sustainable biological wastewater treatment could then be identified. The reader expecting specific technical suggestions might be disappointed but the key messages that are relevant for all the different conditions of the four North African and the three Sub Saharan countries are presented. The given requirements tackle issues that are unfortunately not only of technical nature and are (almost) all linked to each other.
Energy demand / Sanitation / Urine / Biotechnology / Water reuse / Wastewater treatment Record No:H045620
Case studies / Runoff / Population growth / Investment / Irrigation management / Living conditions / Social aspects / Economic aspects / Fisheries / Livestock / Smallholders / Farmers / Land tenure / Land use / Energy consumption / Administration / Water governance / Water policy / Development policy / Legal aspects / Water use / Water market / Water supply / Water demand / Corporate culture / Institutions / Water availability / Water productivity / Water quality / Water scarcity / Climate change / Ecosystems / Downstream / Upstream / River basins / Indicators / Mapping / Water poverty / Rural poverty / Irrigated farming / Rainfed farming / Farming systems / Crop production / Food security / Rain water management / Groundwater management / Water resources development / Water management Record No:H045033
Labour / Water supply / Electricity supplies / Water power / Irrigation / Case studies / Income / Households / Value added / Models / Reservoirs / Dams / Economic impact Record No:H044915
Case studies / Runoff / Population growth / Investment / Irrigation management / Living conditions / Social aspects / Economic aspects / Fisheries / Livestock / Smallholders / Farmers / Land tenure / Land use / Energy consumption / Administration / Water governance / Water policy / Development policy / Legal aspects / Water use / Water market / Water supply / Water demand / Corporate culture / Institutions / Water availability / Water productivity / Water quality / Water scarcity / Climate change / Ecosystems / Downstream / Upstream / River basins / Indicators / Mapping / Water poverty / Rural poverty / Irrigated farming / Rainfed farming / Farming systems / Crop production / Food security / Rain water management / Groundwater management / Water resources development / Water management Record No:H044835
This paper provides an overview of poverty levels, hydrology, agricultural production systems and water productivity in the Nile Basin. There are opportunities to manage water better in the basin for use in agriculture to improve food security, livelihoods and economic growth by taking into account not only the water in the river, but also by improving management of the rain water. Crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture have long been important in the Nile but do not feature in the water discourse.
Irrigation / Ecosystems / Highlands / Flow discharge / Fisheries / Livestock / Crop production / Economic growth / Food security / Wetlands / Lakes / Water accounting / Water productivity / Water availability / Poverty / Living conditions / Social aspects / Agricultural production / Rain water management / Water management / River basins Record No:H044843
Although the different roles of men and women in agriculture in different parts of Sub-Saharan Africa have been widely acknowledged, there have not been consistent efforts to collect data on these patterns. This paper presents a way of classifying gendered farm management systems and then describes pilots of four different approaches to collecting and georeferencing information on the dominant pattern in each area. Case studies from existing literature provided valuable insights but represent a time-consuming method, limited in spatial coverage and often leaving gaps because the original study authors did not report on all of the aspects of interest for a gendered farm management systems analysis. Expert consultations conducted in Ghana and Zambia allowed for dialogue among participants during map development, permitting them to explore nuances and dynamics. However, this technique may be restricted in scale to one country at a time, limiting cross-national comparison. An open online survey, or crowdsourcing, of the information tapped into a wide range of expertise, providing difficult-to-obtain widespread coverage, but had inconsistent data quality. Mapping of georeferenced information from nationally representative data could potentially provide widespread and relatively accurate data, but thus far the relevant underlying data have not been consistently included in large-scale surveys. Gender mapping offers an important step toward greater awareness of the diverse gender roles in agricultural farm management systems, but gaps remain between field reality and the understanding of gender relations in research, on the one hand, and between the researchers’ understanding and what can be displayed on a map, on the other. Addressing these gaps requires developing a consensus on the key variables that characterize gendered farming systems, collecting these data systematically, and then linking the data to other spatial information for use in planning and prioritizing development interventions.
Water management / Surveys / Households / Case studies / s participation / Womenapos / Farming systems / Farm management / Agricultural production / Mapping / Gender Record No:H045510
Irrigated sites / Sanitation / Drinking water / Livestock / Land ownership / s participation / Womenapos / Decision making / Indicators / Equity / Water resources / Social aspects / Gender Record No:H045303
This paper examined the gender analysis of land use for urban agriculture and sustainability of Livelihoods in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This is predicated on the fact that despite the stated contribution of urban agriculture (UA) to household food security, employment generation and poverty reduction, it has not received due recognition and policy support. The study was carried out in Freetown, Sierra Leone using a cluster sampling approach. From a list of 20 clusters, 6 were randomly selected and 10% of members in each cluster selected randomly (nmale = 30; nfemale = 61; n = 91) were interviewed. A survey research design was adopted in this study and the respondents for the study were stratified in terms of gender and UA enterprises. The majority of producers were female with the gross margin on male and female managed farms were 15130 and 23895 Leones per farm/ season respectively. Also, female managed farm had a higher return than male managed farms. Significant determinants of contribution of the UA income to household income are household size (t = -5.13), access to credit (t = 4.09), membership of farmers’ association (t = 4.23), gender (t = -2.40), age (t = 1.78) and farm size (t = -4.97). As household size and the number of male producers increases, income from UA decreases.
Vegetable growing / Farmers / Food security / Income / Households / Living standards / Urban agriculture / Land use / s participation / Womenapos / Gender Record No:H045432
Overview of groundwater in the Nile River Basin Author(s): MacAlister, Charlotte; Pavelic, Paul; Tindimugaya, C.; Ayenew, T.; Ibrahim, M. E.; Meguid, M. A. Published year: 2012. Pages: pp.186-211
Aquaculture / Fisheries / Land productivity / Rain water harvesting / Economic aspects / Water productivity / Crops / Agricultural production / Rainfed farming / Irrigated farming / Farming systems / River basins Record No:H045315
Costs / Financing / Policy / Wells / Water springs / Spate irrigation / Community involvement / Irrigation schemes / Irrigation management / Conflict / Water supply / Water saving / Water management / Research projects / Water user associations Record No:H046140
Electricity generation / Irrigation / Vectorborne diseases / Health hazards / Water quality / River basins / Flow / Ecosystems / Rivers / Social aspects / Environmental effects / Decision making / Decision support systems / Water management / Dams Record No:H043883
Benefit sharing is a mechanism that can enable riparian countries to share diverse benefits derived from water resources generally rather than physical water per se. This approach transforms trans-boundary water governance from a Zero Sum Scenario (ZSS) to Positive Sum Outcomes (PSO), where all stakeholders benefit from cooperation. The Zero Sum Scenario undermines collective action because gains by one actor or country results in loss to others as in the Chayanovian model. Zero sum scenarios imply sharing a cake of a fixed size. Viewed through a Boserupian lens, benefit sharing opens up the possibility of expanding the size of the ‘cake’ so that all users can gain from effective water utilization. Some researchers argue that, although benefit sharing sounds simple and logical, the application of the concept is difficult in practice. This study aims to assess how transboundary institutions could adopt a benefit sharing framework in the Eastern Nile River sub-basin in the context of the shifting political landscape in Egypt and the reconfiguration of political boundaries due to the division of Sudan into two countries which is most likely going to increase chances of cooperation within the Blue Nile.
International cooperation / Institutions / International Waters / River basins / Models / Water use / Water resources Record No:H045739
The division of Central Asia into several independent states, and the transition from the centrally planned economy to a market economy in the majority of those states, affected all sectors and all social levels in the region. One such example is irrigation. Centrally planned and financed from Moscow, on-farm irrigation systems were managed by collective farms. The process of decentralization through the dismantling of collective farms led to a restructuring of services and infrastructure throughout Central Asia. Water users associations (WUAs) have been established to transfer on-farm irrigation management to farmers throughout the region, including Uzbekistan. Many women in Uzbekistan actively participate in farming activities, so their role in the on-farm irrigation restructuring process is important. Yet, the findings from this study suggest that participation of women is very limited in WUAs as very few women are registered as land owners. Because of high levels of migration by men to other countries, farm activities are mostly carried out by women. Despite this, womens decision-making power within their farms is limited.
Economic aspects / Water user associations / River basins / Case studies / Institutions / Irrigation management / Irrigated farming / Agriculture / s participation / Womenapos / Gender Record No:H044728
Benefit sharing is a mechanism that can enable riparian countries to share diverse benefits derived from water rather than physical water per se. This approach transforms transboundary water governance from a Zero Sum Scenario (ZSS) to Positive Sum Outcomes (PSO), where all stakeholders benefit from cooperation. The Zero Sum Scenario undermines collective action because gains by one actor or country results in loss to others as in the Chayanovian model. Zero sum scenarios imply sharing a cake of a fixed size. Viewed through a Boserupian lens, benefit sharing opens up the possibility of expanding the size of the ‘cake’ so that all users can gain from effective water utilization. Some researchers argue that although benefit sharing sounds simple and logical, the application of the concept is difficult in practice. This study aims to assess how transboundary institutions could adopt benefit sharing framework in the Eastern Nile River Sub-basin in the context of the shifting political landscape in Egypt and the reconfiguration of political boundaries due to the division of Sudan into two countries which is most likely going to increase chances of cooperation within the Blue Nile.
River basins / Case studies / Water governance / International waters / Benefits Record No:H044580
This paper provides the methodology and results of a cross-scale diagnostic performance assessment program of the irrigation water management in the old lands of the Nile Delta of Egypt. The analysis was done at three levels; main canal level, branch canals level and on-farm level of the Meet Yazid command (82,740 ha) for the year 2008–2009 to highlight areas for improvement. At the main canal level the annual average percentage of irrigation water returning to drains and groundwater was 53% of the total water supplied. Since Meet Yazid lies at tail end of the delta, and there is groundwater salinity, opportunities for reuse are increasingly limited moving north to Lake Burullus. This would indicate opportunities for real water savings. The results of monthly relative water supply of the main canal indicated mismatch between demand and supply especially during the winter months, and when supply is low farmers do reuse drainage or groundwater. Also, the assessment of the three branch canals showed non-uniformity of water distribution and mismatch between demand and supply even when comparing improved and non-improved canals. At the on-farm level in paddy fields, the amount of irrigation flows to drains and saline sinks varied from 0.46 to 0.71 of inflow. In spite of these values of non-uniformity and low depleted fraction, the relative evapotranspiration (ratio of actual to potential) evaporation was uniformly high, indicating most crops of most farmers were not water stressed, which is also confirmed by the high yield values. The average values of productivity per unit water depleted by ETact were 1.04 and 1.05 kg/m 3 for rice and wheat fields, respectively, with yields of rice and wheat at 8 and 6 t per ha respectively. On farm and tertiary improvements alone will not yield real water savings, as excess water in the main canal and drains will continue to flow out of the system. Rather the focus should first be on supplies to the main canal, accompanied by more precise on farm and water delivery practices at branch and tertiary levels, and ensuring that environmental flows are met. There is an added advantage of focusing on this tail end region of Egypt that this response would lessen vulnerability to reuse of polluted and saline water.
Economic aspects / Canals / Water productivity / Water depletion / Water supply / Cropping patterns / Indicators / Evapotranspiration / Water saving / Deltas / Water management / Irrigation water Record No:H045473
Remote sensed imagery in combination with secondary agricultural statistic was used to map crop water productivity (WP) in the Nile River Basin. Land productivity and crop tandardized gross value production (SGVP) were calculated at administrative level using the agricultural census data. Actual evapotranspiration (Eta) generated from remote sensing was used to assess crops consumptive water use. WP was then calculated by dividing SGVP by Eta in the cropped areas. Results show land productivity has a huge variation across the basin. SGVP per hectare in the basin varies from 20 $/ha to 1833 $/ha. Likewise SGVP, water productivity in the basin is highly variable. It ranges from 0.01 $/m3 to 0.2 $/m3. Observed patterns in the water productivity indicate that WP differences in the Nile basin are highly related to crop yield, which varies in different regions and also in irrigated and rainfed systems. Similarly, overall low WP is because of low yields, chiefly rainfed agriculture. This indicates that there is scope for enhancing WP in the Nile Basin through expanding irrigated agriculture and generally increasing yield.
Economic aspects / Pricing / Rainfed farming / Irrigated farming / Farming systems / Evapotranspiration / Land cover / Land use / Land productivity / Data / Remote sensing / River basins / Mapping / Water productivity / Crops Record No:H044424
Eighty percent of the fresh leafy vegetables consumed by about three million people who live in Ibadan city of Nigeria and its environ are produced within and around the city by farmers in backyards, vacant land, near streams, road sides, barracks and government offices. Due to lack of adequate training among other factors, farmers make sub-optimal profit margins and produce vegetables which are dangerous to human health due to misuse of agrochemicals. This study was embarked upon for a period of three months, to build the capacity of vegetable farmers on how to produce safe and profitable vegetables using good agricultural practices (GAP) and improved production packages with minimal use of appropriate agro-chemicals. Two groups of 60 women vegetable farmers in Odogbo army barrack of the city were involved. Farmers’ production practices and associated problems were documented through Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Innovative capacity building strategies building on farmers’ resources and on-farm demonstration (OFAD) in the form of urban producers’ field school (UPFS) focusing on the three most important vegetables - Corchorus, Celosia and Amaranthus - to the farmers was set up to address the problems. Weekly trainings were conducted and farmers were encouraged to apply the knowledge gained on their private farms. Thirty farmers each from participating and non-articipating farmers were randomly selected to compare their yield, quality of harvest and economic returns after the training. Data were analyzed using t-test. There was significant difference (plt;0.05) between the yield obtained by participating and non-articipating farmers.Economic gains of the participating farmers also increased by 300% on the average due to improved quality of produce and higher market price. There should be conscious effort to assist vegetable farmers through capacity building in order to ensure supply of good quality vegetables and increase economic gains in the city.
Economic aspects / Agricultural practices / Urban agriculture / s participation / Womenapos / Farmer participation / Vegetables / Capacity building Record No:H044662
Groundwater recharge / Irrigation water / Public health / Water quality / Legal aspects / Economic aspects / Costs / Water reuse / Water supply / Water scarcity Record No:H042870
Wastewater reuse Author(s): Drechsel, Pay; Evans, Alexandra Published year: 2010. Journal: Irrigation and Drainage Systems Pages: 24(1-2). 153p. (Special issue with contributions by IWMI authors)
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the driest region of the world with only 1% of the world’s freshwater resources. The increasing competition for good-quality water has cut into agriculture’s water share but since the use of freshwater for domestic, industrial and municipal activities generates wastewater, the volume of wastewater used in agriculture has increased. About 43% of wastewater generated in the MENA region is treated; a relatively high percentage compared to other developing-country dominated regions. This is because of the perceived importance of wastewater as a water resource and several oil-rich countries with the resources to treat wastewater. The MENA region has an opportunity for beneficial reuse of wastewater but few countries in the region have been able to implement substantial wastewater treatment and reuse programs. The major constraints leading to seemingly slow and uneven reuse of wastewater are: inadequate information on the status of reuse or disposal of wastewater and associated environmental and health impacts; incomplete economic analysis of the wastewater treatment and reuse options, usually restricted to financial feasibility analysis; high costs and low returns of developing wastewater collection networks and wastewater treatment plants; lack of wastewater treatment and reuse cost-recovery mechanisms and lack of commitment to support comprehensive wastewater treatment programs; mismatch between water pricing and regional water scarcity; preference for freshwater over wastewater; and inefficient irrigation and water management schemes undermining the potential of wastewater reuse. However, some countries such as Tunisia, Jordan, and Israel have policies in place that address wastewater treatment through a range of instruments. Policymakers in these countries consider use of treated wastewater to be an essential aspect of strategic water and wastewater planning and management. With flexible policy frameworks addressing rapid demographic changes and increasing water scarcity in the MEAN region, water reuse has great potential if integrated with resource planning, environmental management and financing arrangements.
Wastewater irrigation / Water quality / Water scarcity / Water reuse Record No:H042831
A recent study of the livestock water productivity (LWP), at higher spatial scales in the Blue Nile Basin, indicated strong variability across regions. To get an insight into the causes of this variability, we examined the effect of farm households’ access to productive resources (e.g. land, livestock) on LWPin potato–barley, barley–wheat, teff–millet and rice farming systems of the Gumera watershed (in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia). We randomly selected 180 farm households. The sizes of the samples, in each system, were proportional to the respective system’s area. Then we grouped the samples, using a participatory wealth ranking method, into three wealth groups (rich, medium and poor) and used structured and pretested questionnaires to collect data on crops and livestock management and applied reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and crop coefficient (Kc) approaches to estimate depleted (evapotranspiration) water in producing animal feed and food crops. Then, we estimated LWPas a ratio of livestock’s beneficial outputs to water depleted. Our results suggest strong variability of LWP across the different systems: ranging between 0.3 and 0.6 US$ m3 year1. The tendency across different farming systems was comparable with results from previous studies at higher spatial scales. The range among different wealth groups was wider (0.1 to 0.6 US$ m3 year1) than among the farming systems. This implies that aggregating water productivity (to a system scale) masks hotspots and bright spots. Our result also revealed a positive trend between water productivity (LWPand crop water productivity, CWP) and farm households’ access to resources. Thus, we discuss our findings in relation to poverty alleviation and integrated land and water management to combat unsustainable water management practices in the Blue Nile Basin.
Surveys / Households / Water depletion / Poverty / Land use / River basins / Evapotranspiration / Crop management / Farming systems / Water productivity / Feeds / Livestock Record No:H042281
Decision making / Farmers / Crop production / Vegetables / Agricultural production / Labor / s participation / Womenapos / Urban agriculture / Gender Record No:H042153
A history of irrigated areas of the world Author(s): Li, Y. J.; Thenkabail, P. S.; Biradar, C. M.; Noojipady, P.; Dheeravath, V.; Velpuri, M.; Gangalakunta, O. R. P.; Cai, Xueliang Published year: 2009. Pages: pp.13-37 Series: Taylor amp; Francis Series in Remote Sensing Applications
Statistics / Irrigation programs / History / Irrigated land Record No:H042418
A simple semi-distributed water balance model for the Ethiopian highlands Author(s): Collick, A. S.; Easton, Z. M.; Ashagrie, T.; Biruk, B.; Tilahun, S.; Adgo, E.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Zeleke, G.; Steenhuis, T. S. Published year: 2009. Journal: Hydrological Processes Pages: 23:3718-3727
The discharge of the Nile River is highly dependent on the flow generated in the highlands of Ethiopia. However, little is known about the local (i.e. small scale) watershed hydrological response, due in part to a lack of long duration, continuous hydrological data. The goal of this paper was to develop a realistic, simple model that is useful as a tool for planning watershed management and conservation activities so that the effects of local interventions on stream flow can be predicted at a larger scale. The developed model is semi-distributed in that it divides the watershed into different regions that become hydrologically active given different amounts of effective cumulative rainfall after the start of the rainy season. A separate water balance is run for each of the hydrologic regions using rainfall and potential evaporation as the major inputs. Watershed parameters that were calibrated included the amount of water required before each region becomes hydrologically active, the fraction of soil water that becomes runoff and subsurface flow, and aquifer characteristics, Model validation indicated that daily discharge values were predicted reasonably well with Nash Sutcliffe values ranging from 0Ð56 to 0Ð78. Despite the large distance between the test watersheds, the input parameter values for the watershed characteristic were remarkably similar for the humid highlands, indicating that the model could be used to predict discharge in un-gauged basins in the region. As expected, the watershed in the semi-arid region behaved somewhat differently than the other three watersheds. Good quality precipitation data, even for short durations, were key to the effective modelling of runoff in the highland watersheds.
Climate / Watersheds / River basins / Hydrology / Calibration / Models / Water balance / Soil water / Rainfall-runoff relationships Record No:H042577
Models accurately representing the underlying hydrological processes and sediment dynamics in the Nile Basin are necessary for optimum use of water resources. Previous research in the Abay (Blue Nile) has indicated that direct runoff is generated either from saturated areas at the lower portions of the hillslopes or from areas of exposed bedrock. Thus, models that are based on infiltration excess processes are not appropriate. Furthermore, many of these same models are developed for temperate climates and might not be suitable for monsoonal climates with distinct dry periods in the Nile Basin. The objective of this study is to develop simple hydrology and erosion models using saturation excess runoff principles and interflow processes appropriate for a monsoonal climate and a mountainous landscape. We developed a hydrology model using a water balance approach by dividing the landscape into variable saturated areas, exposed rock and hillslopes. Water balance models have been shown to simulate river flows well at intervals of 5 days or longer when the main runoff mechanism is saturation excess. The hydrology model was developed and coupled with an erosion model using available precipitation and potential evaporation data and a minimum of calibration parameters. This model was applied to the Blue Nile. The model predicts direct runoff from saturated areas and impermeable areas (such as bedrock outcrops) and subsurface flow from the remainder of the hillslopes. The ratio of direct runoff to total flow is used to predict the sediment concentration by assuming that only the direct runoff is responsible for the sediment load in the stream. There is reasonable agreement between the model predictions and the 10-day observed discharge and sediment concentration at the gauging station on Blue Nile upstream of Rosaries Dam at the Ethiopia–Sudan border.
Climate / River basins / Rainfall-runoff relationships / Water balance / Calibration / Sedimentation / Erosion / Forecasting / Simulation models Record No:H042576
Through rapid assessment of existing literature and review of policy and other official documents, the report synthesizes the existing knowledge and gaps on policies and institutions and identifies key research issues that need in-depth study. The report provides an overview of the range of key livelihoods and production systems in the Blue Nile Basin (BNB) and highlights their relative dependence on, and vulnerability to, water resources and water-related ecosystem services. It also makes an inventory of current water and land related policies and institutions in the BNB, their organizational arrangements, dynamics and linkages and key policy premises. It highlights the major problems in institutional arrangements and policy gaps and makes suggestions for an in-depth Policy and Institutional Studies to be done as part of the Upstream-Downstream Research project.
Irrigation programs / Water user associations / Environmental policy / Legal aspects / Water harvesting / Watershed management / Water power / Energy / Ecosystems / Labor / Sanitation / Water supply / Poverty / Pastoralism / Vegetables / Irrigated farming / Sorghum / Cereals / Mixed farming / Farming systems / Institutional development / Institutions / Water policy / River basins Record No:H041835
The report evaluates the impacts of climate change on the hydrological regime and water resources of the Blue Nile River Basin in Ethiopia. It starts from the construction of the climate change scenarios based on the outcomes of several general circulation models (GCMs), uses a simple hydrological model to convert theses scenarios into runoff, and examines the impacts by means of a set of indices. The results, however uncertain with existing accuracy of climate models, suggest that the region is likely to have the future potential to produce hydropower, increase flow duration, and increase water storage capacity without affecting outflows to the riparian countries in the 2050s.
Analysis / Drought / Water power / Operating policies / Dams / Models / Precipitation / Runoff / River basins / Hydrology / Climate change Record No:H041713
Runoff / Evapotranspiration / Water power / Dams / Irrigation programs / Water use / Water allocation / Water resources development / River basin management Record No:H041748
Public health / Water supply / Reservoir storage / Drinking water / Domestic water / Irrigation canals / Water use / Arid zones Record No:H039647
Prospects for productive use of saline water in West Asia and North Africa Author(s): Stenhouse, J.; Kijne, Jacob Published year: 2006. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Comprehensive Assessment Secretariat Pages: 41 Series: Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture Research Report 011
Water is rapidly becoming scarcer especially in arid and semiarid areas such as Central West Asia and North Africa Region (CWANA), while irrigated agriculture is critical for national and world food security in these regions. Due to huge gaps between crop demands and rainfall, most countries of these regions cannot have productive form of agriculture without assured irrigation supplies. Continues decrease in the surface water resources has put enormous pressure on groundwater resources and as a results; throughout the regions groundwater tables are declining. Since water is the most limited factor in these regions, improving the productivity of existing water resources is an attractive alternative to sustain irrigated agriculture. There is a strong need to educate farmers to shift their thinking from “maximizing crop yields” to “ optimizing crop yields” . The results show that substantial and sustainable improvements in water productivity can be achieved through integrated farm-resources management. On-farm irrigation water management techniques such as deficit irrigation if coupled with better cropping patterns together with appropriate cultural practices, and improved genetic make-up will help to achieve this objective. Conventional water-management and cropping pattern guidelines, designed to maximize yield per unit area, need to be revised for achieving maximum water productivity. The wide ranges in recorded crop water productivities suggest that agricultural production can be maintained to its current level by using 20 to 40% less water if new water management practices are adopted. This paper reviews the current situation of water scarcity, agricultural water productivity, and suggests options for sustainable management of land and water resources in these regions.
Optimization / Sprinkler irrigation / Furrow irrigation / Drip irrigation / Evapotranspiration / Groundwater / Precipitation / Water conservation / Irrigation efficiency / Water use efficiency / Irrigated farming / Water deficit Record No:H040613
Irrigation and schistosomiasis in Africa: ecological aspects Author(s): Boelee, Eline; Madsen, H. Published year: 2006. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: 34 Series: IWMI Research Report 099
This research report discusses ecological aspects of schistosomiasis transmission and options for its control in irrigated areas in Africa through environmental measures. Human schistosomiasis is endemic in 46 African countries.After being infected by larvae emerging from human excreta and urine deposited in the water, freshwater snails act as intermediate hosts.
Snails / Velocity / Canals / Irrigation management / Irrigation programs / Design / Water storage / Surface irrigation / Public health / Ecology / Environmental control / Waterborne diseases / Schistosomiasis Record No:H039268
Wastewater reuse is particularly critical in arid and semi-arid countries. Although unregulated irrigation with wastewater does persist in some countries of this region, especially nearer smaller urban centers, the trend is towards regulated reuse of treated wastewater – as far as available capital resources allow.
Public health / Risks / Irrigated farming / Wastewater / Water reuse Record No:H035679
Institutions / Water scarcity / Villages / Water demand / River basin development / Irrigation management / Water management Record No:H031029
Hydronomic zones for developing basin water conservation strategies Author(s): Molden, D. J.; Sakthivadivel, R.; Keller, J. Published year: 2001. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: v, 30 Series: IWMI Research Report 056
Changes in the way water is used in one part of a river basin often affect how water is used somewhere else in that basin. This report introduces the concept of hydronomic ( hydro water + nomus management) zones that were developed to help untangle some of the complexities of basin-wide water resource use.
Water use efficiency / Water management / Irrigation / Case studies / Groundwater / River basins / Water conservation Record No:H029423
Irrigation programs / Case studies / Aquifers / Water storage / Groundwater / Water use / River basins / Water conservation / Water management Record No:H029298
This paper on Water for Rural Development is divided into two parts. The first part outlines the most important issues from IWMIapos;s point of view on water for rural development, with a focus on developing countries. This part identifies, discusses and provides recommendations for key areas for interventions in water resources development and management in the context of rural development. The second part of the document provides analyses of present and future water resources in the World Bankapos;s defined regions.
Population growth / Crop production / Food security / Food production / Water scarcity / Cereals / Crop yield / Water allocation / Water demand / Water supply / Food consumption / Institutions / Water policy / Health / Environment / Groundwater / Land management / Small scale systems / Water resources development / Rural development / Irrigation management / Water management Record No:H029260
The literature review on quot;Institutional arrangements for land drainage in developing countriesquot; provides an overview over irrigation and drainage development, drainage problems and, in particular, displays the institutional arrangements in selected countries (Egypt, India, Peru, the Philippines and South Africa). India, the Philippines and South Africa are countries where IWMI is interested in carrying out research on the relationship between the effectiveness of institutions and performance; Egypt has developed institutions capable of addressing drainage needs; Peru is in the process of establishing Autonomous Hydrological Basin Authorities for catchment-wide management of water resources including drainage.
Water user associations / Communal irrigation systems / Institutional constraints / Food security / Productivity / Salinity / Waterlogging / Maintenance / Operations / Case studies / Environment / Economic aspects / Social aspects / Irrigated farming / Flood control / Land reclamation / Financing / Farmer participation / Irrigable land / Infrastructure / Drainage Record No:H029144
Documents a quot;best practicequot; - a successful gender-balanced irrigation intervention in which women were given control over an irrigation technology. The study evaluates the approach taken by the implementing NGO, the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, in terms of its replicability in other areas where women share in farm activities and decision making.
Pumping / Farmer-led irrigation / Institution building / Rain-fed farming / Irrigation programs / Decision making / Agricultural credit / Female labor / Gender / Women in development / Irrigation management Record No:H027768
This publication reports on a study of the increase in river salinity and the implemented control programs in five major irrigated basins in the arid zone. The study is limited to salinity.
Salinity control / Legislation / Pollution control / Water use / Water allocation / Drainage / Irrigation effects / Water quality / Arid lands / River basin development / Irrigation management / Water resources development Record No:H026535
Productivity / Water supply / Maintenance costs / Operating costs / Irrigation canals / Farm income / Cost recovery / Privatization / Tube wells / Water user associations / associations / Farmersapos / History / Farmer participation / Participatory management / Irrigation management Record No:H026011
Rural women's association: an assessment of the success factors and sustainability Author(s): Pardeller, L.; de Lange, M.; Magadlela, D.; Smal, S.; Sugrue, A.; Stimie, C.; van Koppen, B. Published year: 1999. Publisher(s): Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pages: iii, 45 Series: IWMI South Africa Working Paper 1
Defines the degree of womenapos;s involvement in irrigated agriculture and water users associations in two private irrigation canals in Ecuador and identifies factors that limit their involvement. Analyzes the effects of intra-household dynamics and the womenapos;s urban/rural backgrounds on participation.
Case studies / Water allocation / Participatory management / Water user associations / Irrigation canals / Irrigated farming / Households / Privatization / Labor / Gender / Women in development Record No:H024891
A methodology is demonstrated to account for the use and productivity of water resources. This water accounting methodology presents useful information to water resource stakeholders and decision makers to better understand the present use of water and to formulate actions for improvements in integrated water resources management systems. Based on a water balance approach, it classifies outflows from a water balance domain into various categories to provide information on the quantity of water depleted by various uses, and the amount available for further use. The methodology is applicable to different levels of analysis ranging from a micro level such as a household, to a macro level such as a complete water basin. Indicators are defined to give informationon the productivity of the water resource. Examples from Egypt’s Nile River and a cascade of tanks in Sri Lanka are presented to demonstrate the methodology.
Tank irrigation / Indicators / Water balance / Water management / Productivity Record No:H024196
This paper aims to describe the state of theart of both water harvesting (WH) andsupplemental irrigation (SI) techniques in the temperate and sub-tropical dry lands, especiallyin the countries of WANA that are characterized by a Mediterranean-type climate. In addition,three case studies of water harvesting are presented (see annex). These were selected from the case studies presented at the FAO Expert Consultation Cairo (1994). By sharing with us the success and the failure of these endeavors, the authors of the case studies illustrate many of the points that are made in the text. They also illustrate how difficult it is to successfully introduce new technologies to farmers, who at the outset are not usually familiar with the intended purpose of the changes. Also, this paper emphasises that it is difficult to assess the potential for adoption without more studies to assess the risks and economic returns of the alternative techniques and practices.
Case studies / Research priorities / Environmental effects / Irrigation scheduling / Supplementary irrigation / Rain-fed farming / Water resources development / Arid lands / Water use efficiency / Crop production / Water storage / Runoff / Water harvesting / Productivity Record No:H024198
Rural women / s status / Womanapos / Households / Gender / associations / Farmersapos / Irrigated farming / Women in development / Participatory management / Irrigation management Record No:H023522
Policy / Irrigation management / Water shortage / Water deficit / Water requirements / Water distribution / Water management / attitudes / Farmersapos / Decision making / Institutions / Institution building / Irrigation canals / Water control Record No:H023122
This volume reviews the findings and results of research of the International Irrigation Management Institute during its first decade. The book also reviews several of the institute’s major institutional strengthening activities.
Farmer managed irrigation systems / Farmer-led irrigation / Irrigation management transfer / Participatory management / Institution building / Training / Watersheds / Case studies / Environment / Malaria / Waterborne diseases / Health / Gender / Policy / Modernization / Rehabilitation / Waterlogging / Salinity / Surface water / Groundwater / Conjunctive use / Irrigation systems / Operation / Design / Indicators / Canals / Water management / Research / Performance evaluation / Irrigation management Record No:H022082
Irrigation programs / Training / Decision making / Water policy / Institution building / Irrigation management / Water resource management Record No:H021653
Projet dapos;Appui Institutionnel au Ministere de lapos;Agriculture et de lapos;Elevage pour la Recherche-Developpement en Management de lapos;Irrigation au Niger (Accord dapos;aide No.F/NIG/DN-A1/AGR-ELV-IRG/91/1).
s status / Womenapos / Rice / Production costs / Irrigated farming / Land use / Infrastructure / Cooperatives / Diagnostic techniques / Performance evaluation / Irrigation programs / Irrigation management Record No:H022380
Water allocation / Labor / Villages / Households / Water user associations / Irrigation programs / Irrigation management / Gender / s status / Womanapos / Women Record No:H021286
Case studies / Water quality / Groundwater / Waterlogging / Salinity / Water scarcity / Sustainability / Irrigated farming / Irrigable land / Land management / Water resource management Record No:H023735
Water costs / Crop production / Water use / Water balance / Water allocation / Performance evaluation / Measurement / Irrigation systems / Performance indexes Record No:H021679
Examines multiple factors in womenapos;s involvement/non-involvement in irrigation in the Chhattis Mauja irrigation scheme in Nepal. Includes an empirical analysis of the livelihood strategies of farm households, documentation of the level and nature of participation of women and men in the water usersapos; organizations, analysis of womenapos;s access to irrigation services, and an examination of the need and desirability of increasing the participation of woman in the scheme organization.
Performance evaluation / Farmer-led irrigation / Social organization / Villages / Agricultural production / Social aspects / Living standards / Family labor / Households / Agricultural manpower / Female labor / Farmers / Women in development / Gender / Maintenance / Water distribution / Water allocation / Water delivery / Irrigation canals / Irrigated farming / Water user associations / Privatization / Irrigation programs / Farmer-managed irrigation systems / Irrigation management Record No:H019765
Drainage reuse and land expansion Author(s): Zhu, Z.; El Kady, M.; Molden, D. Published year: 1996. Pages: 14p. + appendices Series: WRSR publication series no.27
Case studies / Water quality / Groundwater / Waterlogging / Salinity / Water scarcity / Sustainability / Irrigated farming / Irrigable land / Land management / Water resource management Record No:H019413
Combines and interprets results from a number of studies that were designed to help the Egyptian government formulate a rational approach to sharing the costs of water services among the beneficiaries-agriculture and other users-and government. Highlights lessons transferable to other countries.
Farm income / Water resources development / Water shortage / Water use efficiency / User charges / Water allocation / Policy / Maintenance costs / Operating costs / Cost recovery / Benefits / Water delivery / Water management / Agricultural development Record No:H018207
Management training / Policy / Legislation / Farm economics / Decision making / Water user associations / Maintenance / Forecasting / Water budget / Decision support tools / Flow control / Water delivery / Water allocation / Water distribution / Maintenance / Irrigation operation / Cost recovery / Irrigation management / Water resource management Record No:H018020
Financial planning / Personnel management / Institutions / Water resources / Water user associations / Irrigation programs / Maintenance / Water quality / Water allocation / Water delivery / Planning / Water policy / Cost recovery / Water law / Irrigation management / Water resource management Record No:H018019
Institution building / Water allocation / Policy making / Planning / Water resource management / Irrigation operation / Irrigation management Record No:H016955
Public finance / Financial planning / Water resource management Record No:H017032
Cost recovery for water services to agriculture Author(s): International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI); Egypt. Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources Published year: 1995. Pages: 14
Sustainability / Land reform / associations / Farmersapos / Social aspects / Tube well irrigation / Canal irrigation / Water distribution / Water user associations / Privatization / Local management / Dams / Irrigation management Record No:H015359
Tube wells / Farmer-led irrigation / Water user associations / Social aspects / Water distribution / Case studies / Irrigation management / Performance indexes / Performance evaluation / Farmer managed irrigation systems Record No:H013492
Tube wells / Farmer-led irrigation / Water user associations / Social aspects / Water distribution / Case studies / Irrigation management / Performance indexes / Performance evaluation / Farmer managed irrigation systems Record No:H013357
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Economics and equity
At IWMI, researching underlying economic and social trends helps us understand why people migrate. They also explain the impact of remittances and loss of agricultural labor, as well as consequences of migration on gender roles and food and water security. For instance, communities with higher levels of income inequality, or relative deprivation, may experience greater levels of out-migration compared to consistently low-income communities. In addition, migration changes intra-household gender-labor composition, which can change the access of smallholders to water resources, affecting the functioning of community-based institutions and consequently household and local food security. IWMI also focuses on circular economy, a strategy to recover and reuse waste, to boost food security and understand how interventions can encourage refugee and host communities to retain scarce resources.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Urban & rural transformation
As agricultural opportunities fluctuate in rural areas, migration, particularly to urban areas, is an adaptation technique to secure incomes and alternative livelihoods. Income generated by migrants is often sent back to family as remittances to support communities at home. At IWMI, we assess linkages between rural and urban areas, as well as the role of agricultural knowledge systems and food and water security. We recognize there are complex push and pull factors such as individual aspirations, economic opportunity, social norms, climate variability and government policies which drive migration and affect rural communities, particularly youth. Our work follows a ‘positive migration’ philosophy, framing migration as an adaptation technique and socio-economic choice (in many cases) rather than a problem to be solved, and focuses on establishing safer, more regular migration by supporting changes to migration governance in sending regions.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Covid-19 disruption & adaptation
Covid-19 has caused a rupture in migration logistics and exposed inequities in the migration system, yet drivers of movement remain. Government lockdowns and closed borders due to the pandemic curtailed movement for migrants, posing complex problems for migrant hosting and origin countries. There have been significant economic shocks, with a sharp decline in unemployment for migrants and an inability to send money home through remittances to support family. Some migrants face social stigma for returning home without an income, particularly if families relied on loans to support their journeys. Consequences have been severe for informal migrants who lack government protection in their host countries. Migrants, particularly those living in crowded, lower-income neighborhoods, have been experiencing stigmatization related to the spread of Covid-19. We look at the impacts of Covid-19 on migration governance and rural areas across seven countries,development planning in Ghana, migration challenges in Southeast Asia, and community-based disaster management and resilience building in South Africa.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Water, climate change and agrarian stress
Migration, water and climate stress are inextricably linked to rural development. Water stress and climate variability can act as a driver of fragility, intensifying pre-existing political, social, economic and environmental challenges. Initiatives designed to address migration-related challenges must tackle inequalities and the exclusion of women, youth and marginalized groups; governance opportunities to better manage water and natural resources and technology and innovations to help communities escape socio-ecological precarity and thrive despite climate challenges. IWMI intends to build climate resilience by implementing projects which tackle gender-power inequalities in the face of dynamic, economic-social-ecological challenges. Our work brings together affected communities, institutional stakeholders and social actors to manage water in response to climate variability and agrarian stress, striving to address complex physical and social variables.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Gender, intersectionality and social inclusion
It is critical to center gender and intersectional identities when unpacking migration phenomena. Gender as a social construct guides social norms and relations, including the decision-making processes and mechanisms leading to migration. We recognize that the intersections between race, age, class, sex, caste and region shape the migrant experience.
IWMI strives to offer transformative approaches and solutions for women, youth and marginalized groups, regarding them as equal partners in our work rather than passive end-users. For example, within communities that experience male out migration, socio-political systems are restructured to make women, youth and other groups active agents in their own agri-food transformation. Migration patterns contribute to the feminization of agriculture, and women may experience a greater burden of responsibility coupled with an increased ability to access and control resources and policies to build sustainable livelihoods. Acknowledging social complexities helps researchers and communities understand migration trends and address structural power imbalances to build a more equitable world.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Innovation bundles
Farmer-led irrigation development is about much more than installing a pump in a field. It requires access to financing, labor, energy, and input and output markets, so that investments in irrigation translate into sustainable returns. IWMI uses a systemic approach to understand the farming system as well as the factors in the enabling environment that prevent women, men and youth from engaging in and benefitting equitably from farmer-led irrigation. We partner with farmers and the public and private sectors to test contextually relevant innovation bundles that combine irrigation technology such as solar pumps with financing mechanisms like pay-as-you-own or pay-as-you-go, agricultural inputs and agronomic techniques. We also look at ways to improve on-farm water management and nutrient use efficiency and reduce evapotranspiration through digital advances and agricultural extension. We integrate the scaling of innovation bundles into agricultural value chains to enhance the impacts on farmers’ irrigation investments, incomes and livelihoods.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Gender and social inclusion
The barriers facing women and men in accessing irrigation technologies are not the same. Neither are the benefits. Social, cultural and religious norms influence inter- and intra-household power relations. These, in turn, affect access to resources such as land, credit, information and training. IWMI carries out cross-dimensional analysis of gender and social inclusion in policy, financing, livelihood assets and access, institutional approaches and interventions as well as gender-based technology preferences. For example, we work with farmers, financial institutions and the private sector to address gender-based constraints in credit scoring and enhance women’s purchasing power. But benefitting from farmer-led irrigation does not stop at accessing and adopting technologies; enabling women and resource-poor farmers to participate in input and output markets is equally important to ensure that investments in irrigation result in improved nutrition and economic empowerment. Other ways we enhance gender and social inclusion include tackling agency issues around financial management and literacy, livelihood diversity and social capital as well as access to infrastructure, extension services and market linkages.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Environmental sustainability
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 Water Accounting+, solar irrigation mapping and internet of things. These are complemented by multi-criteria analysis to evaluate the potential of irrigation expansion, taking into consideration environmental flows. With our private sector partners, we are leveraging converging technologies, such as sensors on solar pumps that capture usage data, to encourage better resource management and governance.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Adaptive scaling and partnerships
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 requires scaling processes to be adaptive. This means diverse actors feed off, adapt to, support, cooperate, compete and interact with each other, forming different multi-actor networks and engaging in collective action to undertake various functions in the scaling ecosystem. IWMI works with farmers and public and private sector partners to co-design and pilot contextually relevant innovation bundles and their scaling pathways or strategies, influence policies and accelerate the transition to scale of innovations with demonstrated early impact.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Financing ecosystem
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 credit alone is not enough. Financing for irrigation equipment must be embedded in a wider financing ecosystem that bundles credit with inputs and services, market information and access, and technology such as digital payment. In several countries, irrigation equipment suppliers are stepping in to provide financing directly to farmers. In doing so, they increase their own risk. To address this issue, IWMI works with farmers, private companies, finance institutions and development partners such as the World Bank Group to analyze whether credit-scoring tools are inclusive. We also help to identify gaps in the financing ecosystem and de-risk the private sector from testing innovative end-user financing mechanisms that take into account farming system typologies, financial and social capital and crop seasonality.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Human capacity development and knowledge exchange
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 development of or reinforce national multi-stakeholder dialogues with the aim of sharing scaling experiences and realizing win-win collaboration, interactive learning and capacity development. Other modalities for capacity development include hackathons, innovation research grants for bachelor’s and master’s students, private sector scaling grants and innovation internships with private companies. These all serve to stimulate local and contextually relevant innovation, close the research-private sector divide and enhance job readiness among young professionals.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
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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